College During the Pandemic: Final Assignment
by: Sephora G. Kolelas
What does the COVID-19 pandemic mean for college right now? Is a very heavy question because many of us did not expect to be in the situation we are in now. Many believe that the pandemic would phase itself out in a couple of months, but fast forward to today.. close to a full year in, we are still unaware of how things are being handled behind closed doors and unsure of how things will progress. To me personally, college has always been difficult. Whether it was financial aid or putting together a schedule that simply aligns with work added onto the high stress levels from the course load. With the pandemic, college administrators have and need to re-evaluate their entire program. It truly makes things difficult because it’s unsure when things and if things will ever go back to “normal”. I believe that planning for semesters to come is a difficult task since tomorrow is unknown to many of us. Due to the shutdown, students and faculty are not on campus which means institutions are losing the money they receive annually; money they could use to hire more staff or improve resources on campus. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused institutions to suffer a great loss, but it has also impacted the students. Not only are students trying to adapt to virtual learning, but also have to adapt to all the issues that may come with it such as loss of connection or even no access to a computer. Virtual learning is not for everyone, especially those who succeed more in classroom setting and those who have trouble concentrating properly. The pandemic has impacted each person in college in a different way and there’s no telling if it will get better any time soon.
I conducted an interview with two college students who have different characters and different experiences when it comes to college and now when it comes to college during the pandemic. The first person I interview was Evelyn who attends Temple University and she expressed that switching to virtual learning has been extremely difficult for her, especially since she has ADHD. In a classroom setting, things were easier for her because she placed herself in the very first row and would do everything she could to only focus on the professor and the lesson, but now that things are online it’s harder for her to stay focused during zoom calls. She often finds herself having two screens and distracting herself with emails or games while the course is in session. Many times she would remember something she didn’t do and would trail off and focus on that instead of her class or her classwork.
(1) What is your view of how your college or university is responding to the pandemic? How included/excluded do you feel in the response? Why?
Temple honestly has not done the best they could to make their students feel less stressed about the pandemic. I’m an out of state student and moved to campus under the assumption that classes would be held in person. I don’t know why they thought it was a good idea in the first place, but I packed up and moved to Philly anyways. A week later they stop all face-to-face classes and shift to virtual. That gave me major anxiety and made me cry for hours because I had signed a lease and was in a city that was away from my family and I was worried I couldn’t handle computer courses because of my ADHD. Yeah there are accommodations, but it’s Temple’s job to reassure us, but none of that came. We don’t even know about the spring semester even though classes are online. It’s a mess.
(2) How has the pandemic affected your living arrangements? Your family? Your job?
Well, I’m originally from Rhode Island and I moved because I assumed classes would resume on campus. I signed a lease and have a roommate, but since things rapidly switched to virtual learning, I can’t back out of my lease so I’m spending about $1400 on a lease when I could be at home surrounded by my friends, family and dogs. It hasn’t been the easiest for me to cope with. Since I’m spending so much on my rent and I’m still trying to handle my classes being online on top of my ADHD, it’s been hard to focus on work so I took a break; they were luckily very understanding.
(3) What stresses and stressed behaviors have you felt or exhibited while going to college during the pandemic?
I find myself being more sad. I also started biting my nails a lot due to the high stress and anxiety that come with not only COVID, but online learning. My parents are the guarantors for my apartment and help pay, but I can’t help but stress about that too because it’s money we could’ve been saving altogether. I started smoking cigarettes to ease the anxiety and help me focus. No one knows about that except for my roommate.
(4) What has helped you focus on your college education during the pandemic?
I can’t really say. It’s hard for me to focus in general, but I always try to eliminate everything in my surroundings that could distract me. My work desk is plain with nothing on it or anything on the wall. I block off certain things on my computer so I can’t have access during my class time or homework time. My roommate is also very understanding and leaves the apartment or stays in her room so I can stay focused. It takes a lot for me to be in a mental space where I can work, but so far, it has been working.
The second person I interviewed is very different than Evelyn and finds herself appreciating the fact that things are now online. The second person’s name is Charlene and she goes to Temple University as well. Before the COVID-19 pandemic Charlene worked two jobs and attended school. She made sure to only have classes close to or in the evenings, in order for them to align with her jobs. It was very hard for Charlene to be full-time employee, but coming from a lower income family, she wants to establish a good life for herself. She doesn’t want to continue struggling alongside her family anymore. Charlene is grateful the proper actions taken by the government officials when it comes to COVID-19. She’s also very happy for the switch to virtual learning because she can stay at home and attend her classes virtually. Pre-COVID, Charlene’s commute was close to an hour and being able to simply log on from her home has taken off a lot of stress. She understands that virtual learning makes it harder for thousands of students, but for her it’s been a blessing and a major stress relief. She too cried similarly to Evelyn, but they were tears of joy.
(1) What is your view of how your college or university is responding to the pandemic? How included/excluded do you feel in the response? Why?
