Student Experience: Eddie Dennis
Eddie Dennis is a senior commuter student majoring in political science and philosophy. The following is a reflection of his student experience at Capital University.
Overall, how has your experience at Capital University been? Would you describe it as positive, negative, or neutral?
I view it as a largely negative experience with interspersing’s of positive interaction mainly on the personal level. I’ve met a lot of good people at Capital. A couple of my professors, especially the ones who are now gone were really impactful to me both in an educational experience and in a personal experience. But that’s about where my positive notes end. For as many good professors as I’ve had, I’ve had ones who I would not consider up for the job. I have not had a lot of positive interactions with the administration. I have had positive notes, I’m not going to pretend like I haven’t but they’ve exclusively been overshadowed by a myriad of negative notes.
Does your experience match the experience you expected to have coming in as a first-year student?
No.
How would you describe interactions with faculty? Are there any experiences you would like to highlight?
On one hand, I really liked some of my professors. Again, both from an educational standpoint and from personal interaction. On the other hand, I have had negative experiences with others.
I have a professor this semester, they have not handled the transition to online classes well. The class that they teach is fully online. They have demonstrated themselves to be not familiar with Zoom technology or iLearn, which to each their own, technology can sometimes be hard, but they have displayed an unwillingness to adopt changes to the way they do things that would benefit everyone, themselves included.
I don’t have a camera, because I have a PC, and I can’t use Zoom on my phone because the last time I did, it bricked my phone. This has not stopped me from being present at every available opportunity. I have yet to see a point at which a camera was absolutely necessary. I have talked with my professor three times at the very least this week about how and why I can’t have a camera. I started off the semester failing a quiz, which has yet to be rectified, and probably never will, solely because I don’t have a camera. I have talked to this professor about how I can fulfill in-class assignments without a camera, as I said, there’s no reason I need one. They have all been fruitless. And just recently I was told if I can’t get a camera for a presentation at the end of the semester, I am just going to fail that presentation, and thereby fail the class. And when I told the professor I literally do not have a way to obtain a camera in which I will be able to use Zoom, this professor said, “Well, you’re just going to need to figure it out.”
How would you describe your impressions of the administration throughout your time as a Capital student? Are there any experiences you would like to highlight?
For example, I had been trying to change my Political Science track from the one offered when I came here in 2017 to the one offered in 2018. My advisor did not have the qualifications to do so, so I went through the administration office, had to sign 3 or 4 letters from advisors, then eventually re-approach the administration office after a period of silence.
How would you describe your interactions with other students? Are there any experiences you would like to highlight?
As I’ve said, I’ve met a lot of good people on campus, some of my closest friends I’ve met here.
