Summary
Sharing space in hostels is a concern for many
Access to library and other facilities of the institute will now be available
Hostel corridors are buzzing with the laughter and chatter of students after a two-year lull. Final-year and post-graduate students and research scholars are on the priority list for access to campus facilities as campuses finally open up.
Hostelers share their excitement and anxiety as they settle down in their new homes.
Leaving the cocooned life
Living in a hostel makes one independent, enhances decision-making powers and enables one to stand up for himself or herself when required. This makes dynamic and smart individuals who are equipped to identify and solve day-to-day problems. “I have grown up as a single child at home. With the hostel reopening, I am looking forward to having roommates. I moved to the hostel on February 28. My friends have told me that the hostel has a huge area for physical activities. I am really excited because living inside the four walls and attending classes online has taken a toll on my health. A part of me is also anxious about sharing my living space with others as I am not used to it,” said Chandreyee Dey, a first-year Advertising and Public Relations post-graduate student of Amity University Mumbai.
Easy on the pocket
Students prefer hostels to alternate arrangements such as paying-guest accommodation because it is comparatively economical. “The reopening of hostels is a win-win situation for us. I am at present living at at Carmichael Hostel, Calcutta University. Not only students from nearby districts of Kolkata, but from across the state and country live here. The reopening of hostels is a big relief for those who cannot afford to live as paying guests or rent a place. Almost all residential facilities are available to us. We were also told that we will have a bus that will run from hostels to the campus,” said Tajbul Haque, a second-year Political Science postgraduate student of the University of Calcutta, Alipore campus.
Empty corridors of Calcutta University hostel. Student
Mess concerns
Students are not only concerned about moving out of their comfort zone but also apprehensive about the food that will be available. “I shifted from Jharkhand to Delhi on February 17 and since then I've been staying at the college hostel. For the very first time, shifting from my hometown and living independently makes me feel anxious. It is inevitable that the mess food can’t match the taste of home cooked food. Food is different. The hostelers here are provided meals four times a day starting from breakfast to dinner. I am missing my Duska and Litti Chokha,” said Harsheen Kaur, a first-year Biomedical Science student of Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, University of Delhi.
Shifting study base
Satyaki Barua, a final-year Political Science postgraduate student from the University of Hyderabad, has spent most of his college life confined at home. “This is going to be my first time in a hostel. and that too for one semester that is left. The entire online experience left me confined to my room. My room had become my classroom. It has been difficult for me to oscillate between online and offline mediums. Shifting to the hostel is a big change for me. Not only is this the first time I am moving out of home to a completely new place but also the first time I will be learning offline at the institution,” said the Chandannagore resident.
Hostel room of University of Hyderabad . Student
Social anxiety
Online education was a boon for students with social anxiety. They were relieved of the fear of interaction. With hostels reopening, students are not just meeting their classmates physically for the first time, they will now have to share a room. “Hostel is a completely new and unfamiliar environment for me. Though I am excited, a certain level of uncertainty plays in my mind. I hope I can cope with my academics now that everything has turned offline. I am also concerned about how I am going to interact with my fellow boarders. After spending one year confined to my room, suddenly we are expected to adjust to offline studies and hostel life,” said Subhankar Mondal, a second-year International Relations students from Jadavpur University.
Looming excitement
The reopening of campus hostels has been welcomed with much positivity and enthusiasm. Many missed out on the most important part of education. “I missed the classroom, library and the campus environment while studying online and from home. Life at home has been stagnant and productivity was limited. As a medical student who requires practical experiences, lab visits, connecting with seniors and discussing lectures with professors, coming back to the campus, especially hostel has been beneficial,” said Poulami Das, a second-year MBBS student from Pune who returns to her campus at Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College and Hospital (NRS), Kolkata.
Last updated on 02 Mar 2022
