The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 12

October 27, 2020 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 4 Features My experience coming back to campus amidst a pandemic Let me preface by stating that I have been a commuter student for my whole college career. Regardless, I found myself spending full days on campusevenafterclasses.Whetheritbeattending a Greek life event or in the Blackbox managing props for a play, I became very comfortable here. As an active student pre-pandemic, my time on campus would often total up to 12 hours a day. Each semester, I would wake up early for classes that started before 10 a.mand I’d arrive home just before 10 p.m. on the days I had night classes. That being said, there have been numerous changes to not only my routines on campus, but changes in the overall ways I nowprepare for my days during a global pandemic. Back inMarch, it was hard to envisionwhat this fall semester would look like. I spent around six months in a strict quarantine with my parents, one of which is immunocompromised, and my brother. I missed my daily commute. I missed looking for a parking spot in peak hours of the afternoon after leaving campus for Chipotle. Now, parking on campus is much easier. Usually, if I arrived on campus around 11 a.m., I would have to trek through aisles of cars to reach the UC. Now, I can expect prime parking at all hours of the day. Currently, I spend around five hours a day on campus either working or attending class. A few things have remained the same. Walking through the UC, I can still hear the metal weights of the Recplex, the chatter of students from the pit and the occasional UC Spine event and life seems to be back to normal. Of course, wearing a mask, I will make my way up the levels of the PVAwing, where I can find students studying in masks and signs of encouragement in Shark blue. Every hour, I can spot staff members keeping surfaces clean. America is still in the midst of a pandemic.We cannot forget this. We must all do our part to keep ourselves and the community safe. It is easy to wear a mask in public and frequently wash your hands. These are small prices to pay for the slow down of a deadly disease. Overall, it has been nice to find sanity in old routines. Regardless of new safety protocols, campus has remained one of my happy places during times of absolute mayhem. Gill Out: Change Doughnuts Miniature doughnuts, enough said. Change Doughnuts is a local food truck that makes miniature cake doughnuts fresh with each order. They have countless combinations of toppings and frostings that range from simple powdered sugar to apple pie topped. My favorite doughnuts are the Boston cream, which are plain doughnuts topped with chocolate frosting and crème and the apple explosion, which are doughnuts topped with apple pie filling and a vanilla drizzle. Not only does Change Doughnuts have doughnuts, they also have amazing homemade Italian sodas and delicious ice cream sundaes that, of course, incorporate their signature miniature cake doughnut. While many people prefer yeast doughnuts to cake doughnuts, the doughnuts here are fresh, hot and just melt in your mouth. You can find Change doughnuts in the Home Depot parking lot of University in the Tower Shoppes Plaza on Saturdays, so long as the weather holds up. I discovered them while at the plaza looking for things for my apartment, and I go far too often now. You can hire them to cater an event, simply order a big box of 40 doughnuts for only $32 or even just six doughnuts for $6.75. I usually go for a big box to take home and share with my roommates, and as an added bonus, the owners of the truck are both NSU graduates. When you pull up to the green and white food truck, you are greeted with the smell of fresh doughnuts and a friendly person wearing a mask and social distancing, ready to take your order. Do not worry. They have a sign that has their menu on it or you can just say “Surprise me” and you will not be disappointed in the selection. Of all the doughnuts that I have tried, not a single one has been bad; they are all so tasty and the Italian sodas are the perfect drink to wash it all down. Overall, Change Doughnuts is an amazing food truck and they are definitely worth paying a visit to. From doughnuts to ice cream and soda, you will not be disappointed. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY B. RAMNAUTH 40 doughnuts for $32 By: Briana Ramnauth Contributing Writer By: Siena Berardi Sports Editor PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY M. RINKA Lonely benches, empty hangout spots and barren hallways are just a few side effects of going to college in a pandemic