UC Davis has announced that they will be going back in person for Fall 2021! I think I can speak for many when I say this is very exciting news and one of the first steps to going back to normal life. But I also think I can speak for most when I say that going back to in-person school may be pretty nerve-wracking, and here are a few reasons why.
1. You can’t get up 2 minutes before your class anymore.
If I have a nine AM class on Zoom, I am not waking up any earlier than 8:50 AM. But now you not only have to account for getting to class early enough to get a good seat, but you also have to account for the Unitrans schedule and what time you need to get on the bus in order to get to campus with enough time to walk to your class. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
2. No more open-note, open-book tests.
During our year of virtual learning, many professors have been lenient to be as accommodating as possible. They have made more tests open-note, open-book, and even being flexible with the time limit of the tests. I’ve had professors who have even left the Exam open for an entire week! Goodbye to that.
3. Some professors may not record their lectures anymore!
Classes have been very flexible during this pandemic, and that includes being able to watch lecture recordings at a different time from when class time was scheduled. It also made it convenient to review before exams and sometimes watch on double speed to cram five weeks of lecture in one day. Though some professors may continue to record lectures, others may go back to how they would teach before the pandemic, which was without recording lectures!
4. Figuring out how to socialize while also being safe is a fine line.
School going back to in-person also comes with student life coming back to campus. You have to go back to talking to the person sitting next to you, figuring out who will be in your group for projects, and meeting and socializing with people all over campus in general. It will be hard to navigate how to meet new people and make new friends while also maintaining a level of safety.
5. Less opportunities to meet other students nationally!
Clubs have been able to network with universities across the nation because of online conferences, competitions, etc. This has been a huge advantage for the clubs that I have been in, as they have been able to build a bigger network and expand their set of resources. Going back to in-person club activities places limits on how clubs continue to operate.
Yes, it is going to be a difficult process going back to in-person classes, and yes, it will be nerve-wracking when we first start, but I can’t wait to be able to go back to normalcy and make the most out of the rest of my time at UC Davis!