College weekends were once full of keg stands and hookups. Now, students are bored, lonely, and trapped in their dorm rooms.

Monica HumphriesNov 14, 2020, 02:21 IST

Five freshmen share what their typical Friday night in college looks like.Aimée Parvine/Marlon Rubio Smith/Emily Lampi/Audrey Pe

When incoming freshmen pictured college, their expectations for socializing included dorm movie nights, fraternity parties, clubs, and apartment hangs.
But every aspect of college life looks different due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including Friday and Saturday night plans.
From movie nights to late-night quizzes, take a look at the weekends of five freshmen, from Hangzhou, China, to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A year ago, when high school seniors pictured their freshmen year of college, it looked vastly different from the reality they're living today.

Aimée Parvine, a freshman at Howard University, imagined lecture halls with hundreds of strangers. Instead, she's sitting in her childhood bedroom in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Marlon Rubio Smith, a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, pictured late nights in campus libraries. Now, he completes his work from his dining room table in Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

But college isn't just about academics, of course. It's also about parties, dating, and all the other kinds of things 18- to 22-year-olds do to have fun.

Emily Lampi, a freshman at the University of Florida, hoped she'd be surrounded by 82,000 other people at her first football game. On October 3, she and her roommate dressed up for pictures and watched the game from their dorm room.

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, weekends for the five students below are nothing like what they hoped for. Instead of keg stands, first dates, and football games, most of them are spending their time watching movies at home, FaceTiming friends, and finishing up school work.

For Ziyan Peng, a freshman at the University of California at Los Angeles, classes go late into the night, thanks to a 16-hour time difference with her home in Hangzhou, China.

Ziyan Peng, right, will spend Fridays finishing up homework at home in Hangzhou, China. Ziyan Peng

For Ziyan Peng, a freshman at the University of California at Los Angeles, classes go late into the night, thanks to a 16-hour time difference with her home in Hangzhou, China.

Marlon Rubio Smith, a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, spends his weekends doing what he loves the most: watching movies.

Marlon Rubio Smith looks forward to a welcome break each Friday. Marlon Rubio

Confined to a dorm room, Emily Lampi, a freshman at the University of Florida, will watch a movie with her roommate.

Emily Lampi and her roommate fill their Fridays with movie nights. Emily Lampi

Aimée Parvine, a freshman at Howard University, works the graveyard shifts Friday nights.

Aimée Parvine and her boyfriend try new recipes each Friday evening before she heads to work. Aimée Parvine

Audrey Pe, a freshman at Stanford University, is living on campus. She spends weekends with dining hall food, movie nights, and a steadfast skincare routine.

Audrey Pe has a nighttime routine she's kept since high school. Audrey Pe

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College weekends were once full of keg stands and hookups. Now, students are bored, lonely, and trapped in their dorm rooms.

For Ziyan Peng, a freshman at the University of California at Los Angeles, classes go late into the night, thanks to a 16-hour time difference with her home in Hangzhou, China.

Marlon Rubio Smith, a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, spends his weekends doing what he loves the most: watching movies.

Confined to a dorm room, Emily Lampi, a freshman at the University of Florida, will watch a movie with her roommate.

Aimée Parvine, a freshman at Howard University, works the graveyard shifts Friday nights.

Audrey Pe, a freshman at Stanford University, is living on campus. She spends weekends with dining hall food, movie nights, and a steadfast skincare routine.