By Hannah Lennon
Sophomore class president, Emily Hartford, was busy with activities ranging from Student Government Association to Residence Hall Association when she was not in class.
Now, she is at her childhood home, trying to stay in touch via Zoom.
“I already miss the amazing community on campus; I miss walking to class and always seeing friendly faces around every corner! There was always a friendly face nearby,” Class of 2023 President, Hartford said.
“I was and am still involved with the Student Government Association. SGA will be Zooming the meetings for remote students, so I’ll still be able to attend and participate,” Hartford said.
This fall, some students, like Hartford, are continuing their education either as commuters or remotely, due to the pandemic.
Rory Brennan, a junior Business Management major, has decided to learn remotely this semester.
“A main reason dictating my choice to take online classes this semester was to take extra precautions to ensure my health and the health of my family– and staying home and learning remotely was a much wiser financial decision to make,” Brennan said.
Shannon Gorsky, a senior Business Management major, decided to remain at home for financial reasons.
“The financial savings were immense between the tuition credit and not having to pay room and board,” Gorsky said.
Other students, however, decided to learn remotely for health reasons.
Hartford, a sophomore Neuroscience major, said she’s decided to remain at home to protect herself and other students.
“Two of the people in my household are essential workers. Luckily, neither of them have had positive COVID test results, but with one being a pharmacist and one working in a hospital, I felt it was my responsibility to stay remote,” Hartford said.
Some students are commuting this year for similar reasons.
Haley Whittaker, a sophomore Marketing major on the Varsity Equestrian Team, has decided to commute to and from campus instead of living as a resident this year.
“I decided to commute due to the current situation with COVID. I was going to be remote, but Athletics ruled that you cannot practice as a remote student because we wouldn’t get tested. So, I chose to commute,” Whittaker said.
Whittaker lives with her parents in Middleboro, Massachusetts, but not all commuting students are living at home this semester.
Lauren O’Regan, a senior Biology major, is commuting from an apartment in Easton.
“Deciding to commute was somewhat COVID related, but once finding out how much less expensive it was to live off campus it was no question,” O’Regan said.
Both Whittaker and O’Regan are spending less time on campus than they would as a resident, but are taking different approaches to commuter life.
“I only have in-person classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I only have to be on campus two days a week,” Whittaker said.
Contrastingly, O’Regan spends most of the week on campus.
“I am on campus every day except Saturday and Sunday unless I have my work study. I’m usually there from about 9 a.m. to 10:30 on Mondays and Fridays and about 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on other days,” O’Regan said.
Despite their different schedules, both commuters agree that time on campus needs to be spent wisely. “I usually spend the whole afternoon on campus those days until my night class,” Whittaker said. “It’s too long of a drive to keep going back and forth.”
“When I go on campus I usually don’t leave until all my classes are done for the day,” O’Regan said.
Time spent on campus isn’t the only thing that has changed. Adjusting to life as a commuter is more than driving to and from classes.
“Adjusting to life as a commuter has been okay– a little difficult. Cooking for myself has definitely been one of the biggest changes to living off campus,” O’Regan said.
Whittaker’s difficulties with the transition are related more to what she was used to as a resident.
“I miss being able to see my friends and going out to eat with them. I miss actually going to class and having the ability to go back to my room on campus in between classes,” Whittaker said.
Missing friends and residence life isn’t just an adjustment for new commuters; remote students miss campus life as well.
Senior Shannon Gorsky is captain of the Varsity Equestrian Team and Vice President of RUCKUS, and she is trying her best to remain included.
“I've been doing my best to remain involved in both. For the Equestrian Team, I have been doing a lot on the organizational and financial side of things, and, for RUCKUS, we’re hoping to have some virtual engagement that I am hoping to be part of,” Gorsky said.
Other remote students, like junior Rory Brennan, are not as lucky when it comes to staying in the loop with campus life.
Although he was not previously involved with clubs and organizations on campus, Brennan will still miss the campus environment.
“I will miss the person to person interaction I have while on campus either it being with friends, classmates, or professors. Remote learning can be very challenging when you do not get to engage in a classroom environment,” Brennan said.
After last semester’s end on remote learning, taking classes hasn’t been too difficult for remote students. For Gorsky, problems arose when she initially chose to go remote.
“I had to completely change my schedule to accommodate my online classes. There was a class or two that I was unable to take in an online format, so I ended up having to move around quite a few of my classes and make some significant changes. However, I am very happy with the schedule I ended up with,” Gorsky said.
Comments