Is in-person learning here to stay?

USD’s confusing guidelines make it hard to know

MARIA SIMPSON / OPINION EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

Last semester, USD was finally able to return to in-person learning after about three semesters of being online. 

Students wandered freely across campus, bumping into friends in Aromas, cheering one another on in club sports, gathering in the Garden of the Sea to look at the view, and so much more. 

I remember the priceless moment when I was first able to run up to and hug people that I had only known through Zoom for a year, finally meeting them in real life. 

We started the Spring 2022 semester back on Zoom, a place that most students and professors hoped they would never be again. 

While “Zoom university” was an understandable and justified precaution a year ago, forcing students to adapt to an online format again is damaging to the college experience. 

Back in Spring 2020, online class was also intended to be temporary, only to extend for the entirety of the semester. There is fear among students and faculty that this semester will have those same results, especially with the Omicron variant at large right now. 

USD has done a poor job of updating the community about moving to virtual learning, returning to in-person, and in general, with COVID-19 guidelines.

This gap in communication becomes more apparent when contrasted with the information provided by other San Diego universities such as the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University (SDSU). 

UCSD announced that classes will begin remotely for a period of time on Dec. 22. While USD announced the temporary shift to virtual learning on Jan. 10 when classes were going to begin two weeks later. 

As we all know, USD is fully in-person again, but a confirmation was never sent out. 

I was on my toes all of last week, worried that an announcement of an extension would come out any minute. 

In the end, students were left to cautiously assume that they were allowed to return to class. 

Vaccine booster requirements were communicated in an even more rushed manner. 

USD sent an announcement on Jan. 5 officially requiring all students to be vaccinated by Jan. 14, leaving less than 10 days for students to find, schedule, and receive the booster shot. 

Due to travel and COVID exposure, this requirement was impossible for me to fulfill so I was put on Interim Suspension until I finally had a chance to get the booster. 

In comparison, SDSU announced their requirement on Dec. 16 which was to be effective Jan. 18, and UCSD announced their requirement Dec. 22, to be effective by Jan. 31. Over a month in comparison to just over a week.   

USD’s approach to COVID protocols has been unclear in many other ways. The website is difficult to navigate, especially in comparison to other San Diego school websites. COVID testing is difficult to find, especially in urgent cases when someone cannot wait a day or two to be tested. 

Information on COVID guidelines, testing, dashboard, and past announcements is not all on one easy to navigate page. 

Requirements for COVID tests before coming to campus also changed as students were returning to USD. 

Some information asked for the test to be taken 72 hours before returning, others said 96 hours. 

The announcement of PCR tests was not an easy requirement, especially for students who may have had COVID over break since PCR can pick up on antibodies.  

Concern migrated from one student to the next that USD would continue to charge full tuition even if school shifted to an online format past Feb. 7. 

The original deadline for full tuition refund was on Feb. 7, the same day class was set to return in person. 

Many students feared this was so that if school continued on Zoom after that date, no one would be able to get a full refund. The full refund date has since been pushed back to Feb. 15, but there is no doubt that students are still wary of where their money is going, especially with online school as a possibility.  

Forcing students to remain on Zoom is also incredibly hypocritical of the university. USD has allowed students and other guests to be in attendance at indoor sports events for several weeks. 

On Feb. 3, the men’s basketball team played Gonzaga with an astounding audience of over 5,000 people in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, many of whom were unmasked. 

Why should I be able to sit inches away from a classmate with no mask surrounded by thousands of people, but I cannot sit next to that same person in a classroom? 

The main concern with returning to in person is the spread of COVID across campus. 

Beginning the semester online was a good precaution to keep any budding cases at bay, but there is almost no point in keeping school virtual after Feb. 7. 

The majority of college age students are at very low risk for severe COVID symptoms and because all faculty, staff, and students should be vaccinated, those who are at higher risk are protected. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the peak death rate for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the US showed that an unvaccinated individual was over 16 times more likely to die than a vaccinated individual. 

In August, CNBC shared that an unvaccinated person was 29 times more likely to be hospitalized than a vaccinated person. 

The CDC also stated that although the Omicron variant tends to spread faster than other variants of COVID, the symptoms are generally less severe. 

USD’s current in-person classroom set up includes precautions despite the already low risk for vaccinated college students. 

Thankfully, in person learning resumed on Feb. 7 as scheduled, but the return to online learning is still a lurking possibility. 

USD returning to virtual learning in the future would divide students, harm mental health, and take a toll on grades and involvement. 

Students should not have to accept a subpar college experience any longer. Hopefully, we as a community can do our best to keep COVID-19 cases low, so that in-person learning remains a safe option. 

However, it is up to the university to clearly communicate  what guidelines we should follow and what direction USD will head in  the upcoming weeks and months.