#FocusDisruption is a collaboration of all the media outlets within Montclair State’s School of Communication and Media. Our goal is to report stories that highlight the effects or disruption of the last two years and the solutions that have come out of it. All aspects of day-to-day life have been altered but we will be primarily focusing on how mental health, education and the workplace have changed.
Many students on Montclair State University’s campus are experiencing coronavirus (COVID-19) fatigue and have relaxed on restrictions they were once strict with.
COVID-19 has been disrupting lives for over two years now, but once it started to calm down and cases dropped, students, many of whom are experiencing COVID fatigue, felt they could start to relax with rules.
Abby F., a senior television and digital media major, said she has eased up on her own personal COVID-19 guidelines.
Erin Lawlor | The Montclarion
Abby F., a senior television and digital media major, said she has eased up on her own personal COVID-19 guidelines.
“The second I walked in [the Student Center] I ripped off my mask,” Abby F. said. “And I have [obsessive compulsive disorder], so during the peak of [COVID-19] I was very particular about that stuff, like to the point where my boyfriend needed to wash his hands before even entering my apartment.”
Jordan Buckland, a senior education major, expressed that after he got his third dose of the vaccine, he really started to be more lenient with COVID-19 rules.
Erin Lawlor | The Montclarion
Jordan Buckland, a senior education major, said after he got his third dose of the vaccine, he started to be more lenient with COVID-19 rules.
“I wear my mask under my nose now,” Buckland said. “I don’t social distance really anymore and I don’t wear it in stores at all.”
Buckland believes everyone is in this together and needs to get vaccinated so the pandemic can be over for good.
Pat Farley, a senior television and digital media major, has been affected by COVID-19 fatigue.
“With cases going down and the last two years have been non-stop regulations, I think everyone is starting to [feel fatigue], especially me just because I’m a student,” Farley said. “I’m young, I’m 22. I want the world to open back up again so I can experience it.”
Pat Farley, a senior television and digital media major, has been affected by COVID-19 fatigue.
Erin Lawlor | The Montclarion
Farley is also a part of a comedy group on campus called The Undergrads. They started their freshman year in 2019, the year before COVID-19 hit.
“We started in 2019,” Farley said. “We started doing really well, picking up on TikTok and Instagram then [COVID-19] hit and everything changed. We had to do sketches from home and outdoor sketches which we hated.”
Farley said when they came back to campus they were able to do shows in person and get back to doing things they enjoyed. He explained this as a breath of fresh air that helped with their COVID-19 fatigue.
Kaya Mbodji, a sophomore exercise science major, said she has not been affected by COVID-19 fatigue.
Erin Lawlor | The Montclarion
Kaya Mbodji, a sophomore exercise science major, said she has not been affected by COVID-19 fatigue.
“It hasn’t really affected me,” Mbodji said. “I usually have a mask on me at all times even if I don’t wear it, but in school it is even required a lot more, so even if you’re going downstairs or throwing your trash out, you still need to have it on.”
Lauryn Miqueli, a sophomore sociology major, said she is a little more relaxed with COVID-19 rules.
Erin Lawlor | The Montclarion
Lauryn Miqueli, a sophomore sociology major, feels the same way, although she is a little more relaxed.
“I do notice I have it in my pockets or sometimes it’ll just be on my chin and I forget to put it on,” Miqueli said. “But in school I have professors who are very on top of that rule so in my classes you will see me wearing my mask, but [in a more] comfortable setting I won’t have it.”
A correction has been made to this article to improve specificity. A name has been changed per the request of the individual.