I think Temple should be more communicative with their students. They need to understand that this pandemic has brought people so low. Finances are hard for many of us, especially those working multiple jobs to affording living and school. They needed to have online classes from the very beginning and placing a deadline on tuition during a pandemic adds an undeniable amount of stress on a person. They should give people more time, but I’m happy they are keeping things online and have changed the spring’s semester in order to reflect that.
(2) How has the pandemic affected your living arrangements? Your family? Your job?
It hasn’t affected my living arrangement as of yet, but it might soon. I come from a family that struggle to make payments. My mom has to take care of my three younger siblings and due to COVID-19, she is unemployed and struggling to make payments on the utility bill and the rent. I proposed to have her and my siblings stay with me for a while if that would help. I might take my siblings while she tries to find a job or a small space for them that’s more affordable. It will be a change for me since I moved out and haven’t lived with them in years. As for work, I’m currently receiving unemployment and have been able to use that money towards bills and school
(3) What stresses and stressed behaviors have you felt or exhibited while going to college during the pandemic?
I smoke. ALOT. A lot more than I used to and that hasn’t been the best thing but it’s the only thing getting me by. When COVID started, I found myself drinking a lot in the mornings and mid afternoons, but I was able to to cut that. I try not to let things escalate. I’m doing the best I can
4) What has helped you focus on your college education during the pandemic?
Reminding myself that I was in a worse place last year. I remind myself that although I have to deal with my siblings and mom potentially moving into my two bedroom apartment, I’m less stressed and a lot happier than I was last year when I was running all over the city for work and my classes. I’m taking advantage of this semester or even year because I’m the most focused and alert I’ve ever been and I want to, for once, have straight A’s if I can.
After conducting the interview, I learned a lot and it made me think of the documentary, Hungry to Learn. When speaking with Charlene, all I could think about is one student in particular from the film called Shaquara who found herself getting up at 5AM in order to make it to her classes on time. She also discussed how the cost of tuition, transportation and housing was a lot for her; transportation specifically due to the distance and her disability but she pushes herself to do all that it takes to get to class on time. Then there are students similar to Isabella, better known as busy issy, who is taking seven classes at two different universities while maintaining two to three jobs. College is difficult enough because, yes there is financial aid, but they can only give so much. Students have to find different ways to pay for tuition, food, books and housing while still depending on financial aid and/or student loans. Although the pandemic has taken the lives of many and left many others without jobs, many students find themselves happy to be saving money on living costs and other additional fees many institutions would charge students when on campus. The switch to online learning has helped many students take the stress off themselves and use the money they would spend on housing towards necessary bills or food.
Although there are positives, there are also negatives. The article “Remotely Coping: How are Students Faring During the COVID-19 Pandemic” explains how virtual learning can be a hit or miss depending on how university resources are and how prepared and trained the professor is with the new learning environments. There are many inequalities that present themselves. The main issue that arises is the access to proper resources. Many students either don’t have technology for online learning and may find themselves having to share with siblings who are being homeschooled, or they don’t have wi-fi to fully be present online. Students with disabilities, like Evelyn, are at even greater disadvantage in this environment. Another issue with online learning is because there are such great differences between the course work and degree level between Graduate and Undergraduate students, there is a limit as to how much can truly complete online in order to obtain the degrees they are studying for. Many majors require lab courses or courses where being in a classroom setting is important. This makes it very difficult for students to progress.
Many students many students attend college and move to campuses because they want to meet and be a part of groups where they will feel included and less judged. They see students eating in the dining halls, living in similar dorms and they all genuinely feel equal because they know they’re all there for the same reason, to learn. They can all better relate to one another and it makes things a lot better and less scary for new students who may come from difficult backgrounds. The article “College Made Them Feel Equal. The Virus Exposed How Unequal Their Lives Are” helps point out how certain disparities come to light now that students are moving to virtual learning. Students who come from different and more difficult backgrounds begin getting reminded of how low on the ladder they really are and this could range from the lack of access to internet or electronics needed to participate in classes, but also being able to keep family businesses, businesses that help ensure they have a college education, running. The article uses the perfect example of how one student sat at a vacation home on the coast of Maine. Another struggled to keep her mother’s Puerto Rican food truck running while meat vanished from Florida grocery shelves. The pandemic affects everyone differently, but as businesses declined, so have the ability for students to continue attending college. This is where the division begins.
In conclusion, yes it’s possible to properly benefit from the switch to online learning. Many students are very happy to be collecting unemployment and staying at home to focus on their courses, similar to myself, but the situation is different for everyone and should be viewed and understood that way. Although many can focus better, many others are distracted because they may have situations that prevent them from focusing, similar to Evelyn, but others are focused on keeping their family businesses or jobs afloat during a pandemic in order to even afford attending classes, whether remote or not. College is changing due to the pandemic and institutions have to adapt to that and while doing so, they need to ensure that all students have the necessary tools to succeed and graduate with the degree of their dreams like they intended to. Whether that is providing more financial aid for students who are having a difficult time or changing the structure of degree programs so that students can have the ability to graduate virtually if they wanted to.
