😷💻 Will students have to return to Zoom university in 2022?

I don’t think any amount of warning could have prepared the world for the impact that COVID-19 has had on our lives. From mask mandates to the fight over vaccines to the more than 5.4 million lives lost, the coronavirus pandemic has altered the ways in which society functions. One of the most significant adjustments for students and teachers during the pandemic was switching from in-person learning to virtual classrooms, and the back and forth involving that. Last week, Howard University announced its decision to delay the start of the spring 2022 semester by a week due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. As usual, students took to Twitter to express their feelings about the setback. Many are hoping for a return to a virtual setting versus the confusion that was caused by Howard’s on-again off-again hybrid model in the fall, while others are afraid 2022 will be a repeat of 2020, when the semester began in person before campus was closed abruptly and forced students to go virtual. DaShawn Simon, a senior at Howard and wide receiver on the Bison football team, believes that another virtual semester could actually benefit both Howard’s football team and the entire student body if the decision is made early. “I think that the first [full] virtual semester [in fall 2020] impacted me and my teammates in a positive way,” Simon said. “I think that was the most focused I have ever been. We were able to lock in on our schoolwork and also on our sport. I think another one could impact us in the same way.” Like many historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Howard’s entire 2020 football season was canceled due to the pandemic. Although the Cricket Celebration Bowl, the HBCU football championship game between the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference, was played on Dec. 18, five FBS college football bowl games have been called off over the past week as a result of spikes in cases on various teams, with UCLA pulling out of the Holiday Bowl on Tuesday, a mere five hours before kickoff. Last season, Howard’s men’s basketball team played only five games before canceling the rest of the season. On Dec. 22, the team announced that it was pausing all activities this season until further notice due to positive COVID-19 test results within the program. “It [a virtual semester] should be considered highly,” said Simon. “It is something that may keep numbers down on campus and it may increase safety on the student side and the administration.” Hampton University announced a similar pause to the season for its men’s team on Dec. 17. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the current COVID-19 omicron variant is spreading more quickly than previous variants of the virus, but often with less severity. Still, the rapid spike in cases has raised valid concerns amongst returning students. I, too, am a senior at Howard. However, I have not been on campus for over a year. Even though campus was open for the fall 2021 semester, all of my classes were online. So, I stayed home in California instead of going to Washington. With this latest rise in COVID-19 cases, I have become more afraid for my health and the health of my peers when I think about what being on campus will look like. Even students who choose to return to campus while remaining cautious are still at risk. So, when it comes to going back to school in person in a few weeks, I think the risks outweigh the benefits, and it would be wise for Howard and other universities to consider going virtual again, sooner rather than later. — Sarah Jones-Smith