The administration has recently announced that the Spring 2021 semester will be mostly online again. The status of next semester’s classes has been long anticipated, but as the COVID-19 virus has continued to spread at an alarming rate, few were under the illusion that we would return fully in-person any time soon.
Though not unexpected and far from the ideal conditions of learning, the return to online classes is certainly the best option on the table as we wait out the pandemic.
For the safety of students and workers, staying on track with our plan for social distancing is the best move. We need to do everything we can now to stop the spread of the virus so that our lockdown is not prolonged. Like everyone else, I hope to return to normal as soon as possible. I want to see other students, sit in a classroom and gather in large groups again.
However, pretending things are okay will not make that anymore true. We have an obligation to ourselves and to our fellow community members to prevent the spread of the virus so we can all go back without the looming threat of infection.
There is no reason we should have to make a gamble for our health every time we step out the door. The responsibility should not fall on the common person to prevent a calamity of this magnitude. ETSU’s decision to move online will allow us to eventually come back under much safer conditions.
As we move into the third partial semester online, I sincerely hope the administration holds to their promises of not raising tuition, keeping workers employed, offering the Pass/Fail option again and being generous with students and workers as we navigate this difficult time.
I am anxious to see how the semester goes, but I can rest a little easier knowing there is a smaller chance of an outbreak in our community.
