Adjusting to College in a Pandemic

By Nolan Cleary, Managing Editor

It’s the event that changed the world. COVID-19, the disease which has spread throughout America and throughout other countries, forcing Americans indoors, and shifting lives forever. 

The virus is hitting students especially hard. Back in March, at the height of the pandemic, colleges throughout America were forced to close, and revert to online classes. 

The conflict was sudden and abrupt and put students in a bizarre and strange situation. Among the many things that changed, one annual tradition was presented in a radically different light: graduation. 

Due to fears of an outbreak among students, family members, faculty and teachers, no on campus graduation was held originally. Instead, an online, virtual event featuring multiple students and hosts, as well as guests like New York’s own U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, gave virtual addresses. 

Since the beginning of the Fall semester, some classes have returned on campus, but with more regulations, and only a few classes permitted. Entering campus requires a more complex process. 

At Hudson Valley Community College, students expressing mixed feelings over the sudden shift in classes at the school. Maya Porter, a student pursuing Digital Media said she was in different about the shift from in-person to virtual classes. According to her, the pandemic itself wasn’t a giant shock. 

“It seemed pretty normal for me educational wise, but for everything else that was going on in my life the pandemic has actually brought me much relief and I don’t have much anxiety anymore.” Porter told us. 

Porter says she prefers the online format, but admits there are elements she misses about the traditional ways of learning in classes. “[I prefer] online [classes], yet I think we can all agree… I miss human interaction. I like meeting new people and making friends.”

Porter also sees the upsides of the situation. “I know for a fact test exams and quizzes are much more relaxed maybe lesser maybe that’s just my classes. I enjoy some and others not so much. And lastly having my camera off is a must, and I’ll tell you why because I’m more comfortable therefore I can focus and learn better.” 

Tanner Lehman, a student in the EMC program also said that pandemic wasn’t a major change for him, but did say the technological aspects, took a lot of getting used to. 

“Not a huge amount changed for me. I’m going for a trade so I’m still in person for my labs. I’m not really good with computers so the online theory portion is definitely a struggle for me.” Lehman said. 

Lehman tells us, although things were generally easier to get used to for him, Spring Break this year was a tassel that threw everything off course for him. 

“Classes remained pretty normal at the beginning and then spring break hit and we had two weeks of nothing and then everything went online with not much training for the teachers and it was very all over the place for us.” Lehman said. He also told us he far prefers in-person classes. 

In addition to online classes, Lehman said that in-person classes are also radically different as well. “My in-person classes have 8 people in them so it’s distanced between us and we really get a more focused help from the teachers.” Lehman said. 

According to Nikita Padunin, a student in bioengineering however, the changes have become more of an annoyance, and have gravely affected his ability to work. 

“Wearing masks gets very annoying.  The worst thing for me is that the library opens at 8:00 am, so now I cannot come early and prepare for my morning classes.” Padunin told us. 

Padunin said the crisis surprised him. “Well, I have never expected anything like that. I never thought that we would close the college.” Padunin did however say there were advantages and disadvantages to online classes. 

“It really depends, for difficult courses I like it when they are in class.  But, now wearing a mask for 2 hours and listening to a science lecture really doesn’t come at any benefit to my well-being.” Padunin said. 

Padunin did say that the pandemic made college classes harder to keep up with work. “I find it harder to keep up with work because there is no way to communicate with your classmates and learn from each other.”

Connor Danz is a high school student who’s currently taking Hudson Valley classes for the Fall 2020 semester. When the pandemic hit back in March, his time at Catholic Central High School changed drastically. 

“My school was one of the first [in the area] to reopen digitally. Most schools had a two week slacker period where you couldn’t do anything. Catholic High started right away. Because of that, I did the rest of my school year online which was good for most of my subjects except for math which I struggle with.” Danz said. 

So far, Danz has yet to experience college in person, as all of his classes are online. “I’ve only done online classes. I’ve never been to a lecture before.”

Joesph Stenard is an economics professor at Hudson Valley Community College. He says that while many things have changed, there’s still one universal factor that stays the same. 

“One thing that hasn’t changed is my belief that ‘Life is a Contact Sport’.  The challenge with the all-online model has been in helping students connect with fellow students.” Stenard said. 

Stenard says it doesn’t really matter which way you teach, but how. “Teaching involves an exchange and connection. I teach individuals, not classes, so when my student makes that connection with me it is a success whether it be online or in person.  Most students have been trained to learn in the traditional way, however, and the online modality is a very different way to learn.  Students can have difficulty in HOW they are learning as well as WHAT they are learning.”

However, he does fear that polarization and the lack of social interaction may be detrimental for students. “We are social creatures.  Physical isolation has had a depressive effect on students. Additionally, political attempts to polarize the public discourse has made discussion with strangers (and family) more dangerous… I am proud of my students who have shown the courage to overcome these obstacles and who can disagree without being disagreeable.”

In spite of the mixed feelings from students and staff alike, every member of Hudson Valley agreeing on one general factor: the college experience is drastically different. “The environment changed a lot. There is no communication between students outside of the classroom. So, you depend on the communication with your family which quickly gets repetitive.” Padunin said.