“Being at the College has always meant that everything happens between Broadway and Amsterdam, from 114th to 120th. From my freshman year to my senior days, I have always considered myself very lucky to live with and near those closest to me. So, this past semester, I’ve missed the get-togethers that ultimately shaped my social circles — long, late-night chats, games and pranks, parties and gatherings, time on the lawns, late-night grinds and Columbia sporting events. I miss my friends and the campus that was the straw that stirred the proverbial drink. … I’ve realized with our spring being cut short that life doesn’t work in clean-cut phases like some people tend to believe; college is not a separate four-year life or oasis.

“I also hope this develops an insatiable hunger in all of us to have a collective experience with each other, and to compensate for this lost time by reaching out to and visiting one another for years to come.”