College Nightlife During Pandemic Times

ILLUSTRATED BY

MORIAH ARNOLD

DESIGNER

ALLY WOODRING

COLLEGE NIGHT LIFE

In the complicated pandemic era, college students and the experiences they gain have been largely impacted. Nightlife amongst the student body at the University of Oregon (UO) is a diverse scene. Although COVID-19 has largely changed the scale of nightlife, students’ efforts to create normality have yet to cease.

The UO nightlife scene differs with the student’s interests and comfort level during the pandemic. Many students are choosing to stay home, while others hit the town to see what parties are going on. At any time during the week, students can find what Eugene, Oregon, has to offer.

Bentley Freeman, a sophomore at UO, spends a lot of time with his friends. He enjoys going out to house shows and watching his favorite bands from the Eugene area. When COVID-19 permits it, Freeman also enjoys going to concerts and overall appreciates the after school scene.

“While I don’t have much to compare it to, it’s pretty fun,” Freeman said. “There’s always something going on. You know there are concerts constantly, but there are also house shows.”

For Freeman, house shows are a great way to hang out with friends and also get to know the community. Some of his most notable local bands are “Growing Pains” and “Novacane.”

“Every house show is different. Usually there are three or four bands and they each have a set list of either like two, three or four songs,” Freeman said.

Many other nighttime activities take added precautions to help combat surges. According to Freeman, house shows tend to require proof of vaccines and charge fees to limit overcrowding.

With the concerns over safety regarding house shows and other activities, there is no simple right or wrong when it comes to nightlife during pandemic times. Many students choose to go out, but others, like UO sophomore Sasha Kaplow, find it more comfortable to stay at home with all the uncertainties.

“I definitely love spending time with friends, but I haven’t really gone out that much to parties. I’m more of a homebody. Through COVID I’ve developed this kind of introverted-ness. I definitely prefer to stay home,” Kaplow said.

Much like Kaplow, Tommy Douglas, a junior at UO, lost nearly a year of normal social activities. According to Douglas, it was common prior to the pandemic to hang out in big groups without worries.

“This year it’s closer to normal but activities are a little more infrequent, a little smaller in group size and we are all still a little more cognizant of COVID,” Douglas said.

Safety is a high priority amidst the global pandemic. Yet for some, after losing so much time to COVID and the added assurance from vaccines, parties have largely made a comeback.

“I try to go to some places where I know people,” Michael Wilkins, a sophomore at UO, said. “I go out to parties, apartment parties, house parties, occasional frat parties. There are a lot of people, and a lot of people not from the University of Oregon so you can meet people.”

With the opportunities to experience nightlife in some form or the other at the UO, students have still been subjected to a less than normal standard. The longing for the lost time is apparent.

“I really missed going to restaurants or just having a big group of people at someone’s house,” Douglas said. “It’s not so much as what I would’ve done differently as what I wished that I could’ve done at all.”

College students like Freeman, despite their added difficulties, still have new things they hope to do around the town despite their lost time.

“I wish I could have gone out way more,” Freeman said. “I think everyone has made the best out of the bad hand we’ve been given.”

WRITTEN BY CORI CAPLINGER