By Mia Glass
For Olivia Pasquale of Little Silver, freshman year at Villanova University was turning out to be everything she wanted.
A biology major, she was excited to start researching a potential immune checkpoint inhibitor and its role in tumor progression. She had just joined the Special Olympics committee and was beginning to build close relationships with the members. Spring break in Florida with newfound best friends was the relaxing breather she needed.
But then campus life in Pennsylvania came to a sudden end. Like so many colleges, Villanova announced the cancelation of all on-campus activities in response to the threat of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. All classes moved online for the rest of the spring semester and Pasquale is back at home in Little Silver.
“It’s just saddening that we’ll have to do it all from our bedrooms for now,” said Pasquale.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it is forcing unprecedented changes for 19.9 million college students in America. For many, the end of spring break coincided with a nationwide shutdown of college campuses.
“The Sunday that I came back from spring break, there was not even a thought in my mind that this would be so bad,” said Pasquale. “But then Monday was the day that everything started going crazy.”
That week, Pasquale said students learned they could stay on campus or return home and the school would be switching to an online format the following March 16. Two days later, Villanova sent out another email. This time students were told they had to leave campus by Sunday, March 15. It wasn’t clear if that meant they should take all their belongings, or if they would be returning in April. Then came the announcement March 23 canceling the rest of the semester on campus.
“It was stressful when they were giving us the option because if you chose to move out you could get a refund on your housing. But if we were to come back after Easter break we weren’t guaranteed housing,” Pasquale said.
In addition to the possibility of getting sick, having to suddenly move out of the dorm was overwhelming for some students.
“I was expecting to have two more months with everyone, so that was hard. And the worst part was that I was the last of my friends to leave, so saying goodbye to everyone was really sad,” Pasquale said.
Colleges and universities across the country were scrambling to adapt to the changing information and advice from state and local health officials and the CDC. In Tinton Falls, Jacob Field is home for the remainder of his freshman year at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington D.C.
Field was first told by the university that students would come back from spring break and have online classes until further notice. The next email said students had to move out of housing by March 29. That date was eventually pushed up to March 22.
“We left for spring break and we didn’t know we were saying goodbye, so I actually didn’t get to say bye to most people,” said Field.
Now that school has gone online, Field is attending class via Zoom. It works for the most part, he said, though he noticed some students and teachers struggle with the technology. There was also an instance where random students discovered the link to his accounting class through Facebook and joined as a joke.
Beyond the challenges that come with using a new platform, many teachers are changing their curriculum and the way they grade exams. Like many other schools, Georgetown has given students the option to decide, by the end of the semester, if they want to convert a graded course to a pass/fail option.
While schools attempt transparency with their community members, the anxiety of the unknown can lead to rumors and conjecture among students.
“The business school had a curve and they got rid of it because they know that everyone’s going to cheat. I also know one teacher said she’s going to make her tests really hard,” said Field.
Charlotte Kaye from Allenhurst is majoring in early childhood development at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, which has closed that campus and satellite campuses in Hazlet, Wall and Freehold.
In-person classes were canceled March 11 and virtual instruction began March 23.
Remote learning is a new experience for most involved, including faculty.
“My art history teacher isn’t super savvy with technology, but she’s been working on making the class manageable,” said Kaye. “All my professors have reached out and have been so reassuring about getting us through the semester, so they’re still there to support us even though we don’t see them face to face.”
All three Monmouth County students felt the schools are handling the situation to the best of their abilities. Despite self-isolating at home, the students have been keeping busy to combat the emotional rollercoaster of the experience.
“I’ve adjusted. I’ve been baking a lot, hanging out with my dog, going on walks, and doing Zumba with my sister on the Xbox,” said Pasquale.
And friends from school are only a text or phone call away.
“In this day and age, it doesn’t really feel like you’re isolating because you have FaceTime and you can keep in touch with people,” said Kaye.
But many students have realized how much they took everyday college life for granted.
“There was a lot of fun stuff planned for spring so I’m sad we’re going to miss it,” said Field. “It definitely makes you appreciate the school more.”
“Definitely once it’s over I’m going straight to Starbucks, straight to Rook, and everywhere else,” said Kaye. “I need to forget about this experience. But so far, it’s not the end of the world.”
Mia Glass of Little Silver is a government and economics major at Cornell University, now studying on Zoom with her new school mascot, her beloved black lab Coco.
This article originally appeared in the March 26, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
