Maia Honl – Opinion Columnist

As students begin to wrap up the year and start focusing towards next semester, there has been a concern as to what the fall will be like. With vaccines being given every day and students seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the idea of having online classes again next year is less than appealing. Online classes, while doing the job they need to do, is one of the least effective ways of teaching students. There is a disconnect between the student and the class, and most of the time students have to teach themselves. With a lack of in-person opportunities to meet with professors and having to make appointments to see them via Zoom, students are left with minimal help for the work assigned outside of class. If we were to remain mainly online during the next semester or academic year, I fear that many students will be negatively impacted by it. Not just academically, but mentally, emotionally and physically.
One of the common misconceptions about online learning is that since class isn’t happening in person and you have more time in your dorm, you have more time to complete assignments. As someone who has experimented with online classes since high school, I can say with certainty that this is not the case. Surprisingly enough, students have the same amount of time as before, maybe even less than when we were in person. I talked to my good friend Colin about this, who is studying dance at City Colleges of Chicago. Their school is doing what Gustavus is doing, a mix of online and hybrid, but mainly online.
“Many of (their) teachers had the thought that because we aren’t in person and because of COVID, we have more time to do homework. This is not the case at all, we get Zoom fatigue, our eyes and brains are so drained because of staring at screens all day. Just because we are stuck at home does not mean we have the time to do more,” Colin said.
By giving assignments due at noon the next day, or assigning multiple articles for just one of the topics being covered in class, students are left feeling wrung out. 24-hour assignments with noon deadlines are more like ten-hour assignments when you subtract your classes, work, and sleep from the time. This also doesn’t take into account the time needed to complete other assignments, which also take as long to finish. So, say I had two classes with an article and analysis due in each. That would take another five hours off my time. So, in reality, your 24-hour time period turns into five-seven hours, mixed intermittently throughout the day for whenever you have a free second. The noon-to-noon timeline ends up more like 9 p.m. (when you get done with the things you need to for the day) to 11:59 p.m. (when it’s due no later by, after your morning requirements). So while professors might say that there’s 24 hours to work on an assignment, that rarely is the case.
I took the opportunity to release a poll to other college students I know via Instagram asking about their thoughts on online learning. One of the first questions I asked was “Were you able to have a successful year with digital learning?” Out of the 96 people who replied, 69 percent of them said “No”. When asking if they thought that online learning was an acceptable replacement to in-person, 76 percent of responders said no.
Students, while some are getting along fine, are having immense difficulty adjusting to the online format. But I don’t think this is something everyone can just adjust to. We all have different ways that we learn the best, with a majority of the population preferring visual learning styles. However, there are those who use auditory or tactile methods of learning, and are experiencing more difficulty outside of the classroom to learn. With most assignments outside of class being made up of articles and readings, those who can’t learn as effectively from reading are left at a disadvantage. To the question, “If the next school year was online, would you reconsider enrolling for that year?”, 51 percent said they would. However, most then said that if the price of tuition was reduced to account for the online aspect, they would most likely stay. That brings up another important issue with online learning: the cost.
During COVID-19 and quarantine, America has seen its highest unemployment rate since the recession. People lost their jobs to shut-downs and closings, and have had to scramble to find a means of income. Many students have to cover their tuition by themselves, which makes this an extra-hard blow towards them. Tuition at Gustavus has not adjusted to fit with the current situation, much to the frustration of students. We had started out the first three weeks of the year online from our homes, not allowed on campus to account for the first-years. After Thanksgiving, if you had gone home you were to stay there, finishing off the semester from our homes.
When I had heard that Gustavus was going to be online in the fall and wasn’t adjusting the tuition to account for that, I nearly didn’t come back. The thing that made me stay was the free semester that was offered. I’ve heard professors say that just because we’re online, it doesn’t mean that the quality of their work and teaching isn’t affected, warranting an adjustment in price. However, I would say that most of us agree on the idea that even the most renowned professor would have difficulty teaching online if they had never done it before. None of us knew what we were getting ourselves into when we went online, but now that we know, we should address these areas of concern.
“If I was to have to do all online or half online like this year I would drop out. I would not put myself in that mental and physical strain again,” Colin said.
Colin isn’t alone in these thoughts, as most students have had to reevaluate their paths due to Covid and online learning. This year was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to face, it tested my will and dedication towards my education. While I love Gustavus and the friends I’ve made here, I would have to leave for my own mental health if we were to have a repeat of this year during the 2021-2022 school year. This year has been more damaging than awarding, and it’s impossible to tell where we go from here. I hope the summer will be productive and that the college will keep up with informing us on what is happening. However, if I hear that we’re online again, I will let out a scream that the entire Gustavus community will hear and understand.