COVID dampens class of 2025’s involvement

By Jay Roberson

Navigating a pandemic and the college admissions process was a tricky balance for most prospective students in 2021. They were transitioning away from a virtual world and adjusting to in-person classes while taking COVID-19 precautions. 

When asked about her college decision process, senior political science major and Student Government Association President Christina Natoli said, “You kind of had to fill in what you might not be seeing [on tour]. I remember I was so happy when classes started because Rider was a smaller school, that people not being out was a result of that. But seeing how much campus vibrancy there really was, it was tricky because we weren’t able to see that in bloom.”

Not only were first-year students figuring out how to manage college life, but Rider was figuring out what worked for the institution post-pandemic. 

Vice President of Student Affairs Nick Barbati said, “We were trying to still navigate the challenges of reinstituting a campus with tradition and events that are signature to the school, but finding ways that could accommodate for COVID-19. So it was still non-traditional [that year] in that regard.”

Senior English major David Collins is involved in a plethora of clubs and organizations, but still feels Rider does not always go out of its way to provide events for current students. 

“You have to kind of go out of your way to look [for events] besides the beginning of the semesters, where they do the club fairs. There’s not much that Rider does to make you aware of what’s going on,” Collins said. 

Collins said in his first-year experience many people he knew made friend groups and stuck with them because there weren’t many chances to connect with more students.

Senior Arts and Entertainment Industry Management major Michaela Smith decided to get more involved as she adjusted to Rider. 

 “I picked at least one club, just to not get too overwhelmed. But I think as time went on, I found myself feeling okay. I think it was more so just getting a handle on the academic routine,” Smith said. 

Though she wasn’t involved in much, Smith felt she was able to stay connected with campus through social media and advertisements her freshman year. 

Barbati said, “It took groups of clubs and organizations a little while to get footing after the pandemic. Also, some of the clubs and organizations didn’t immediately return to their full activity … as the years have gone by, students were reinstituting clubs that might have gone dormant for a little while.”

In an Instagram questionnaire The Rider News posted on Sept. 30, some students from the class of 2025 stated when they first arrived on campus, they found it difficult to get involved.

Many of these students took it upon themselves to get more involved in their sophomore and junior years. 

Natoli said, “The class of 2025 was getting its last year taken from high school. [A lot of them were] unmotivated because they missed out on what some might call the fun part, or the end experience. Now that we have that opportunity in college, they’re less motivated to want to take on leadership roles and get involved.”

Possibly as a result of this, the class of 2025 currently has the least amount of leadership roles in SGA, according to Natoli. 

Barbati said, “The lives of students have changed, as students are weighing commitments to internships and class scheduling and employment. I think it’s a little hard for them to be committing so far out. It’s probably reflective of the changing demographic of students or what they can initially sign up for.” 

For some students, like Natoli, taking on leadership roles in college made up for years lost to the lockdown in high school. 

“Especially as someone who was new to leadership coming into college, I kind of took the … lack of opportunities from high school and use[d] it to motivate me to get involved, and I think that the peers and faculty I had around me were definitely supportive of that and were able to help me along the way,” Natoli said.

Though the pandemic had an impact on the first few years of the class of 2025’s college experience, it has still been able to prosper in their own way.

“Ultimately, I do think this year’s senior class is every bit as exceptional and has made their mark every bit as much as any other class year that’s been here,” said Barbati.