Freshman Madi Balasko had known she wanted to go IU long before she began her application process. She envisioned a crowded, vibrant campus— a scene that she now realizes cannot come to fruition.
Balasko decided to live on campus for her first year in spite of changes she knew would take place. She said she anticipates spending time outdoors in a new space.
“I love this campus,” Balasko said. “I knew that even if it was going to be online and we couldn’t actually do a lot, I knew I would still be on this beautiful campus at least for a little bit.”
Balasko moved into her room at Foster Quad on Aug. 9 for the Intensive Freshman Seminar, where freshmen can arrive on campus two weeks early to complete a short course designed to help them adjust to college classes.
While many of her peers have yet to move in, she has taken this time to meet others both virtually and in-person. Balasko recently met with a few students to eat outdoors while social distancing.
“Honestly that was really fun, we didn’t have to be indoors anywhere and we made it work,” Balasko said.
Balasko said while she feels like she missed out on not being able to visit campus for her orientation, other resources have helped her with questions she has had since move in. For example, the IU Mobile app gathers multiple resources for students to use when they have questions regarding housing, dining and transportation.
“It’s almost like you can search for anything and something will come up to help you,” Balasko said.
Fellow freshmen Olivia Moore and Griffin Healy also moved in recently for IFS.
Healy, who is living in Forest Quad, said when he arrived he was easily able to receive assistance from IU employees. Employees involved with IU Dining guided him through the setup process for the Grubhub app. The app allows students to order food on campus with limited face-to-face interaction.
“There are people all over campus that are helping,” Healy said.
Moore, who is living in Foster Quad, said she has found additional resources through Facebook groups and studying virtual tours of campus.
Moore said she wishes she had the opportunity to attend an in-person club fair, but is excited to meet people virtually.
Balasko and Moore said they’re glad to live on campus even with the new health regulations, but shared concerns regarding IU’s plan of action in the case of an on-campus COVID-19 outbreak.
“If we get kicked off in three weeks, I’m not sure if I’ll think it was worth it because of how expensive housing is,” Balasko said.
Moore said she wished students had more knowledge of guidelines regarding on-campus evacuations or changes.
“They’ve never explained at what point we would have to go home,” Moore said. “It would be really nice to anticipate that.”
Overall, Balasko, Healy and Moore are all feeling optimistic about adjusting to college life. Healy said the changes have not gotten in the way of his classes or college experience.
“Obviously, I’m keeping my distance,” Healy said. “I’m keeping my mask on. I’m taking all the precautions I can, but other than that I’ve been treating it as if I’m a regular student.”
