Thursday, Mar. 11, 2021, marked the one-year anniversary of Andrews University students and staff learning that they would be transitioning to online learning. At the time, everything seemed very uncertain and many wondered what future school years would look like. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, life and classes at Andrews have undergone vast changes and adjustments. Aside from the basic aspects of wearing masks and social distancing, students and professors have had to make adjustments in the classroom, café and Gazebo, dorm life, and extracurricular activities.
On Mar. 30, 2020, Andrews classes officially went online for the first time and continued till the end of the semester. Many wondered if Andrews would return to on-campus learning the next semester. While the university’s decision to start classes back up on campus during the fall 2020 semester brought some sense of normalcy back to students' lives, it was not without its many changes. Hybrid learning, including both remote and in-class students, was created to meet the challenges of combining distance learning with in-person learning. Professors had to adjust class activities to accommodate social distancing, and tests and quizzes became mostly digitized. Shania Watts (senior, English, music performance) explained what it has been like transitioning to being an entirely remote student. She shared, “The decision I made to learn remotely for the 2020-21 school year was extremely difficult and upsetting! I was sad I wouldn’t be on campus to partake in social activities and was also worried because my experience with remote learning in March had not been great.” She added, “One of the biggest challenges has been technical difficulties and participating in discussions. However, my professors have done a great job in making sure my voice is heard!”
Dorm life also resulted in many changes affecting both the social life and safety of students. Some of these changes included masks being required in hallways and study rooms, furniture being rearranged to accommodate social distancing, study rooms having limited capacity, increased cleaning, and more students having their own rooms. While many students were nervous about returning to dorm life amidst a global pandemic, over the course of the school year they have begun to settle in. Matakala Muhwanga (sophomore, accounting, finance) shared, “When I first heard that we would be coming back to school I was nervous because I didn’t know how the school would handle COVID-19. Overall, I think Andrews has done a good job with their regulations and keeping the dorms safe. However, sometimes it has been hard because we are not able to socialize and have events in the dorm like we used too.” While we have all had to make sacrifices in our social lives to ensure one another’s safety, Andrews has still provided a safe living environment for students to pursue their education.
Along with changes in the dorm, the café and Gazebo made the necessary adjustments to accommodate COVID-19 regulations. Early on students faced challenges waiting in very long lines for food and being unable to order food from the Gazebo. However, this year the GetFood app was developed to help students safely order food ahead of time for pick up and resolve the line complications. Nehemiah Sitler (junior, communications) explained how the app has helped him this year, noting, “I have been using the app a lot lately and think that it is really easy and convenient to use. The ability to order in class and pick up without having to wait in line has been really convenient!”
The social life of Andrews students has also become more difficult as extracurricular activities have been limited. Clubs have not been able to hold many in-person activities, departments have been unable to take trips, and AUSA has had to get creative with fun, new activities for students on campus. The limited social life has become one of the biggest adjustments for students so far. Kara Shepard (junior, physics) shared, “It’s definitely been strange adapting to the changes that have happened over the last year. I am glad that there are ways to have safe, in-person classes, but still miss some of the more social aspects of college. I especially miss going to Honors events, like seeing plays and concerts. Thankfully, we were still able to have a beautiful Agape Feast, which is always my favorite event!”
As we approach the end of the 2020-2021 school year and take steps towards returning to normalcy, it is important that we reflect on all the challenges we have overcome. While we have faced a school year full of unexpected changes, we have grown and worked together to ensure that the Andrews campus remains a safe place.
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.