It seems, during this pandemic, that the easiest place to begin is with distance. If we separate people from one another, be it at the grocery store or the movie theater, they can’t infect one another. The measurement, six feet, is tangible. It’s easily measured and evaluated, without chance for subjective interpretation. So, it’s not surprising this is where college campuses opted to start as they thought about what would come next in terms of returning students to campus.
Right or wrong, density has become a focus, where according to Principal Tom Zeigenfuss “the natural reaction” is to reduce concentrations of individuals. Reduction in density, though, is difficult to achieve on campus, where vertical residence halls, roommates, and shared bathrooms are institutional hallmarks and realistically speaking, the only way to practically house students. In addition to housing, residence halls are designed for community formation, often with common areas or study rooms to encourage chance meetings and facilitate socialization. But if campuses decide to take away opportunities for gathering, what happens to the college experience? College is when young adults can find their own communities and connect with others. If these opportunities are eradicated, they won’t just have trouble finding new communities, there simply wouldn’t be any communities for them to find. Tom speculates that a reduction in common spaces would reduce the sense of community and opportunities for gathering. “For a college-age population that’s already combatting issues of online comparison, isolation, and FOMO, changing design to eradicate or greatly limit gathering spaces would likely make this condition even worse.” So, while physical separation may make us feel safer in the short-term, it could also change the way we relate or interact with others permanently.