Two weeks ago, at the end of October, Andrews University officially announced its plans for the Spring 2021 reopening of campus. Once again, the University plans to have all returning students and faculty tested for COVID-19 prior to the beginning of face to face classes; this testing will begin on Wednesday, Jan. 6 and continue until Thursday, Jan. 14. Therefore, the first week of school will consist of remote learning from Wednesday, Jan. 13 until Friday, Jan. 15. Note that the schedule may be different for those in professional degree and graduate programs. This fall semester introduced a lot of new protocols and procedures. Some worked and others did not, but hopefully in the spring semester the students will have a better grasp of what is going to happen.
Joelle Kim (senior, English education) said, “I think it’ll be interesting to see how things play out next semester—we did a ‘trial run’ of what works and what doesn’t, this semester, so I hope and trust that the university administration will be wise in implementing guidelines that has the well-being of the students as the first and foremost priority.”
The Fall semester has flown by in an endless barrage of tests, assignments and projects. While the intention of preventing the spread of COVID-19 was a noble cause, the fall 2020 semester was difficult to handle. Students and faculty alike are feeling the exhaustion and stress of the semester. There is hope, however, for this coming spring semester. The University has created strategic breaks spread throughout the semester. These breaks will generally be in the middle of the week to discourage students from traveling to other locations and possibly spreading COVID-19. The breaks will take place on Jan. 18, Feb. 2, Feb. 15, Mar. 10, Mar. 30, Apr. 21, and Apr. 30. Additionally, the University is working to make sure that there will be no scheduled assignments on these breaks to allow the students to fully relax. Many students are grateful for the breaks after the burn-out that was experienced this semester. However, some of them are skeptical that these precautions will work.
Cheryl Anne de Guzman (sophomore, medical laboratory science) said, “I think the University had a very smart considerate alternative when going about no spring break. However, putting the breaks in the middle of the week to discourage students from traveling off campus for an extended period will not completely stop students. I have heard from some students that especially for breaks on Tuesday, along with many classes having a zoom alternative, or lecture recordings posted, that they will either zoom or take an absence and catch up through the lecture recording. Other than that, I think by strategically placing the breaks for the COVID-19 circumstances will be such a relief to students and prevent burnout like what’s happening this semester, myself included.”
Other students are concerned that the planned days off will not actually be a break, and instead will become a day to catch up on studying for upcoming tests. One individual stated, “Honestly COVID-19 is making school life really difficult right now, so I can appreciate that the university is trying their best to give us off days while trying to keep the university as a whole socially distant. However, I'm not sure how off days during the week will be rest days when they'll most likely be prep days for tests. But in general, I think it’s a pretty good idea, much better than the no-break brutal semester we've been having currently.”
Regardless of what the students will do with their days off, they are all grateful for the added breaks this upcoming semester. Through the implementation of the University's new schedule, we hope to have a safe and less stressful spring semester.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.