by Nick Stonesifer ’20

With the ongoing pandemic and college move-in less than five months away, students are wondering how their fall semesters will start, if they even start at all. 

Coronavirus has had impacts of different severity all across the country, hitting large cities the hardest so far, making one student need to weigh the value of attending college in a major city. “Sadly, both of my top colleges are in major cities such as New York and Chicago,” said Nicholas Rossi. “It’s been a hard decision to make considering the impact it’s had on New York especially. Through this process I’ve been asking them both the same question. What are your plans if this situation becomes long term?” 

Rossi, like many others, is left asking the same questions: how long will this go on, how long before we may go back to normal, and what is the plan if we are still under lockdown? If the shift to online learning for the fall semester is required, many Sherwood seniors would feel as though their freshman years at college will have been undercut. 

“I will absolutely feel robbed of my freshman year. Senior year of high school and freshman year of college are two of the biggest school years of our lives, and we might miss the chance at both of them,” said Melissa Bitting. “Freshman year of college is about experiencing true freedom for the first time, finding your identity and your people, and learning to be an independent person. These experiences are unmatched to any other year, so to not have them would be depriving us of crucial growth.” If current seniors  have to continue with  online classes at the start of college, they fear that they will be paying tens of thousands of dollars for an online instruction they could have received for much cheaper at other schools. “Is it worth it to still pay the same tuition rate when you’re studying from home? I personally don’t really think so, so I expect either a top notch online education or reduced tuition,” said Diana Hernandez. With tuition prices rising already, a transfer to total online learning could lead to even more tuition increases according to the dean of the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. Plenty of students agree that online instruction doesn’t provide the same quality results as in person instruction.

Students are hopeful about a reopening in the fall, but with everything so up in the air it is very difficult to gauge how a reopening would go. “Of course I want everything to be over by then, but it really comes down to the medical progress made on treatments and vaccines so I think it’s a little early to tell how long the quarantine will last, but I am confident that when everything starts to open back up again, following guidelines and keeping good hygiene will be enough to keep us safe,” said Clara Wiersma , who believes that if the people can act with diligence that a fall reopening could be possible. 

With all of the confusion and questions surrounding a possible fall closure, one student thinks that we should remain optimistic about the whole situation. Ashton Labarta is very eager to experience the world around her, and is able to keep her head up high during these confusing times. “I just want to go to college and get into the real world. College opens up so many doors for all of us and I’ve waited to get there for so long. In my opinion, it’s just a minor bump in the road. Who says we can’t make up for lost time second semester!”