The election is coming up, midterms are in full swing, the new season of “The Bachelorette” has started — oh, and it’s week six. At times it feels like the term is flying by, whether that means realizing we’re past the halfway mark and your professor still doesn’t know your name, or coming to terms with the fact that you’re never actually going to “catch up” on lost sleep.
But in some ways, the term has also gone by at an immeasurably slow pace. We know how long a two-hour Zoom class on a Thursday afternoon can feel, or how tedious it is to write a 10-page research paper. Despite the changes this term, we will always feel the chaotic contrast of time passing by so quickly, while simultaneously moving, as some at the College put it, “like cold maple syrup.”
This week at Mirror, we check in on how in-person classes are going and what trails Dartmouth students are hiking in the Hanover area. We also address cultural phenomena at Dartmouth: We speak with the elusive “Sun God,” shed light on how students use online platforms to foster friendships and investigate the shift to cashless payment methods at Dartmouth and the Upper Valley.
Yes, these are “unprecedented times,” and yes, we will need to adjust to the “new normal,” but there are some things that even COVID-19 cannot take away. Camaraderie, friendship, creativity — and yes, even stress — will always be present at Dartmouth (even if you’re not on campus). In the wise words of Bon Jovi, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
