How UNR Students #StayAtHome
Due to the corona virus, the University of Nevada, Reno has sent students away from campus to continue classes online. The university first announced on March 12, its plans for delivery of all for-credit academic courses online to begin March 23 following Spring Break. Faculty were asked to have their online delivery prepared no later than March 25. UNR began the delivery by giving all faculty, students, and staff access to Zoom Pro from Zoom, a cloud platform for video and audio conferencing which many professors have been using to conduct online lectures.
The university asked students living in the residence halls to stay home and not return following the end of Spring Break with UNR at that point in time deciding to keep the campus open. On March 19, students were rallying to get signatures on an online petition asking the university for refunds on housing, with students soon additionally demanding that check out from the residence halls be extended to the end of the semester. This petition created by Jessica Avisad, and the ensuing student reaction, came in response to the university email asking students to move out no later than March 25, a few days after Spring Break. The university later agreed to grant students a partial refund on housing and tuition as well as extend check out from the residence halls to the end of the semester so as to allow students time to make those plans and not crowd everyone during the move out process.
These recent changes have affected students in many different ways academically, financially, socially, and mentally. Students are now adjusting to the changes of studying at home and around family, living without work and their usual social supports, as well as coping with an unprecedented situation without the resources they may usually reach out to from the university. Sara Bernardo, Shay Jordan, and Alex Shi are third year students from the University who spoke about how the changes from the university due to the corona virus have impacted them in all these aspects. Sara is a Speech Pathology and Audiology major. They are currently in California with family. Shay Jordan is a Human Development and Family Services (HDFS) and Dance double major and they are currently in Las Vegas with family. Alex Shi majors in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and they minor in English for writing. Alex is currently living off campus in Reno.
How has the move to online classes impacted your studies?
Sara
My instructors have done a great job of transitioning our classes to online. The main tricky thing that I’ve encountered so far is trying to do a group project in the midst of all this.
Shay
I take a total of 6 classes, with 4 of them being dance. With so many of them being dance, it has been a big shift in working for me. It essentially feels like I’ve quit dance for a while, as while we still have assignments, it’s hard to truly feel I’m working on my technique and creative choreographic process when I have no classmates or professors for feedback or inspiration.
Alex
I’ve known online classes aren’t my style of learning for a while. It’s hard to find out when and where my due dates are. It’s also been hard to bring things like school into my room, which had previously been just a place for me to relax. It’s hard for me to maintain focus sometimes because my body is conditioned to think a certain thing in certain environments.
Where do you do your schoolwork and how does that environment help/hinder you?
Sara
I’ve been doing my schoolwork at a desk/vanity that’s in my room at my parent’s house. For the most part, my parents tend to stay downstairs during the day, and my sister is in the next room doing schoolwork, so it’s been a good setup so far.
The issue is going to come later when the dogs are alone during the day when my parents work, then I’ll be doing schoolwork in the kitchen. I’ve also been using headphones to either play music while I’m working on things or to listen to lectures, which has been helpful.
Shay
I do my schoolwork wherever I can at this point. I’ve traveled home to Las Vegas, and my parents are divorced so I’ve switched back and forth between houses. I’m not able to have a real set-up because of this. For choreographic purposes, it’s difficult to use this environment because of the constant shift in environment. I’ve been trying to use the outside environment instead in finding some sort of inspiration.
Alex
I have a desk to do my schoolwork at, and it’s been a saving grace.
I know having a designated area can put the brain in a mindset ready for work.
However, it’s been really hard to draw boundaries of when I should stop working and give myself a break.
Has your attitude towards your schoolwork changed and if so, how?
Sara
I’ve become more motivated to be on top of my work because I have a bit more control over it.
Shay
I’ve had to not push myself too hard to work during this, as strange as it may sound. Sometimes I can’t choreograph, and there’s simply nothing I can do about it. The frustration can get to me very easily, and it can make finding inspiration difficult.
Alex
I still value schoolwork and prioritize it over many things, like self-care and downtime.
Are there any services from the university or aspects of physically attending class that you miss and why?
Sara
The main thing I miss about the university are my friends. I miss being able to see and talk to them every day. I’m so used to this that it’s really strange to not have it. I also miss being out and about, I would get overwhelmed a lot by being out on campus, especially when I’m in a rush, but I miss having that opportunity.
Shay
I especially just miss the community I had. My family life is really toxic, and I cannot be out to my family in the way I am in Reno. I truthfully just miss the support I had from not only other students, but faculty and professors who supported me in expressing myself and participating in creative processes.
I also received most of my mental health resources from the University. I saw a therapist through the Downing Clinic, and received medications through a psychiatrist I saw through the Student Health Center. This service has ceased for me, and I have been struggling because of it.
Alex
I genuinely miss being in my workshops. My fiction and poetry workshops are meant to be tight knit communities in private settings where we discuss our works. It feels like that sense of community is lost and I wasn’t prepared to say farewell to physically meeting so suddenly. Both classes have been doing their best to adjust to needs and various aspects like bandwidth and environments.
Is there anything you would like to see UNR work on now/after students return?
