UB students are glad to be back on campus

The first day of classes in a new academic year is always exciting at UB, but that was never more true than on Monday.

After 18 months of mostly learning and working remotely amid the pandemic, the UB community returned for the fall semester fully in person, armed with face coverings and a vaccination rate among students of more than 95% — and still growing.

To see the campus bustling once again was a welcome sight for Alec Pitter, who sat on a bench gazing in awe of how the North Campus had reawakened.

“Just taking it all in,” said Pitter a first-year graduate student. “I’m actually kind of readjusting to it. It’s pretty strange seeing everyone back in action.”

Over at the Student Union, third-year theater major Olivier Bijoux was among the lunch crowd pouring in.

“This is nice,” Bijoux said, while overlooking the busy union.

“For me, I really like being around people. That’s what I like so much about school. It’s a big energy boost,” said Bijoux, speaking through his mask and above the noise in the building. “Hopefully, this energy will get me through the rest of the year.”

Outside, Julio Gonzalez had finished his only class of the day, but decided to sit in the sun along the academic spine and enjoy the moment.

“I was excited to get my first day started,” said Gonzalez, a senior psychology major. “I was tired of being in my room all the time staring at the computer for four to five hours.”

Watching the activity unfold around him, Gonzalez was reminded of what he missed about being on campus.

“Honestly, it’s the small things, like being able to interact with people again,” he said. “We took the small things for granted — the clubs, the classrooms.”

Jacob Brown is looking forward to interacting face to face with his professors. The sophomore said he had a terrible time focusing last year while working remotely.

“I had my first in-person class since March of my senior year in high school,” Brown said. “It was relieving.”

The significance of the day was not lost on President Satish K. Tripathi, who resumed one of his favorite annual rituals: welcoming students back to campus on their first day.

“Given the upended circumstances of the past 18 months, I’m sure you can appreciate my enthusiasm,” the president said in an email to UB faculty, staff and students.

“Whether flocking to classrooms that were sparsely occupied the semester prior, gathering in conference rooms instead of on computer monitors, or engaging in shoptalk during impromptu hallway encounters, I suspect none of us will be taking the status quo for granted,” he said. “Although the persistence and uncertainty of the pandemic still loom in our collective consciousness, I would go so far as to say that these everyday activities will feel like something of a triumph!”

An indoor mask policy and a student vaccination requirement have allowed for a safe return to UB and a more normal school year.

“If that’s the trade off,” Bijoux said, “I’m all for it.”

“I’m actually appreciative of the requirements,” said Abby Young, a freshman from Wilson in Niagara County. “It makes me feel safer being on campus.”

Andrea Elbaneh had a little trouble hearing her professor talk through a mask, but the bigger issue on her first day back was getting reacquainted with the campus.

“Honestly I forgot where every building was,” said Elbaneh, a senior mathematics major. “I had to keep looking at my map to find my classes.”