How COVID-19 impacted the freshman class

Everyone was a freshman. Everyone was scared to go into upper Student Union and sit at the tables with upperclassmen. Everyone forgot to put away their cups and had the lower student union threatened to be taken away. We love to scold the freshman. Yet, it is almost like everybody forgets what it is like to be them, what we once were. You did the same exact things. Every year the upperclassmen take it upon themselves to label the freshmen “loud” or “annoying”—“They’re so childish,” we say with malicious intent. 

We as a community have failed to recognize that the freshmen have missed a great portion of their growing experience due to Covid-19. Eighth grade is an important year for students as it provides the transition to high school. In this grade level, you make vital jumps in your education and social skills that set you up for success in high school. However, the 2025 graduating class was stripped of this. For all of the seventh and eighth-grade years, they had to connect with each other through a screen. Think of all your memories in-class from seventh and eighth grade. The freshman had none of that. Imagine how much they are missing.

However, I am not entirely excusing the freshman’s actions. We all have stories on how entitled they seem. Many of these stories are from sports teams, where first-years demand specific jersey numbers or complain about playing time. I say this to freshmen; Why do you deserve a jersey number over an upper-level student who has waited for the jersey number for years or possibly had it last year. Why do you deserve playing time if you are not good enough to play? For these questions, a lack of social interaction for years provides no suitable answer. Pay your dues. Respect the program. I understand you have not had an average year for a while, but this is not middle school.

We have not acted excellently as upperclassmen. Yelling at the freshman is not going to help. That is apparent. Instead of punishing the bad, we should be rewarding the good. You may think, “well this is not going to stop the freshman from doing the bad, right?” Yes. You are right. The freshman will not be perfect immediately. Reward the good. Lead by example. They will fix their issues. Just like we did.