Every year, early December means a lot of final tests and projects and stress for students everywhere. Students find themselves staying up late grinding to get through the end of the semester. Often students at AIC forget that a good meal can give them the energy they need to get through these academically trying times. Faculty and staff here at AIC have found a solution to this problem. Every year on the first week of finals for the fall semester, AIC has a breakfast for dinner night at the Dining Commons. This year, on the 7^th of December, the DC reopened at 9:00pm  for students to grab another bite to eat and get a little break from their schoolwork.

Due to the Coronavirus, this year’s event only hosted around one hundred students. This was different compared to past years, where it felt like the whole school was in DC at once. Even with the smaller crowd, it still felt like a party. On the 7^th there had been more people in DC than there had been all year.

Junior Christ Theodor thought the event was well-attended. “It was very nice seeing a lot of people actually,” he said. “All year it felt like there was no one here.” Chris also described how it was nice seeing everyone because it reminded us that we are not in this alone, even though it may feel like it.

As the night approached, campus was filled with seasonal cheer. The decorations were up in the DC, putting everyone in the holiday mood. Luka Maver, a senior on campus, said, “I love seeing the decorations every year. It reminds me of when my family gets together to decorate the house for the season. It also lets us know that we are almost halfway done with the year. And for me, this is my last year; I am so close to graduating.”

The holidays bring back a bunch of good memories for students. Chris Dodero, another senior on campus, said, “Christmas always brings me back to the outdoors [playing] hockey. Some buddies and I would always get together and play. I miss those times. It is sad this year because we (the hockey team) don’t get to go home at all for the holidays because of the virus.”

The DC reopening that night did a lot more than feed the students. After getting a small taste of what it used to be like around the campus, it reminded us of how lively it can be, and we hope that we are on the right path to getting things back to normal. We have all suffered this year; not getting together with everyone and hanging out has made it really difficult to enjoy this year as a college student. When you think back on your college days, you want to think of all the experiences you had and all the relationships you built. Many students on campus find themselves asking that if the students are kept from doing that, what is the point of the “college experience”?

Seeing life in DC has had a positive impact on everyone on campus. All year it has felt like a ghost town. But everyone being brought together in the tough times of finals week really uplifted everyone. Getting a chance to live like normal, even though it was concise, motivated the community and allowed us to push through these tough times to get through to the other side.