As the pandemic begins to wind down, campus will hopefully start to look a little more familiar. Between the Zoom lectures and empty streets, we started to forget what campus was like. Here’s a Post-Pandemic Bucket List to get you excited for the upcoming months.
1. Lectures that are NOT on Zoom
The convenience of not getting ready for class was a nice benefit to having online classes, yet the empty seats of Mosse Humanities have been lying dormant for too long. One can only look at a computer screen for so long. The first day of classes will look a little more normal when confused freshmen are stumbling around campus, the scratched-up desks in Bascom Hall are filled, and professors are flying through PowerPoints just a little bit too fast.
2. Working Out Without a Mask
Don’t get me wrong — masks keep everyone safe, and they act as a wind barrier on especially cold days. Yet, the gym is one place that makes them difficult to like. Whether you are sprinting your way around the tract or deadlifting 300 pounds, masks collect all the sweat from your face. It’ll be a nice change of pace to be able to breathe a little bit easier and see everyone’s red face.
3. Full Capacity Bars & Buildings
The Unions look a little empty without the general public walking around in them. You know exactly who I am talking about: the proud alumnus who can’t seem to leave college, the nervous high-schoolers and the families with young kids looking at the lake. Campus will feel more like a Madison community when communal buildings are allowed to safely reopen. The bar scene will be memorable as well, with the dance floor packed and lines of eager students waiting to get a drink.
4. Crowded Streets
One of the most noticeable differences with COVID-19 is just how empty campus has felt. University Avenue is no longer filled with hundreds of students speed-walking to their next class at 10 a.m. on a Tuesday.
Bikers no longer have to risk hitting a late student as they dodge their way through oncoming traffic, and you don’t have to worry about stepping on the person’s heels in front of you. As stressful as walking to class was, it was a rite of passage for UW-Madison students.
5. Jumping Around in Camp Randall
Both Camp Randall an the Kohl Center have loomed above us for over a year, taunting us with their bright red signs.
The minute those gates open and students are allowed back in the bleachers, everything in the world will be solved. The first post-pandemic tailgate will be one for the history books, that’s for sure.
And lastly…
6. A Spring Break
Need I say more?
