Another American ritual the pandemic has warped: college arrivals

Kaitlyn Abercia is seen moving into her student residence at Gates Hall on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. on August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Brad Brooks

LUBBOCK, Texas (Reuters) - Brandon Vergel stood outside his new student dormitory at Texas Tech University, grappling with the bittersweet nature of yet another American rite of passage warped by the COVID pandemic -parents dropping their kids off at college.

Under a scorching afternoon sun, Vergel lugged his earthly belongings into the Hulen Hall residence he would now call home, nervously excited at the freedom of college life that awaited, but confronting an age-old conundrum: a mom that doesn't want to let go.