Despite less than 1 percent of the U.S. population having completed a marathon, according to Everyday Health, many University of Maryland students are ready to take on the challenge.

If training to run 26.2 miles wasn’t enough, another semester of college adds to the pressure. Some students at this university aren’t letting that hold them back, like Camilla Rinaldi.

The senior environmental science and policy major ran the Marine Corps Marathon in October. This was Rinaldi’s second marathon, having run her first one last fall on the C&O Canal Towpath, a nearly 185-mile trail along the Potomac River.

Training for the marathon while balancing college life was stressful, Rinaldi said.

“Some days I’d have to get up at 5 a.m. just so I’d be done running by nine and then could go to my 10 a.m. class,” she said. “It was a sacrifice that I wanted to make in the end.”

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Katie Monahan, a senior marketing and supply chain management major, acknowledged the difficulty of training alongside academics.

Like Rinaldi, she said she sometimes struggled with motivation, especially during her grueling training sessions.

“I’d be waking up before all my roommates and running for four hours … it was hard,” Monahan said. “But it was all worth it in the end.”

Both Rinaldi and Monahan said they ultimately found the inspiration to continue pushing on, despite the hardships.

As a long-distance runner since fifth grade, Rinaldi said she still finds it thrilling.

“I always knew I was going to do a marathon. I just didn’t know it would be this early in my life because I thought it would be too hard to do with college,” Rinaldi said. “But after running for so many months, you just kind of get your schedule down.”

Monahan said her dad, who ran around 30 marathons, inspired her to try one herself.

As Monahan ran her first-ever marathon, her dad ran his 22nd and final Marine Corps Marathon.

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“He gave me a lot of advice on how to train and how to fuel properly,” Monahan said.

For students like Malia Schmelzer, these long-distance runs can become more spontaneous affairs.

Schmelzer, a sophomore philosophy, politics and economics and Spanish major, ran her first half marathon on Saturday at the Ocean City Running Festival.

She went into the half marathon with minimal training. Schmelzer wanted to get back into running and decided to try out a half marathon for fun.

“I didn’t know what I was getting into, but there were a lot of people,” Schmelzer said. “The adrenaline’s gonna get you through, even if you haven’t really run a whole lot.”

Schmelzer called the half marathon a “great experience,” with support from both runners and crowds on the sidelines.

“Families everywhere … everybody from all ages there cheering, it was just really wholesome,” Schmelzer said.

After completing her first half, Schmelzer tossed around the idea of a full marathon in the future but with more training. Monahan similarly sees herself continuing to run marathons after college. Rinaldi hopes to do one marathon every year.

Monahan said that once you start running races as long as half and full marathons, you have to keep going back for more.

“I feel like I have the bug now. It was just so much fun,” Monahan said. “And the crowd was so great that I think it’s just something that will be fun to work towards.”

From inter-collegiate competitive leagues to laid-back tournaments, the club’s different playing styles allow every member to find their place.

Christopher Nagel, a sophomore aerospace engineering major and co-leader of the club, said the club participates in online collegiate leagues, where students from other colleges form their own teams with their club members and compete head-to-head.

“[Students] start up these leagues. They invite schools to play along, and each school just forms a team, and then we all organize and play,” Nagel said. “There were 80 [schools] last year that participated, so that’s a pretty big crowd.”

The club played in Division 1 status last semester. This university has been a fierce competitor, winning against teams from colleges like the University of California, Los Angeles.

Although all members strive to be tournament champions, for some students, the club is a hopeful reminder to push through the week for rewarding gaming time on Friday.

Senior computer science major Andy Diep said playing Mario Kart can bring back fun childhood memories.

“[It] can really bring the feeling of nostalgia,” Diep said. “[It helps] remind yourself that college is not just all about schoolwork,”

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Instead of competing at his house, he’s now one of many students bringing their skills to Mario Kart club’s weekly tournament. By Friday evening, Stamp’s Baltimore Room is filled with the sight of huddled players, wide monitor screens and combative energy fueling the fire of the tournaments. Students scramble their fingers across joysticks trying to pass their opponents.

Anyone can join in, from those just dabbling with the game to people playing since childhood. The winner earns the title of tournament champion until the next meeting.

Arvin Oruganti, a junior computer science major, said everyone can find their own level of commitment in the club.

“Mario Kart club has everything. You have both the competitive side, but you can also show up here as more of a casual thing,” Oruganti said.

