If you’ve wondered what the University of Arkansas campus looked like at the end of April after we moved to remote operations and students moved out, we’ve got an eerie photo essay for you captured by student Noah Skalberg, a sophomore graphic design major.
What did campus feel like as you captured these images?
The campus felt eerie. Walking around through all the locations that are typically swimming with students and not seeing a soul was as if I had missed some mass exodus. Normally campus is brimming with energy, whether that’s students rushing to get to class or just hanging out outside, but it felt as if everything had just flipped inside out. Even when campus isn’t packed full, you can look around and see a fair amount of people. So, seeing campus like this instilled a sense of something being incredibly wrong.
What was campus supposed to feel like at that time?
Normally at the time that I went out people would be coming to and from afternoon classes, the buses would be running, and there would be members of clubs and organizations outside the Union talking to people. There are also usually a bunch of people hanging out in the Greek Theatre, getting sun or studying. Students would be swarming the on-campus Starbucks, like always. Yet there was nothing happening and no one around.
How do these images you captured make you feel?
It’s very off-putting to look at these pictures because they are all sunny and bright but knowing what I know about the circumstances, and the fact that I would never have gotten to take these without special circumstances, makes it all the more strange. I’m glad that I was able to capture how life is on campus during this pandemic, so capturing them was kind of fun, those but overall they are a bit unsettling for me.
