Gerald Sastra/The Cougar
With a pandemic impacting the fall semester, one of the many changes come in a form as simple as students not worrying about what they would wear on the first day of school.
With courses online and social distancing limiting how many people are walking around campus, students who did dress up for the start of the semester were showing off their chosen outfits to their peers over Zoom.
“I did dress up. The expression ‘Dress for success’ is one I stand behind so heavily,” said finance and marketing senior Amna Khan. “Getting dressed up helps me with my confidence and really motivates me to get back into the school grind after summer vacation.”
As it was the last first day of college for Khan, she wanted to begin the end of her college experience feeling good about herself, she said.
While Khan did have one HyFlex class to attend this semester, some students like communication sciences and disorders sophomore Rachael Marsh are all online for the fall.
“I just wore what I slept in,” Marsh said. “I didn’t have anywhere to go (except) on my computer, so I decided not to change.”
Marsh said she never usually dressed up for the first day of school even before, when her classes were in person.
A new factor to a first day of school outfit this semester is the addition of a mask; whether students put on something right before they go out or try to coordinate the face covering to what they are wearing.
“I just want to say people have some of the cutest masks I have ever seen,” Khan said.
The first day of school can mean different things to different people, but students agree that this past Monday was different than previous first days, if not unforgettable.
Media production senior Lydia Tinsley is usually one to dress up for the first day of school, but her classes being virtual this semester had her dressing down, and also missing the feeling before class settles and she gets into a routine.
“I’ve been overdressed for Zoom calls before and I didn’t want to risk it (today),” Tinsley said. “There’s something so sad about not physically seeing anyone on the first day of school. Online classes just aren’t the same.”
For more of The Cougar’s coronavirus coverage, click here.