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Juan Leon, a sophomore economics major, said the club’s competitive side is thrilling, where members are ready to take each other down.

“It’s a solo game, so you want to win,” Leon said.

Oruganti said he sees the club as a means of advancement by building connections and learning through casual competition with fellow members.

“It’s not about competing. For me personally, it’s more about improving myself,” Oruganti said.

Nagel said he’s played Mario Kart since childhood, starting on a Nintendo Wii and DS. The club appeals to a lot of different students because of the connections it forms, he added.

“It’s fun to come out and meet like-minded people who also enjoy this game … just having a blast,” Nagel said.

The student-run group is a chapter of the Hindu socio-spiritual organization. Students and volunteers have held an annual Diwali festival at this university for more than 10 years, inviting anyone to join in the celebration.

Shruti Bhatt, an alum of this university, helped organize the annual celebration when she was a student. After graduating in 2019, she continued supporting the festival’s preparations as a volunteer.

“[Diwali] is commonly known as the Festival of Lights, and it signifies the triumph of good over evil, light over dark and knowledge over ignorance,” Bhatt said. “But if we look a little bit deeper than that, it’s also about taking a moment to pause and to reflect and to introspect.”

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As they walked into the Grand Ballroom, students and visitors were guided through a series of educational exhibits highlighting different aspects of Diwali. The theme of this year’s holiday was forgiveness.

“A lot of stuff happens throughout your life,” said Khushi Patel, who graduated from this university last spring. “You don’t know how to deal with it, but forgiving yourself and forgiving your past is sometimes the only way you can move forward.”

The evening’s stations ranged from explanatory to interactive. The first part of the walkthrough offered information on each of the five days of Diwali. Other posters described the teachings of religious leader Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Visitors also used colored rice to create Rangoli, which Bhatt described as a “traditional Indian art form of different geometric shapes.”

After making their way through the walkthrough, visitors filed into chairs to watch the night’s program. On stage in front of the audience was an elaborate shrine filled with offerings as part of a tradition called annakut. Projectors played videos of worshipers and community members at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple in Beltsville.

Co-president of the campus fellowship group and freshman aerospace engineering major Nidhi Brahmbhatt said teamwork was pivotal in creating this festival and everything the organization does.

“Everyone always shows up, and they do everything together,” Brahmbhatt said.

The night’s presentation centered on spiritual reflection, music and community. Speakers emphasized the importance of forgiving one another and developing unity.

Student performers led the crowd in prayer hymns, singing with one another and playing musical instruments like the sārangī, a stringed instrument that mimics the sound of a human voice.

After the hour-long program came to a close, visitors lined up for dishes such as paneer, jeera rice and boondi ladoo.

“It seems like it’s a very loving and joyful celebration,” Antonia Swad, a student at George Washington University, said after the event. 

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Swad, who was invited by her friend and fellow George Washington student Stuti Rao, said Tuesday’s event was her first Diwali festival.

Rao, who has been involved with the Beltsville temple, helps organize the Diwali event every year. For her, this year’s theme of forgiveness is timely.

“That’s a really important thing to have in this day and age, especially because we’re going through a lot right now,” Rao said. “Forgiving yourself, forgiving others, forgiving your community, I think that’s a really important theme to have.”

She remembers going door to door in her neighborhood, usually with her brother, and always having a fun night.  

“There’s kind of a stigma from people,” the junior geography major said. “It gets into this teenage hooligan idea and it’s just kind of disapproved.”

When you’re a kid, Halloween means knocking on doors with a pillowcase full of candy. Somewhere between middle school and college, that thrill becomes something you’re “too old” for. On college campuses and at the University of Maryland, most students wouldn’t dream of saying “trick or treat,” even if they still want to. 

There’s no rule that college students can’t go trick-or-treating; the unwritten expectation that they don’t is rooted in maturity and social expectations. 

“People just get less into it as they get older,” sophomore communication major Ava Zotollo said. “They might get embarrassed to be walking around neighborhoods and knocking on doors.”

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Zotollo said students could revisit trick-or-treating as a nostalgic way to reconnect with their childhood. She would go trick-or-treating again if others joined too, she added. 

Sociology lecturer and academic advisor Amy McLaughlin said many people view trick-or-treating as something meant for children.

But McLaughlin said the excitement of childhood Halloween traditions could be recreated on college campuses if people work together to create their own version of it. 

