A Show of Holiday Cheer, in Spite of It All

The academic year started out triumphant, as colleges returned to in-person learning after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted most campuses to go remote last year. Students, largely vaccinated and often masked, resumed activities, sports and social events. Things felt almost normal again.

The sudden arrival of the Omicron variant spurred some campuses to close early and creates uncertainty for the coming semester, but the season’s annual crop of holiday videos mainly focuses on the excitement of being reunited and hopes for a better next year.

Celebrating another year of resilience, Brown University honors members of its community, including the women’s volleyball team, the Indigenous Narragansett tribe and EmpowerU, an ed-tech start-up.

The University of Alabama’s video shows mascot Big Al decorating the campus with an assist from President Stuart Bell.

In Danville Area Community College’s offering, mascot Mick Jaguar spreads holiday cheer and helps students decorate a Christmas tree.

Indiana University’s video depicts students and community members helping President Pamela Whitten assemble a gingerbread house.

Many of the video greetings feature campus musical groups. In Duke University’s video, the a cappella groups Pitchforks and Out of the Blue sing “Let It Snow.”

Michigan State University’s College of Music greeting features a special brass quintet version of the classic “Sleigh Ride,” composed by Leroy Anderson.

Fordham University shares some of its favorite memories from 2021.

Rice University features various student musical groups, including the Dorrington Quartet and the Mariachi Luna Llena band.

The video from Oral Roberts University shows students singing karaoke to classic holiday tunes.

In the video greeting from Texas A&M University College of Engineering, students and other community members share what they’re grateful for.

In Western Piedmont Community College’s video, faculty and staff members from various departments wish the community a happy holiday.

SUNY Corning Community College recalls the frustrations of the past year of Zoom meetings and celebrates coming together in person—masked—in the end.

Inside Higher Ed wishes all our readers a happy and healthy holiday season!