What happens to the university’s most vulnerable when public health and mental health collide?
Story by Hannah Towey
Graphic by Elizabeth Bryant
UNC first-year Winter Earnhardt was wearing Carolina blue when she read her acceptance letter. “I’ve been a Tar Heel since I could walk,” Earnhardt said. “I was shaking, I was so excited.”
Now, after just after one week of class, Earnhardt and thousands of other students have been told to pack up and go home.
“While we’re sitting in class, you can hear families moving out in the hallway,” Earnhardt said. A wooden bunk bed stood bare behind her, as her roommate moved boxes and suitcases outside their door. “It feels like we’re back in move-in, minus all the happiness of it.”
As hundreds of COVID-19 cases spread across campus, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill notified students that they had until August 25th to cancel their housing contracts and return to their permanent addresses for the fall.
After hearing the university’s announcement, Earnhardt and her three suitemates walked down Franklin Street and around campus, soaking in one last glimpse of the school of their dreams.
“Just being able to walk around campus and seeing other people together. To me, that’s so exciting,” Earnhardt said. “Then we walked out there this morning and the quad is empty. The Pit is empty… it feels apocalyptic almost.”
Earnhardt is a chemistry major and a cadet in UNC’s ROTC program. Upon graduation, she will commit to four years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force.
Her ROTC classes were originally taught in-person, but are now being conducted over Zoom. Earnhardt and the other cadets continue to wear their military uniforms to class, one habit they hope will create a sense of normalcy during an otherwise chaotic start to the semester.
UNC first-year Winter Earnhardt attends class virtually from her home in Statesville, North Carolina. (Photo courtesy of Winter Earnhardt)
“Coming in freshman year I was scared enough,” Earnhardt said. “Now doing it at home, after I’ve just gotten acclimated to a new environment and having to reprogram everything. I’m really scared.”
Dr. Allen O’Barr, a psychiatrist and the director of UNC’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), said he expects first-year students to experience a sense of disconnection and anxiety after starting college under such intense conditions.
“Regardless of the pandemic, it’s hard to come into a population of 30 thousand people and try to establish yourself and your identity,” he said. “In general that’s anxiety provoking. You’re not sure what your expectations are going to be, you’re not sure if you’ll be accepted, you’re not sure if you’ll fit in. And then all of a sudden you’re trying to do it during a pandemic.”
BJ Miles, a first-year from Greenville, N.C., moved out from Craige Residence Hall the morning after classes were moved online. The freshman dorm building is home to one of 13 Covid-19 clusters located across UNC.
Without a roommate or opportunities for socialization, he felt mentally and physically unsafe during his brief time on campus. He found himself alone in his room for hours at a time, only able to meet new people in the socially-distanced dining halls.
“Two days ago I was eating in the dining hall and I just felt a sense of stress and anxiety, I just couldn’t breathe,” Miles said. “It was just really, it was really bad.”
However, Miles was disappointed to leave behind the few connections he has made thus far, especially fellow students of color who have helped him feel more included and understood than in his hometown.
“Where I’m from, there are people who are uneducated and racist, so it was nice to come somewhere where I feel welcomed with open arms and see people who look like me,” Miles said.
Olafur Palsson, a professor at the UNC School of Medicine, recently led a study that assessed the emotional and mental impacts of COVID-19 on the U.S adult population.
“Younger people were more affected by it than older individuals, and the Hispanic population seemed to be the most impacted emotionally when comparing ethnic groups,” Palsson said. “Understanding the psychological side of this pandemic has been somewhat neglected because there is so much else that is of concern right now.”
The study’s co-authors said the emotional impact of the pandemic could be part of a “growing mental health crisis,” as more and more people experience pandemic-related anxiety and depression.
Earnhardt, like most students, chose to enroll at UNC in large part due to the vibrant campus and community. Looking back, she doesn’t think she would have chosen differently, but misses the sense of togetherness she first felt as she shouted for joy in Carolina blue.
For students struggling with the mental health implications of recent events, O’Barr advised: “Don’t give up hope. Especially if you’re in social isolation and can’t be with someone else… know that it’s going to be OK. We are a resilient species.”