“It is a purely fun holiday for kids with dressing up and getting free candy,” McLaughlin said. “It brings about only good memories.”

Although Cohen doesn’t trick-or-treat on campus, she said it’s fun to celebrate with friends and put effort into costumes. 

In dorms, resident assistants look to create festive feels during the holiday through dorm decorations and free candy handed out to students. 

But when Halloween night arrives, many turn to flashing lights, music and crowded rooms. On college campuses, students hop from bar to bar instead of door to door like they did in the past.

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Even so, McLaughlin believes that if students dive into their childhood traditions of trick-or-treating, they might feel like an escape of responsibility and tradition to adulthood.  

“There’s a lot of pressure on the generation that is kind of aging out of trick or treating now, and I think that doing something fun and kind of recreating the magic of your childhood,” McLaughlin said. “It is a real escape and it’s a night of low stress and just high fun.”

Hernández, who performed at Colin Jost’s homecoming comedy show in 2022, returned to campus for a night of stand-up, storytelling and shared laughs. His set covered a variety of personal topics, from childhood shenanigans to the many differences between white and Latino people. He even touched on pressing issues like gender, mental health and friendship.

His announcement as the 2025 Homecoming Comedy headliner generated buzz among students at this university. Some recognized Hernández from NBC’s Saturday Night Live, where he has been a cast member since 2022.

“I just knew he was from SNL, and I watched the clips online,” Katerina Floros, a freshman chemistry major, said. “So I was like, that sounds pretty fun.”
Others, like Ava Cook, a freshman biology and biological sciences major, and Noah Oppelt, a freshman aerospace engineering major, added that while they don’t watch SNL regularly, they were super excited to see a cast member live.

For some, like Reed Thomas, the announcement felt especially meaningful.

“I was really excited, because my household, we watch SNL, so we love Marcello,” the freshman secondary English education major said.

Many recognized Hernández from one sketch in particular — the recurring “Domingo,” which first appeared in 2024. It quickly became an unbeatable pop culture sensation, according to Oppelt.

“I always see the Domingo clips, and it’s probably my favorite sketch right now,” said Floros.

Domingo’s viral success set the stage for Hernández’s live performance, where fans eagerly anticipated the same banter and charm he brought to the screen.

Before he took to the stage, Hernández had two openers, comedian Matt Richards and fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Tommy Brennan. Richards set the tone for the evening by poking fun at the chaotic events of 2025, keeping things playful and fun.

After Richards, Brennan performed a set that focused on growing up Catholic with many sisters.

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Hernández’s own set drew consistent audience engagement and laughs all around.

Siobhan Nunn, a freshman anthropology and English major, said Hernández particularly excelled at certain jokes.

“He was definitely poking fun at a lot of racial groups,” Nunn said. “I thought it was still nice that he was saying we could just all make fun of each other. ”

Some students applauded Hernández’s handling of jokes about sensitive topics like gender. Rather than relying on cheap shots or stereotypes, they felt his jokes were funny while staying respectful.

“Sometimes, male comedians, they’ll talk about women, and they’ll be kind of punching down,” Thomas said. “But a lot of his comedy about women was actually uplifting.”

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Students also praised Hernández’s comedic techniques, such as his dynamic movements, dramatic exclamations and use of repetition, which were interspersed throughout the set.

“When he’s on SNL, he does a lot of crazy body theatrics and stuff. And I love that he still did that here,” Nunn said.

As Hernández’s performance came to a close, students like Nunn appreciated his fresh energy and enthusiasm, and students like Thomas loved his cleverness and repetition.

Students still laughed as they repeated his jokes leaving Xfinity Center.

When asked if they’d see a set of his again, Thomas and Nunn’s answers were quick — “Oh yes, yes, 100 percent.”

But if you were to walk into the same cinder block walled room 60 years ago, you might instead see the space surrounded with posters and record players.

Many North Campus dorms were built in the ‘60s and still house students. With minor construction updates throughout the years, generations of students have called these buildings their home.

In 1995, internet access was limited. Only some dorms had ethernet jacks and students could pay $70 a semester for a second phone line to make calls.

Brian Schenck, an alum of this university, wrote in a letter to the editor criticizing the Board of Regent’s salary increase for then-university president William Kirwan.

“The entire Board of Regents and Kirwan should be forced to live in the high rises of North Campus for two semesters and see how they like it,” Schenck wrote. “I’m sure they wouldn’t, those buildings are badly in need of refurbishment.”

