The heart and soul of university life is Student Services, a non-profit organization run with independent finances. Many aspects of student life on campus are run through Student Services, including Háma, Stúdentakjallarinn, the University Bookstore, student housing, and three daycare centers. “We try to do what we can to make students’ lives as easy as possible,” says Rebekka Sigurðardóttir, spokesperson for Student Services.

Stúdentablaðið/Sædís Harpa Stefánsdóttir

A shift in reality

Everything changed with the emergence of COVID. “Of course, the first change came in March, when the university decided to shut down all the buildings and lock the doors,” Rebekka says. “Suddenly, all our clients were gone. Of course, we still had children in daycares and people living in student housing, but everyone’s reality changed overnight, including ours.”

They had to close all of their services that were located on campus and find other ways to keep their business going. “All our websites have improved greatly,” Rebekka says, adding that students can get all their books from the University Bookstore through the internet. Other services are also available online, which means that there is more service provided through that domain than there was before. “We also added home delivery service on books,” she says. “If you ordered your books before noon, you could have them delivered the same day.” Student housing contracts are now signed online, and other online services are also in the process of being improved in response to the new reality.

A glimmer of hope

In May, food services reopened. Around June, things began to look up, and it appeared as though life would go on as usual around campus. “At the end of July, it seemed like university life would be as regular in the fall,” says Rebekka. The staff at Student Services were eager to be up and running again.

“Then things changed again. When classes started at the end of August, the guideline was that everybody was to stay at home and study online as much as possible,” Rebekka says. “But the freshmen were allowed to come to campus, and teachers and professors were encouraged to provide classes for them.” Over 2,000 new students arrived to attend classes at the university, many of them international students. “Most of the people who had applied for student housing did arrive in the end.” The air was thick with anticipation.

Not out of the woods

Then the worst happened. A new infection was reported on campus. Immediately, Student Services sprang into action. “Everything happened really quickly,” Rebekka says. Student Services worked closely with the university security committee when the first infection was reported on campus. “When an infection was confirmed in Háma, we were immediately notified by the contact tracing team.” Within hours, everyone in Háma in Háskólatorg was sent into quarantine and testing. “We follow very strict guidelines, and we do that willingly.”

Even before the infection on campus, every precaution was taken to ensure that the strictest hygiene protocols were followed. Since the beginning of the year, everyone working at Háma has had to wear a mask and gloves. Everything is disinfected regularly. So even though the infection was disappointing and quite a shock, it was a relief to know that everything had been done correctly.

“The good thing is that if there are specialists anywhere within the community, they are on this spot right here,” Rebekka says, speaking of university staff who have been working closely with the Directorate of Health and other authorities, as well as deCODE, which has been providing equipment and testing since March. Most recently, they offered free testing for all university students and staff. “They knew what to do, and it was handled correctly,” Rebekka says. “I’m pretty sure you will not be able to find such a great number of people in a small area who have been tested for COVID as on the university campus.”

A new normal

Student Services is learning to operate with new restrictions after the infections on campus, but the long-term financial impact is unforeseeable. Since the best way to stay healthy in these times is to stay away, most people are working or studying from home and not on campus. “That’s the big problem we’re dealing with at the moment. There are no people here, and therefore no profit on food services,” Rebekka says.

Even though there are some students and staff members ambling about on the grounds, life on campus is hardly recognizable. “At the moment, it is mostly in the food service section of our operations, because if there are no students, and there’s no staff, then there’s no one to feed, so it’s very difficult,” Rebekka says. Students and staff members can also plainly see the influence these restrictions must have on Háma, Stúdentakjallarinn, and the University Bookstore. “Usually, this time of year is very pleasant and joyful; you can hardly walk through the building because it is full of life, with loads of enthusiastic people going in and out of classes, buying their books, sitting down for food and drinks, and hanging out with friends and colleagues.”

The biggest shock was not only the swiftness with which decisions were made to put the university online and have staff work from home, but people’s ability to adapt to new rules. “Though it is a good thing, I’m a bit surprised by how obedient people are, to tell the truth,” Rebekka says. “I mean, when I first saw and read [the guidelines], I thought: This is never going to work... but I’ve been surprised at how well people have followed the guidelines and how quickly it has happened.” She adds that at the same time, it shouldn’t surprise her. “At the end of the day, most people want things to function and to get back to their normal lives as soon as possible.”

While she respects the rules put into place, like most other people she is eager to have things return to normal. “I think that such a great and important part of university life is to be involved, interact, and be in the company of other people who are doing the same thing,” she says. “It’s very challenging having to stay at home, both mentally and academically, especially when you’re a freshman or an international student who has no friends or family around.” Here’s hoping that the curve flattens again soon.

Student Life During the Apocalypse