From Campus to Computer
The impact of coronavirus on NVOT alumni currently in college
College students come home, and classes go online
Due to the increasing severity of the Coronavirus pandemic, colleges and institutions around the world are suspending in-person classes and are converting to online learning. Many schools have recently decided to close in-person classes for the remainder of the semester, meaning these students will now rely solely on computers and technology for their classes for the next two months. This is a controversial decision, and college students around the world have mixed feelings about this new transition.
Here is what some NVOT alumni think of this change:
Anthony Contreras, Freshman, Sports and Exercise Physiology Major at DeSales University: “I feel great [about being home] because it’s good to be away from college for a bit. At times it [affects productivity], but rarely enough to the point where I miss assignments. [Online school] doesn’t necessarily affect my workload, but it is tough to get it done sometimes.”
Richard Ardizzone, Freshman, Criminology Major at Cabrini University: “[Being home is] refreshing, but ultimately boring. I miss my college friends. [Closing campus was not necessary] because our campus is small, so that means less people. There were no cases of COVID-19 in our area. [Being home affects productivity because] in my dorm, it’s quiet and I have little to no distractions. Here I have two younger sisters and they tend to be annoying when I want to work. It doesn’t really impact my workload. I don’t get many assignments, but when I do, it comes in batches, so it’s pretty much the same.”
Jessica Ruby, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering Major at TCNJ: “Online school is pretty annoying. We’re all paying for tuition and room and board and then we’re just doing online classes anyways, which is so much cheaper than going to school. With everyone potentially traveling for spring break and then all coming back for classes, [the Coronavirus] definitely would’ve gotten a lot of people sick, so I agree it was necessary. It’s hard to focus when you’re at home because it feels like it’s just a break. Also, without a classroom setting or friends to work with, it makes it hard to focus on learning. Teachers don’t have plans yet for a lot of my classes, which is stressful to not know what I’m going to be doing. My one lab course is very difficult to do online. Our teacher had us do three labs the day before we left so over break we’re just doing the written reports.”
Michael Libonati, Sophomore, Biomedical Engineering major at TCNJ: “I’d rather be in school than do online learning. I have a lot of work to do and I’m not going to get anything done here. I can’t meet up with friends to work on the weekends like I usually do. There are too many distractions at home and it’s not the environment I’m used to doing work in, so I won’t be as productive online. I have an increased workload because every professor is doing their normal lectures through video calls, but they’re also adding a lot of other stuff on top of that. I have to take labs home because I can’t do them at school, so I had to download computer software and bring home a plant for bio to do the labs here.”
