When I first received the campus-wide email on January 12th saying that classes were going to return to online instruction, I was not surprised. At the time, coronavirus cases were on the rise and it seemed like everyone I knew had the COVID-19 virus, especially around New Year.
My friend who goes to UC Berkeley had already been informed that her classes were going virtual for the first two weeks, so I sort of knew that it was coming. I kind of wish that SJSU had announced their decision to go virtual a little sooner because it felt like they had waited until the last second to inform us, even though the Omicron Variant was spreading rapidly. It was a scary time, and while nothing in the last two years of this pandemic has been predictable, I kind of knew at the same time that this is the way it was going to be.
Back to Zoom for the first two weeks of school wasn’t that bad. It’s not like there are a whole lot of things happening in the first couple weeks of the semester anyway. You go over the syllabus and get used to doing homework again. I guess I have been traumatized from this pandemic because even though SJSU said they were going to return to in-person classes on February 14th, a part of me did not think that was really going to happen. I thought that the rest of the semester would just go online. It is not like it hasn’t happened before.
So, when I got another email from SJSU on February 8th saying that classes will in fact return to in-person learning, I was a little bit surprised. With the statewide mask mandate ending on February 16th and cases on the decline in Santa Clara County, I guess it’s not that surprising. It all still feels a little too good to be true.
As a person who likes being on campus and making friends, I was excited when I got that email. I also feel like I learn better when I am in a classroom as opposed to staring at a screen and having to unmute myself to ask a question.
There are downsides, however, like having to commute to campus. Finding parking can sometimes take forever which is not fun when you are already running late to class. But seeing as this is my second to last semester at SJSU, I really do not want to spend my last two semesters online. I want to be able to make the most out of my time at SJSU which is why I am very glad that classes are returning to in-person learning.
Is it too good to be true? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
What are your thoughts on returning to campus? Be sure to tag us on Instagram, @HerCampusSJSU!