BLOOMSBURG – Bloomsburg students were pleased to hear President Hanna’s March 3rd announcement to return to in-person classes next Fall semester. In interviews conducted with ten Bloomsburg students last week, all seemed in joint agreement that the benefits of returning to campus outweigh the risks.

When asked why the return would be so beneficial, a common theme among interviewees was the efficiency of in-person learning. BU junior Carlos Serrano stated in an interview,

“A face-to-face learning environment is a better environment for everyone. Zoom classes are not nearly as efficient, and professors seem to be non-proficient when it comes to teaching them.”

Most interviewees elaborated on this viewpoint; online learning will never hold the normalization or effectiveness of an in-person learning environment. The belief held was that nothing could work as a fix for person-to-person interaction. It’s the standard way of doing things, BU junior Benjamin Miller explained in an interview.

“An in-person learning environment is how I was taught to learn, not looking at others through a computer screen.”
Another benefit that seemed to derive from the increased efficiency of learning is the increased value of education. BU sophomore Kyle Warner expressed this belief stating,

“This return should have happened sooner. For the money we’re paying as students, we deserve to be on campus full time.”

Many of those interviewed seemed in common consensus with Warner’s statement. Online learning does not match the value of what we as students are paying to receive it. We deserve the best learning environment we can receive for the money we pay, and that is an in-person learning environment.

Though eager to return, those interviewed were not naive to assume this return comes with a certain amount of risk. All held the common belief that covid will still play a massive role in how the semester plays out. BU junior Will Martin provided his thoughts on the matter.

“Things are still going to be Covid crazy. Covid is still obviously a high risk, and there is still much more potential for future outbreaks. It is their job as the school to enforce regulations, and our job as students to follow those regulations.”

It seemed there wouldn’t be much shock among the students interviewed if the semester ends up altered yet again. All seemed fully aware that heavy regulations need to be put in place for things to run smoothly.

A more pessimistic view on how the Fall semester might play out came from junior Olivia Swallow. Swallow explained,

“I myself am excited about the return back, but I don’t really see it as a practical thing. It seems like much hasn’t changed since this all started; it was said we would return to campus this current semester, but so far, nothing has happened. I don’t see how another four months idling by is going to change anything.”

Swallow elaborated on this view, explaining that everyone from the faculty to the students needs to cooperate with the regulations for this to have any chance at working for this return to work.

All in all, it appears that while being fully aware of the risk and responsibility that comes with returning to campus this Fall, these students are more than willing to make the shift.