When Elana Steinberg moved into Ellicott Hall in 1996, she remembers “rugged-looking” brown furniture, the extra long twin bed, a desk and a dresser. The same set up in the rooms today minus the decorative lights, big headboards and extension cords that fill every outlet.

“It wasn’t a thing to really do anything to a dorm and decorate or anything like that,” Steinberg said. “I don’t even think we had carpets.”

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Many of the similarities between now and then aren’t glamorous. A Diamondback article from 1998 reported on students living in halls and their coping mechanisms to fight the summer heat. This included showering constantly and buying fans to deal with no air conditioning in some dorms — methods 2025 students still rely on.

In 1998, some students on campus were hospitalized after being unable to escape 95-degree temperatures, The Diamondback reported.

Alexandria Hede, a sophomore marketing and business analytics major, lived in Hagerstown Hall last year. Although she said she knew her dorm didn’t have air conditioning before moving in, she didn’t anticipate how bad it would get.

“The first couple of weeks were horrible … we would wake up sweating,” Hede said. “The lounge was the only place with AC, so we’d sleep there sometimes.”

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Other than the addition of gender neutral areas, most bathrooms are still decorated with bright shades of pink, blue and green titles. Some halls have short walls separating the showers while others just have a shower curtain, just like Steinberg experienced.

Steinberg didn’t have high expectations about living in the dorms, but still felt like the buildings were old.

In 2021 and 2022, two new dorms were constructed and stood out for their modern, sleek look on the inside and outside.

When freshman communication major Mischa Lee, who lives in Cumberland Hall, visited friends in the new Pyon-Chen and Johnson-Whittle Halls, the differences were hard to ignore.

Even Steinberg was shocked when she visited the newer halls.

“It was like a hotel,” Steinberg said. “It was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe it.”

Looking back, Steinberg said she’d prefer to be in a newer residence hall but said there’s a tradeoff between living in the new dorms versus living in the old ones.

Regardless of the evolution of the dorms, the timeless experience of living in a dorm will never change.

Historian Evelyn Reidy contributed archive research to this story. 

“I wonder if the Squirrel Watching Club is active nowadays,” he wrote.

Fast forward to Tuesday evening. This university’s Maryland Squirrel Watchers held a Halloween-themed meeting in the basement of Jiménez Hall, promising “a mysterious night of intrigue, betrayal, and old-fashioned family fun” for attendees.

As Squirrel Watchers filled the classroom, members brought out snacks, an acorn-shaped globe and the club’s mascot — a stuffed squirrel named Brrrrrick. The meeting began with humorous slides reviewing the history of the club and introducing the board.  

But then the lights went out. When they came back on, the club’s president was lying “dead” on the ground.

The Diamondback spoke with the corpse in question, co-president of the Maryland Squirrel Watchers and junior computer science major Jonathan Jayaputra.

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Jayaputra said he and his friends were inspired by Maryland Images tours to create the Maryland Squirrel Watchers.

“Every tour group, they say that there is a squirrel club on campus,” Jayaputra said. “When we were coming in, three or four years ago now, we were hearing about the squirrel club.”

After looking for the club, Jayaputra realized it was nowhere to be found. That’s why in November 2024, he and his friends decided to make their own squirrel-watching organization.

As was evident at Tuesday’s spooky-themed meeting, the club’s initiatives go beyond admiring the campus’ squirrel population.

Jayaputra said because squirrels are the most common animal seen on campus, it is only fitting that the student body have a club dedicated to them.

This semester, the Maryland Squirrel Watchers worked on a “Data Harvesting Initiative.” Students submitted photos of campus squirrels to a shared Google Form for the chance to win a free t-shirt. 

When the club received more than 130 submissions of squirrel photos, three lucky participants were chosen at random to receive a free shirt. And in September, the Squirrel Watchers partnered with the Terrapin Trails Club for a squirrel walk around Lake Artemesia.

But beyond that, the Maryland Squirrel Watchers is a social club.

“We really try to host events that people will enjoy,” junior computer engineering major Amanda Callaghan said. “It’s just a good place to have fun, relax, joke about squirrels, things that are slightly less squirrel-themed, like murder mystery.”

On Tuesday, the squirrel watchers were split into groups of detectives and given different pieces of “evidence” to complete the murder mystery, with the game’s rules resembling a squirrel-themed version of Clue. 

