Usually, this paper you’re reading would have content filled with how to navigate the annual Quad Day. Where hundreds of registered student organizations table on the Main Quad and try to get your attention. Where you can find what interests you and sign your name and email on hundreds of different papers. Of course, with COVID-19 still in full force, Quad Day cannot happen in the same way. However, that does not mean you can’t get any similar experiences and find a group of people who have similar interests as you.

We are lucky now to have all the technology we do because the Internet and social media can make our lives a lot easier when most things are being moved online. If you are still looking forward to joining an RSO, club or sports team, you can look them up online or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if they are active on those sites.

Many RSOs will have some sort of adjusted schedule or compromised system to where everyone can still meet somehow. You can browse a list of RSOs online to find ones you are interested in and email any executive members of the RSOs to find out what their plans are. Browsing this list of RSOs is a tip many seasoned students would give new students before attending Quad Day if it would be the regular in-person setup.

During this time, it is important to be flexible and adaptable. Of course, nothing will be the same or how it was before the pandemic, but it is important that we try to make the most of it and make ourselves happy while still being safe.

Usually, I would tell students to go to Quad Day with a friend or new roommate just so you aren’t there alone. Again, we must compromise with this in order to stay healthy. If you have a roommate, browse the list of RSOs together or get a group FaceTime or Zoom call together and discuss which RSOs you might be interested in.

For the full effect, you can even go to the Quad with your laptop and phone and check out the RSOs, that way you will still have the feeling of being on the Quad while “meeting” people from all kinds of RSOs.

We are going through a lot of extreme changes at the moment, and there’s no doubt that COVID-19 completely alters the college experience. However, if you are flexible and adaptable, you can find ways that will still allow you to gain experiences worth your time. It is sad to see that new students won’t get to experience Quad Day in the same way students in the past have, but we truly are all in this together, and it is possible to still have a good experience making the best out of our current situation.

Samantha is a senior in Media.

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