by Lexey Burns, Editor in Chief
The question many students and staff have been asking since the pandemic began, when will they be able return to an in-person learning experience?
But despite hopes that classrooms would reopen, Laurentian students will not be returning to in-person learning for the 2021 winter semester.
On Tuesday October 20th, 2020, Laurentian’s University’s Senate voted to continue the online learning method for the 2021 winter semester during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Haché, President of Laurentian University, said “there are many different opinions and we have to try and provide the best possible accommodation that meets with, in the best way possible, the needs of the majority.”
But Cynthia Whissell, a professor in the psychology department, said “I think there is a huge cost to this motion that needs to be recognized… There is a cost to students. There is a cost to faculty.”
She said that students do not have access to the proper technology, that due to their location students do not have adequate wifi to participate in courses, and that students are being asked to complete school work in new ways that they’ve never done before.
All of these factors together are causing extreme frustration for students, she said.
“Repreparing a course to present by zoom is almost as bad as preparing it brand new,” Whissell said.
Representatives of the SGA also voiced some concerns from students.
Eric Chappell, President of the SGA, commented saying “I don’t think we did a very good job articulating what the exceptions [for in person classes] were last semester.”
Malek Abou-Rabia, Vice President of Education, said that “a lot of students especially in a remote delivery system have been talking about the lack of consistency for the amount of online tools that the university uses.”
“Some use Microsoft Teams, some use zoom, some use D2L, MyLab—all of these different things that can really overwhelm students,” Abou-Rabia said.
He also acknowledged how some students were experiencing a lack of permanency in the syllabus as certain professors have changed the syllabus “on the fly.”
Senate also discussed the possibility of students returning to Laurentian.
“We are prepared for any outbreak that might occur on campus,” Haché said. Despite only 1 per cent of classes being in person, Haché encourages students to unite on campus in residence, saying it will help international students participate in their classes without a time difference.
“The farther away the student is the more we’re trying to support them,” he said.
Despite the number of COVID-19 cases rising across the province, some on campus are optimistic.
Marie Josee Berger, Vice President of Academics, said, “we do hope to be back to normal by September or during the spring.”