Callaghan, who serves as diversity, equity and inclusion chair and secretary, was later revealed to be Jayaputra’s murderer.

While the club members were busy uncovering a murder plot, the organization’s affinity for the campus squirrels remained apparent.

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“I think they’re very cute and adorable,” said junior computer science major Jack Campbell after the meeting. “I’m glad there’s a club that supports them.”

In the future, the club hopes to continue hosting social events that encourage an appreciation for the University of Maryland’s squirrels.

“We have so many people here today. I mean, it’s just building our membership. Spreading the love of squirrels,” Jayaputra said.

So, to answer Shulman’s inquiry, yes. The Squirrel Watching Club is active nowadays.

The gala included food and dance performances in Stamp’s Colony Ballroom and featured keynote speaker Katty Huertas, a designer and art director at the Washington Post. The gala was the final event hosted by the coalition in Stamp’s Latine Heritage Month events, which took place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. 

Circular tables lined the sides and back of the room, with lollipop and chocolate favors at every seat. The large space in the center of the room was used for performances and dancing throughout the night. 

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The coalition’s theme for this year’s heritage month was “Juntos Bajo el Sol y la Luna,” which translates to “Together Under the Sun and Moon.” 

“We work in collaboration with other [organizations] … that’s the mission of CLSO,” said Katherine Beza, the coalition’s co-president and junior fire protection engineering major. “Having these events is a way of connecting with my community and giving back.” 

Beza said she experienced culture shock coming to the University of Maryland as a freshman, even with the knowledge that it’s a predominantly white institution. 

She said she went to the coalition’s heritage month events her first year and became a part of the organization after finding out they planned a variety of events to celebrate the month.

Beza said the attendee numbers were smaller after the pandemic, but have grown every year. She said the increase is a testament to the work the coalition has done to “cultivate this community.”

Despite their large scale, Beza said all the organization’s events are free for attendees. 

“[The events are] not exclusive for Latinos, either — it’s for anyone who’s looking for a community who wants to celebrate our heritage,” she said.   

Many attendees at the gala were members of the 13 organizations co-sponsoring the event. Brianna Acosta Citala, president of the Latinx Student Union, said she and other students were looking forward to the event because of how much work is put into it.

“Hosting events … means bringing the Latino community on campus, even though it’s small, to unite together and become bigger throughout it all,” the senior psychology major said.

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Acosta Citala said many of the events hosted by the coalition and other organizations are also attended by faculty and local community members. 

Bianca Gutierrez, a senior public policy major, is a member of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc., another co-sponsor of the gala. 

Gutierrez said although many people that come to events like the gala are Latino, she hopes people who are not are able to get a sense of the community. “I personally really appreciate Hispanic Heritage Month, and I think with everything going on now, it’s really important to spread that awareness and spread that culture,” Gutierrez said.

From his Broadway debut at age 7 to a career of iconic roles, including Gus Fring in Breaking Bad or Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, Esposito’s cold, villainous roles have earned him a cult following.

Kicking off the new academic year, Esposito spoke about his career and recounted the lessons he learned along the way, hoping students watching would apply them to their own lives.

Rowan Bruck, a freshman computer science major, was looking forward to Esposito’s lecture for a while as an admirer of his most prominent roles.

“I’ve always been, like, a really big fan of his work,” Bruck said. “This is definitely something I’ve been looking forward to for a while.”

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Breaking from his Broadway career at 17, Esposito earned a degree in radio intelligence and communication, a pillar in his journey to success.

Esposito said he needed a backup plan before transitioning into television and film acting, with his degree providing the fundamentals for his directorial career through his work operating cameras and copywriting.

“That’s when I learned how to really shoot movies before I had even made a movie,” Esposito said.

Esposito highlighted the merit of pursuing higher education. Although he considered his time in college a fallback, his degree proved useful in his entertainment career, proving that education can apply to every aspect of life, even in non-traditional fields.

Connor Grabowski, a sophomore art history, chemistry and studio art major, reflected on his own hardships as an artist working in a competitive field. He resonated with Esposito’s determination, as he found success with similar grit.

“[Esposito’s] emphasis [that] you have to take the step and you have to just keep reaching for it, even if you’re inevitably going to reach failure, is really pertinent,” Grabowski said.

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Esposito later revealed that he saw more potential in his character Gus than the Breaking Bad producers. He ultimately pitched Gus as a recurring villain and the antithesis to protagonist Walter White.

