Student Spotlight features pieces authored by current and former Intelligentsia scholars. Today’s post comes to us from Taylor, a junior at Barnard College, telling us about her experience with online learning over the last two semesters.
Online learning began under the guise of temporariness. “We’ll be back after spring break” suddenly became something more indefinite. The communal living spaces, shared bathrooms, and dining halls, plus the inevitability of parties, means that colleges are possibly the highest risk educational environment. We’re also arguably the least important. While other school-aged children are going through such crucial stages of brain development (not to mention some of them can’t even read in order to log on to a computer), college-level classes translate much easier to Zoom.
In March, the second semester of my sophomore year, Barnard College announced that we were permanently online for the rest of the year. Like most of my peers I was too overwhelmed by the looming pandemic to pay much attention to the nuances of remote learning. In fact, it seemed irrational that I still had essays and finals due during a time when the world was both literally and figuratively ending. The grief of mourning opportunities that never came to fruition (missed internships, nights with friends, the independence of living away from your parents) seemed selfish but also important. School was just a part of survival, another box I had to tick in order to get through the month.
When classes started again in September, instead of an atmosphere of panic, there was a certain acceptance of our shared situation, due to an increased understanding of the virus, low case levels in New York, and a whole summer for professors to develop a more adaptable curriculum. Nothing can replace the sense of place that a real classroom creates and the productivity of studying in the library, but there are certain aspects of online classes I have begun to enjoy, maybe even love this year. Firstly, no commuting time to and from classes means my days are much more my own, and nothing can beat feeling hungry in class just to turn around to your own fridge. I have also really appreciated the geographic diversity that has been created, having classmates, and even professors, physically in other countries is definitely unique. Deliberately selecting my classes to be as small in size as possible and favoring seminars, which only meet once a week, have been other ways I minimize my Zoom fatigue and continue to build a sense of community.
Like many college students this year, I debated whether or not to take a semester (or even a year) off from school. Ultimately, because of an in-person internship I have through Barnard, and a need for stability and structure during a time of chaos, I decided to continue attending. Do I feel like my college experience has been ruined? If I have learned anything about college during this time, it would have to be that the idea of a college experience means nothing compared to the choices we need to make in order to live fulfilling and healthy personal lives. If that means sacrificing the social aspect of school in order to live safely in a pandemic, so be it.
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Taylor is an NYC native, studying visual art and art history at Barnard College. A painter and with a love of baking, her favorite place in the city is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
