Colorado State University was one of many college campuses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. CSU’s Ram Stories Symposium was put together by the CSU Libraries and Public Lands History Center.

This event allowed students to share their pandemic experiences and connect through them. The symposium was structured as follows: the keynote address and reflections by a select group of CSU leadership, CSU student interviewees sharing their stories of COVID-19 and, lastly, an informal roundtable discussion.

After the keynote address, three CSU students shared their stories about COVID-19 and being a student at CSU during that time.

“What I remember the most from the fall of freshman year is how hungry I was. I was so hungry because we could not get enough food from the dining halls, and it wasn’t until the second semester that they finally let up a little bit on the rules, and we could get two boxes of food. But I was so hungry, I think I lost 15 pounds in four months. It was awful.” -Gray La Fond, CSU student

Molly Campbell, a senior at CSU, is taking a nontraditional route. She is majoring in wildlife biology with a minor in history.

In spring 2021 Campbell’s grandmother passed away, and she realized she didn’t get to see her during the pandemic — she felt like it was COVID-19’s fault, even though her grandmother didn’t die from COVID-19. Campbell struggled with learning online because she has dyslexia, and she ended up buying groceries to keep in her dorm because of the issues with the dining halls.

“When we went back to campus, I had very similar feelings about the food,” Campbell said. “It was very limited. They gave you only so many options. You had to pick … way ahead of time and then go pick it up. And that was really like, … I did not enjoy that. I remember just thinking, ‘OK, I’m not doing that. I’m gonna go to the store and buy a whole bunch of food (and) keep that in my room and not go to the dining center because that doesn’t work for me.’ It just didn’t, you know. The food was, to say, terrible.”

Gray La Fond is currently a senior at CSU double majoring in geography and anthropology. They had just graduated high school when COVID-19 hit.

They suffered from hunger — losing about 15 pounds when the dining halls were closed.

“What I remember the most from the fall of freshman year is how hungry I was,” La Fond said. “I was so hungry because we could not get enough food from the dining halls, and it wasn’t until the second semester that they finally let up a little bit on the rules, and we could get two boxes of food. But I was so hungry, I think I lost 15 pounds in four months. It was awful.”

Tallan Barrow-Traylor is a fifth-year senior majoring in ecosystem sciences and sustainability with a minor in sustainable energy.

During his interview, Barrow-Traylor shared a story of when COVID-19 first hit. The first time he and his two roommates went to the store, he had to make a makeshift mask but decided he couldn’t go out in public wearing a bright red and black bandana as a Black man.

“I walked out in my high school bandana, which my high school’s colors were bright red, black and gray,” Barrow-Traylor said. “So it’s just a nice bright red bandana that I had over my mouth and nose. If you can imagine what that looks like on somebody like me, it wasn’t the most appealing. It looked a little bit terrifying because if I walk into a grocery store looking like I was, I’m going to case the joint.”

Ram Stories is searching for people to share their stories, and they strongly urge anyone seeking more connections to their fellow CSU peers to reach out.

Reach Rebekah Barry at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @csucollegian.