Recently, the ETSU Multicultural Center hosted a session called “Listening for Action” in which students were able to share their experiences as a student at ETSU and how they can enact change at our school. It is encouraging to see events like this being organized, especially in a time where most of us are not on campus.
I think being mostly online has really changed some students’ perspectives on what we want to be included or not included in our experience at school. Being online, we are reminded of things we maybe loved about on-campus school but took for granted, things we do not miss or things we may actually like about our mostly virtual experiences that we want to keep when we go back to a more on-campus structure.
Though I am graduating this semester, I still have an opinion on what I would have liked to see if I were still attending ETSU in future semesters. For one, I absolutely hate online school, and if I was not graduating, I would definitely request that all classes have at least one on-campus option whenever the school decides to go back to a majority of on-campus classes. I say this because even before COVID-19, my major only offered some required classes online, and I wish I would have been able to take full advantage of actually being on campus when it was safe to do so.
In my experience at ETSU, students have been able to enact change to better their experience, and for the most part, the university is relatively receptive and open to hearing students’ ideas. Our community of students is strong, and when they don’t feel like they are being heard, they often speak louder and organize petitions, events or even protests to make sure they will be heard by administration.
After coming out of these last two and half semesters of being online, I am hoping that students in the following semesters will be able to really enjoy their time at ETSU and get the fullest experience possible. If students band together and voice their wants and concerns, I know they will be able to achieve the change they want to see.