He used this example to emphasize the importance of taking matters into your own hands. Without his effort, Gus would’ve been relegated to a traditional one–off villain.

“It’s like seeing what needs to be done … and doing it,” Esposito said.

Receiving widespread acclaim for Gus, fans like Grabowski believe he made the right choice.

“My main exposure to Giancarlo … was also through Breaking Bad [and] Better Call Saul,” Grabowski said.

Esposito told the audience to speak their mind and create a personal brand for success. It’s not enough to simply work hard at something, Esposito said, but success truly becomes yours when you are an active collaborator on a project.

But Esposito’s brand and vision often came with rejection.

Recounting times, roles and opportunities slipped away, Esposito initially felt jealous, but learned to trust the process. He believed certain roles were meant to be lost so others could have the potential to excel in.

“The key is to find the way that’s right for you,” Esposito said.

By the end of Esposito’s lecture, many students felt inspired, taking them out of the isolating feeling of searching for a career and aiming for success. Sharing his own takeaways from the lecture, Grobowski plans to apply Esposito’s work ethic to his own life.

“The most … pertinent thing to me was … you have to do it,” Grabowski said.

As the lecture came to a close, Esposito reminded the audience that although failure is challenging, it’s a necessary step in their growth. Through failure, they can discover their own pathway to success, he said.

“There’s not only one way,” Esposito said. “There are many different ways. The key is to find the way that’s right for you.”

And those events? They sold out fast. 

I found out Nic was coming to Maryland through an Instagram post my mom sent me, telling me to buy tickets. Although I watched Love Island every night this summer with her and my sisters, I am surprised that Nic was even on her feed. Why are hers and so many others’ feeds still trapped in the Love Island summer? 

Season 7 of Love Island USA wrapped up in early July with a reunion episode airing in August. In most cases, reality TV contestants fade once cameras cut. But Love Island stars this year didn’t disappear a few days after the season concluded. Instead, they continued their daily broadcast through social media, creating a stronger connection with fans who felt like they lived by their side for weeks in the villa.  

Unlike most reality TV shows, which span over the course of a few months with weekly episodes, Love Island is rather fast-paced with a new episode airing five days a week. Viewers watch the islanders wake up, argue, make up and go to bed. 

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This sense of routine blurred the line between reality and entertainment. Season 5 gained a lot of traction through players like Rob Rausch, a guy whose sarcasm and looks turned him into a fan favorite.

Season 6 maintained the momentum by drawing viewers in with the show’s classic strong suspense and many cliff hangers. But by the time season 7 premiered, fans were fully sucked in and the show became a bonding opportunity as opposed to just entertainment.  

Many, like myself, watched with their families (creating awkward moments of course),  streamed in bars and viewed clips on TikTok.

When fans invest that much repetitive time into characters —  sorry, real people — they form attachments which stick. But now, the inclusion of social media introduces a parasocial relationship to this dynamic. The show feels real in a way reality TV, ironically, often doesn’t. 

For example, TJ Palma left the villa while being in a couple with Iris Kendall, but he didn’t just fade away. He posted a TikTok to “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, making mine and many fans’ hearts break for him. 

Even though they were trapped in a tropical paradise together for less than two weeks, their connection on the show felt genuine and his post aimed to prove that, giving fans hope.

A month later, Iris ended the show with Pepe Garcia, but when rumors that he cheated surfaced, TJ came back into the picture. Soon, the pair posted on social media together, giving fans what they wanted months ago. It felt like I was watching this drama unfold in my own friend group. 

Viewers built a connection with cast members while watching the show, and that feeling has only gotten stronger through seeing their daily social media posts. All summer long we watched the cast do everything from making breakfast to getting ready together. Now on social media, everything feels familiar, like we deeply know each other. 

Very likely, Nic could be strolling through College Park with fans going up to him like they are best friends that hung out together all summer. Although Nic and Olandria placed second and left the show as a couple, their College Park presence doesn’t feel like a crazy big celebrity spotting — they just seem like normal people.

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After each episode, viewers bond over shared thoughts and feelings on TikTok and Instagram comment sections, making assumptions and predictions about the players and their motives – something that show producers seemed to take into consideration, making the reality TV show not so reality TV. 

That’s the thing with Love Island. The finale doesn’t end the story, it creates a second season on social media, where contestants compete on maintaining their fame through social media and fan events, at places where the majority of their fanbase spend their time — college bars.