BY ARI CHESTERMAN / VN STAFF WRITER
There is one question that has been plaguing university administrations: Should classes be online or in-person?
The answer has been yes and no, depending on which university.
According to U.S. News, students at Connecticut College started their semester in quarantine in order to stay on campus.
Detroit Mercy is one of the schools that is currently offering some in-person classes, but it is limited to classes that benefit greatly from face-to-face contact.
Paul Rider, a junior at Detroit Mercy, attends an in-person engineering class, Construction Materials.
“All my classmates wear masks and maintain social distance,” said Rider, “but there is still a level of discomfort being around so many people.”
Rider said that there have been no positive virus cases in his class.
Still, there is always a concern.
During the fall semester, students like Rider, with in-person classes, saw a sudden cancellation of those classes due to an upsurge in Covid-19 cases.
Will it happen again this semester?
“At this point, it is a waiting game to see if our classes will be canceled. My lab would be really hard to do without in-person,” said Rider, “so either no lab and just getting the necessary information from my professor, or the class will become five times harder.”
Rider concluded by expressing how important it is for everyone to abide by pandemic restrictions.
He feels as if in-person classes can work but everyone has to be aware and safe because if one person isn’t, everyone loses.
According to Inside Higher ED, many universities are testing students weekly, regardless of whether they live on, or off, campus.
While Detroit Mercy is not doing this, there is a survey that you must complete prior to entering campus.
There is an additional expectation that students are entirely truthful on this survey, with possible expulsion of the student as a repercussion, according to Detroit Mercy’s website.
This issue is one that can be seen on almost any college campus but as Rider said, if everyone is safe, it benefits everyone.
