A new year brings new opportunities for building community

As students, parents, alumni, faculty and fans filed into Clemens Stadium last week for the first St. John’s home football game in 651 days, a general emotion dominated the crowd: relief. To many, the game served a bigger purpose than just a football game. It was about a return to normalcy and the reestablishment of community at CSB/SJU.

Prior to COVID-19, community was taken for granted here at CSB/SJU; we threw “community” around as an empty buzzword without fully embracing the opportunities we had to connect with our peers. We forgot that community is more than just the big events: community is the daily interactions with the classmates in your core requirement class, the people next to you in line at the Reef, the drivers on the Link, the workers vacuuming your dorm hallways—community is each and every CSB/SJU student, faculty and staff. But as the saying goes, you don’t know what you have till it’s gone.

During COVID-19, the small interactions that made us community were gone, or revised beyond the point of recognition. When we were first sent home, many of us assumed it would only be a few weeks. We didn’t know we would go an entire school year without live sports, community gatherings and many of the simple things we all take for granted, like meeting someone new. Some of us couldn’t even return to campus. It was unclear when we would regain the feeling of community that our campuses treasure and tout as a core value.

As we begin a new school year, one that nearly resembles pre-COVID times, it’s important to put things in perspective. Seniors are the only class that have experienced a full year of the true CSB/SJU experience, while half of the school is three weeks into figuring out how to be a college student under the regular schedule. However, we all share the commonality that COVID-19 has affected our educational experience over the last two years. It’s up to us to determine how we carve out what “community” means, not only for today but also for years to come. The reestablishment of community isn’t something that just comes naturally, and in many ways, it falls to each and every student to create an atmosphere that is welcoming, accepting and furthers what it means to be a Bennie and Johnnie. This year, we embrace the opportunity to redefine our community.

One way that students can make an immediate difference is to follow the school and CDC recommendations and get vaccinated. Vaccinations are a key step in allowing us to fully join together as a community again. As it currently stands, 85.81% of CSB/SJU students are fully vaccinated, while 3.61% have received their first dose. Each vaccine is a stepping stone closer to normalcy, and helps keep our campus safe—the essential cornerstone of community.

We know what it means to lose our community. Now that we’ve felt that loss, it’s more important than ever to ensure that everyone feels at home on our campuses. A community isn’t complete without every member, and having spent months apart, we know that painfully well. Let’s make our community stronger than ever: attend more events, join a new club, smile more at people you pass on campus, thank the workers around you and be grateful for the moments we spend together. Let’s use this new school year as a new opportunity to embrace community to its fullest.