College Life in Quarantine: Struggles and Resilience

This episode contains strong language.

Infected with the coronavirus and separated from their peers in special dorms, some college students have taken to sharing their quarantine experiences on TikTok.

In some videos posted to the social media app, food is a source of discontent; one student filmed a disappointing breakfast — warm grape juice, an unripe orange, a “mystery” vegan muffin and an oat bar. Others broach more profound issues like missed deliveries of food and supplie.

It was within this TikTok community that Natasha Singer, our business technology reporter, found 19-year-old Zoie Terry, a sophomore at the University of Alabama, who was one of the first students to be sequestered at her college’s isolation facility.

Today, we speak to Ms. Terry about her experience and explore what it tells us about the reopening of colleges.

Guest: Natasha Singer, a technology reporter for The New York Times, spoke with Zoie Terry, a sophomore at the University of Alabama.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Background reading:

• Across America, colleges that have reopened for in-person teaching are struggling to contain the spread of the coronavirus. To this end, the institutions are using one of the oldest infection control measures: quarantine.
• While universities in other states were closing their doors, the University of Alabama opened up to students, banking on its testing and technology program to prevent an outbreak.

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