Penn State’s decision to come back in person excites students, worries others.
STATE COLLEGE Pa. — Penn State students like senior Jaysa Grafton are elated to be back in-person for the first time since 2019. Going to PSUBarstool’s posts about the potential start of the Spring 2022 semester being online made many agree — students prefer in-person learning to online learning.
This trend seems to be nationwide. A study by Sallie Mae showed that 75% of college students and their families preferred in-person learning and wanted to get back on campus with 89% preferring hybrid and only 17% preferring online only.
“I prefer in-person learning because when I’m sitting in a classroom in front of my professor, I’m forced to watch and listen rather than just let it be background noise,” said Molly Gulden, a sophomore majoring in Earth Science and Policy. “It’s also very helpful to be surrounded by people who are learning as well.”
The increase of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant almost delayed the start of the spring semester, with the university making a statement shortly after the end of the fall semester saying a decision would be made regarding the start of the spring semester by Dec. 30.
The university statement says that it will continue to monitor the situation at all of its campuses and “alter its plans if needed” adding that they will continue to monitor the capacity at Mount Nittany, the only hospital in Centre County.
As of Feb. 1, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard, there are 43 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with four of those patients being in the ICU and four on ventilators. There are currently three available adult ICU beds and nine available airborne isolation rooms.
Additionally, there is an uptick of over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases since classes resumed with the University dashboard showing 667 positive tests from Jan. 20 to Jan. 27 at University Park.
Some students thought that the start of the semester being in-person was a bad choice, but others however, don’t see any benefits of the delay of in-person class.
“I don’t think that allowing classes to resume in person was a mistake and I don’t think that COVID cases would be any lower if we were online,” Gulden said. “I’m sure that most COVID spreading occurs in bars and fraternity houses. I’m also positive that none of those parties would have been deterred by online classes.”
Some students do see the benefits of either online learning or hybrid learning. “It certainly engages students more to be in person,” said Grafton. “However, regardless of the pandemic, I think it’s a good option that if someone is sick, they can join via Zoom”
Grafton, a senior majoring in Mathematics, sees online classes as a hindrance to her education. “Math professors do not tend to have a good transition to online learning because they just read off pre-typed notes and it’s hard to focus in that amount of time,” she said. “I feel my attention is properly directed and I find it easier to get together with people to study.”
While students prefer the semester starts with in-person learning, some professors don’t have the same confidence regarding the spread of COVID-19.
One professor, Jesse Barlow, who was “disappointed but not surprised” by the university’s decision believes that the semester should have been looked at differently citing the “situation is different”.
“I think we could have kept the numbers down further if we had been able to do courses online,” said Barlow, who is the council president for the Borough of State College. “I am recording all of my lectures this semester because even in my small graduate class, people have been affected by the omicron variant in particular.”
While Barlow believes the start of the semester should have been different, he is not a fan of online learning and prefers in-person. “In-person learning is better. Human contact is better. I like being able to walk back and forth, look at the class, write on the black board,” he said. “That has a much better feel to it than giving an online lecture.”
