With COVID-19 making its way through Bloomsburg campus, students are reconsidering the choice to keep classes in person.

The first week of classes were held online to help reduce the number of cases in the first week of students back on campus. Classes resumed in person starting the second week, and cases began to rise.

Some students want to stay in-person, while others preferred online learning.

Tory Aldinger, a junior Media & Journalism major said, “I want to stay in person because it’s so much easier to learn in an actual classroom than on ZOOM.”

Senior criminal justice major Cameryn Evans said, “I want to stay in-person because it’s easier to learn face-to-face, rather than through the screen. I like the atmosphere of being on campus. Plus, there are more resources available on campus if we stay in person.”

She went on to say that she wanted to her last semester to stay fully in-person so that she can learn as much as she can before entering the work world and get the hands-on experience that she needs.

“We saw the rec weight room get closed because students weren’t wearing masks, so it makes me nervous what is next. I feel like I’m just waiting for an email saying cases are too high and we are moving back online,” Evans went on to say.

Senior Media & Journalism major Teresa Nappo agreed with Evans.

“I found myself getting distracted when we were online. I am able to stay more focused more in a face-to-face environment. If cases continue to rise, I really think Bloom will end up going back online,” she said.

On the other side of the fence, BU student Tara Regan said she would prefer classes to go back online.

“I got so used to classes being online and not having to be in person, that when we came back campus fully, I was really turned around.”

Regan explained that her major requires in-person classes because they must have face-to-face contact. Because of this, she does not have the option to go hybrid, which is what she would prefer.

“I feel like I went from one extreme to the other; fully online to fully on-person. It’s been a really difficult transition for me, and it still really is,” she went on to say.

Junior Nicole DeStefano is with Regan.

“It’s nice to just be able to roll out of bed and log onto class. I still feel like I’m learning a lot even with classes being on ZOOM. Plus, I don’t want to even risk going into my classes because there’s people around me coughing non-stop, and some not even wearing their masks correctly.

“Since the pandemic started, I haven’t had the virus once. Even though I’m fully vaccinated and boosted, I just really feel like there’s such a strong chance that I’m going to catch it while being on campus,” DeStefano said.

At the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, BU was fully online, and students were sent home from campus. What started with an extended spring break led to the entire semester fully online.

At the beginning of August 2020, classes stayed online at the start of Fall semester with the pandemic still lingering. In 2021 Spring semester, classes began in-person, then were quickly moved online with the rise of Covid cases in BU.

Between now and January 24^th, there has been 75 positive student covid cases, and 6 employee cases.