The halls of a college campus differ greatly from those leading from your bedroom to the fridge, and some students are having trouble readjusting to what regular schooling was like before COVID-19. As I was sitting through my third lecture from the many accredited academics at Zoom University, I got on my phone. Not many will admit it, but this is something that everyone can relate to doing at least once. However, I didn’t get on my phone to mess around.

In a typical social fashion, I had turned my camera and microphone off while the professor spoke. I timed the pauses between speech from students, not including when the teacher was asking questions. Dialogue between students about class subjects, to word it more precisely. I was sad but not surprised when I didn’t have to hit the stop button on my timer. Nobody talked, there was no conversation, at all. My Zoom call served as a reminder of how the pandemic has changed aspects of our lives, but for students especially, academic engagement has suffered. 

In-person classes have finally started to resume, and it is safe to say that feelings from students are mixed. I find it harder to focus during in-person classes, as I almost feel I can’t be as relaxed compared to sitting in front of a covered camera and only talking every couple of classes. 

On the opposite side of that, freshman Kaylee Yeakle said that she “thinks that the personal connection that in-person classes make between teacher and students is important. It helps the student retain information and get more out of the class.” 

McKendree College freshman Will Nall had quite a bit to say about the subject. He was quoted as “feeling good about them [in-person classes] resuming.” Kenli Nettles, a freshman from the University of Illinois thinks, “I like online better because I don’t have to leave my room, but from a mental standpoint I think that it’s better to be in person.” She believes that online school exaggerates procrastination habits, leading to greater work pile up and then you inevitably “…have this entire week’s homework to do tonight,” and that while maybe not the greatest for her, in-person classes provide a boost to academic performance. 

Regardless of the feelings about in-person classes starting back up, undoubtedly it will take some time to get used to the ebbs and flows of walking through an actual school again, and hopefully, that will be sooner rather than later.