As everyone is aware, many things have had to change due to COVID-19. One of the biggest problems because of the pandemic is the lack of social interaction for college students. People are inherently social creatures, and college is supposed to be a time for young adults to have fun with friends. For everyone to stay safe and healthy, Geneseo has many rules in place about gatherings.
For those who are unaware, Geneseo recently sent emails about visitation rules in residence halls and off-campus behavior. Director of Residence Life Sarah Frank sent an email on Sept. 29 outlining that students could now visit friends who reside in the same dorm building while wearing masks and adhering to other rules. Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio emailed the same day clarifying that any gathering on- or off- campus must be less than twice the number of students in that residence. For example, if there are four people in a suite, you cannot have more than eight people in their room at a time. Plus, the visitors must be from the same dorm building and adhere to the rules in Frank’s email. These guidelines will help keep the college community safe while hopefully allowing students to slowly do more activities together.
While residence life and off-campus living may not be the same, there are still plenty of fun activities for roommates and a few select friends to do from the comfort of your home! Below are 10 activities that you all can do for a perfect night-in!
- Have a Movie Marathon
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Get that microwave popcorn ready because this is a classic event that everyone can enjoy. With a plethora of streaming services, there’s hundreds of choices for you to choose from.
To spice things up, you could choose a themed movie night. Laugh until your stomach aches with a bunch of comedies or scream your heads off at horror films. You could also swoon with a cute romance. There are so many genres that you can have a movie night for at least every day of the week!
No matter if you decide to choose a theme or go random, make sure you’re either taking turns or agreeing on the film. A movie night is only fun if everyone likes at least one of the movies.
- Binge a TV Show
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Like your classic movie night, finding a show to watch with your roommate while doing work or having a night-in can be a great option. Nothing lets you bond with your friends like swooning over new actors, fighting over ships and sharing a fictional experience together.
With so many shows to choose from, it could get overwhelming. If you get stuck, you can look at Her Campus at Geneseo writers’ recent recommendations for TV shows, such as Carmen Sandiego, The West Wing or The Owl House.
- Play Games
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This topic encompasses all games: video games, board games and card games. Rather than split them up, it’s easier to group them together since they’re all variations of competition. You could see if you or your roommates have some gaming consoles such as the Wii U or Xbox One lying around that could be brought up.
If you need to give your eyes a break from screens, there’s also board games and card games to choose from. If you want to get competitive and play for hours, find Monopoly or Life. You could get Cards Against Humanity or Uno. You could even play dozens of games with a simple deck of cards!
With so many games to choose from, there’s definitely something that every roommate could get on board with.
- Host a Spa Night
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Having a spa night is often a fun way to also practice self-care. You and your roommates could paint each other’s nails or do a face mask. These are simple things, but there’s so many advanced spa tricks that you and your roommates could try. The best part about this one is that you could watch movies or TV shows while you’re doing all of these!
- Play Some Music
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Sometimes, it feels like you just need to let loose. Turn up some music, grab your friends and sing and dance at the top of your lungs. Well, as loud as you can if you’re in a residence hall. This is a great way to relieve some tension and even get a bit of a workout in if you’re dancing for a while.
- Cook or Bake Something
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Many people began experimenting with cooking over quarantine. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in the kitchen at home unless I was helping my mom, but I’ve been cooking since I’ve been here in Geneseo. I have made homemade fried rice, mac and cheese and baked ziti. My roommates and I also tried to make a brownie/cookie dessert thing for our other roommate’s birthday in the slow cooker that ended up taking 24 hours to cook. It was super tedious because we must have messed up somewhere, but it was fun! It also tasted like fudge.
If you’re in the dorms and it’s a shared space, make sure you’re considerate of the area. Clean-up, wear masks and follow whatever rules that Geneseo has for common areas in buildings. I live off-campus, so I’m not aware of all the rules, but just be considerate and clean up after yourselves!
- Exercise or Workout
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This may be a weird activity to think about, but you probably used to go to the gym with your friends. Why is exercising in your home any different?
While this could be dancing as mentioned in a previous number, you could also find an online workout to do. It could be cardio intensive, yoga, Zumba or anything that gets your body flowing.
- Get Artsy
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This could be challenging if none of your roommates are crafty, but that’s the fun part! You can cut up old shirts and create new designs. You could buy some tie dye to go an extra step further. You could do a Bob Ross night and buy some canvases and paint. There’s so many DIY projects online that you and your friends will have to find at least one you could do and enjoy.
- Do a Puzzle
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A puzzle is different from a board or card game and deserves its own number because it’s not competitive. You and your roommates are working toward a common goal. You can start off easy with 500 pieces or you can grab that 2,000-piece puzzle from home and work on it throughout a week. Bonus points if you can finish the puzzle in one night, even if you have to stay awake until 3 a.m. to do it!
- Go Outside (Safely)
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Okay, while this one isn’t something you can do from inside your home, it’s something that you can do with your friends. You can sit outside on the grass or even take a walk with friends. Roaming around with friends can often turn into a crazy adventure.
Overall, you and your roommates probably need to get fresh air every so often. When you’re constantly staring at screens for hours on end, fresh air is key to making sure you’re doing okay. Just make sure you carry masks if you’re walking in case you run into people on-campus or Main Street.
No matter what you and your friends decide to do, please make sure that you’re following any rules set in place by the college and staying safe.
Hopefully, something on this list could be a new activity you and your friends can bond over during these uncertain times!