Sara
Currently, UNR is doing okay with offering resources such as the DRC and refunds on housing and parking, though that was a battle. More counseling support will be needed once we get back on campus. I went out to the pharmacy yesterday, and that itself was anxiety-provoking and felt surreal, so I can’t imagine what classes will be like. I don’t think I’m the only person who’s experienced this.
Shay
Right now, the biggest support I need is financial and a smoother transition for my disability resources. I tested through the disability resource center. How my resources will be handled has not been spoken to me about. On top of that, I was beginning to work on campus, and I have lost my job due to the campus closing. I have no income coming in, and I would appreciate it if the university looked out for me because of this.
This will be and has been really difficult in a mental way. My mental health has been affected and students will still need time to process what we’ve been through and the fear that came out of this. The University will need to step up on that front and make sure the resources can truly help their students.
Alex
UNR should really consider if they dealt with housing and parking in a good manner. It really showed where their values aligned when they first attempted to get the dorms moved in a handful of days. To shove so many students as well as their families in enclosed areas, working hard to move things out… The stress and physical needs would have been a horrible breeding ground. Plus, travelling from one city to another is certainly a good way to spread the disease around. There has to be a contingency plan for if this or any other unprecedented event happens. Leaders should have listened to students from the get-go, not wait until there was backlash to act in students’ interests.
UNR needs to implement a pass/fail system for their classes. I understand why that may not be appealing, but for students, their homes can be a disruptive environment that doesn’t promote learning in an engaging manner. That is why they paid tuition, to be able to access campus resources like the KC or PSAC. Now that those environments are lost, many students find themselves struggling to manage a new stress load on top of the emotional exhaustion of living through a historical event.
What do you like and dislike about having classes online?
Sara
I like that a lot of my lectures are recorded so I can go back and look through it if I miss something the first time. I dislike online classes because it’s hard for me to pay attention to lectures as they’re happening through a computer.
Shay
I have participated in online classes before, so for my academic focused classes, I have been able to shift over to a new way of working. I enjoy being able to work more on my own schedule, switching back and forth between subjects without repercussions. However, I am missing the classroom discussion and being able to bounce ideas between other classmates that would broaden my world-view.
Alex
Travel time has been cut down and I’ve had more time to follow up with a few hobbies I’ve left on the side. However, again, there’s been a battle on how to set my boundaries and when those should be. It’s also hard when the Internet is a huge determining factor in the flow for classes. Wifi is hard to work with when some students cut out, you want to make a comment but it’s lagging, and teachers can’t help that. They can only move on and be ready for a barrage of questions after class.
If you work, what is your job and how has your work been affected?
Sara
I work at the Writing and Speaking Center. Currently, we’ve moved our schedule online, so I still have some hours. It’s been really weird to get used to working with students primarily online, though I imagine it’ll get easier as the year progresses. I’m lucky to still have a job right now, however, and am grateful for my supervisors and how hard they’ve been working through all this.
Shay
I was getting ready to work at the new Panera opening on campus. Due to the chaos, I lost the opportunity to work and to earn an income. With most places being closed or cutting hours, I cannot earn an income.
Alex
I work as a consultant for the University Writing & Speaking Center (UWSC). All of our appointments have been moved online. All of our hours have been limited now and it’s actually difficult to succeed in all of my duties without working unpaid hours. I want to be successful in what I do, but it’s hard when this pandemic forces everyone to consider emergency resources and what we have going on.
If you lived in the dorms, what has the process of moving out been like and how have the changes affected you?
Sara
I still haven’t gone to move my stuff out, and I have no clue when I will be able to. I live in California and we are in a Shelter in Place (meaning we could get fined or arrested for leaving the house to do things that aren’t considered essential, though I’m not sure how it’s being enforced) so I don’t think I will be able to go until that is lifted.
Shay
I did not live in the dorms, I lived off campus.
Alex
Thankfully I didn’t live in student housing this year.
Is there anything else personally affecting you or any thoughts that you would like to share?
Sara
My parents both work in hospitals, so I’m trying to be really careful about getting sick. My dad also works in Nevada, so we’re a bit worried he’s going to get stuck there either because his work needs him to stay or California officials won’t let him reenter the state. Also, I’ve started to do psychiatry and therapy online, which is really strange and not super comfortable (I’m scared of being overheard). I’m sure this is something others are dealing with right now, which is going to show when all of this is done.
Shay
Truthfully, being home and with my family is just not the best place for me, but it is terrifying thinking of trying to navigate this on my own. I appreciate the resources my parents have helped to organize while I’m home, but at moments it feels like my mental health is regressing back to when I lived in this unhealthy environment. It is taking a lot of work to keep up with the progress I’ve made, but I truly don’t know what I’ll have to fix when this is over.
Alex
Being “home” is not a good mental move for me, so it’s been hard reminding my mom I’m okay up here [in Reno] and that if she does travel, she’s only promoting the spread of the virus. This is emotionally exhausting, and then dealing with all the amazing extracurriculars I used to do… Having to come to terms that, possibly, I won’t be able to march my final season has been heartbreaking and I’m still trying to come to terms with it. Personally, I did not march 3 years, 6+ hours per week, for a 1 credit class only for something to stop me from marching my final season.
