University of Massachusetts Amherst students reacts to the remote fall semester
October 2020
By Cassie McGrath, Staff Writer
Photo of the University of Massachusetts Amherst by Kim Mazejka, @throughkimslens on Instagram
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities throughout the United States have adjusted their programs, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst is no exception.
On June 29, the UMass announced their plan for the fall semester. This long awaited proposal was broken down into numerous parts, including testing and quarentinging protocol, student life and finances. The highlight of the plan, though, was that all students who chose to would be allowed to return and live on campus.
Additionally, the university planned to open the Recreational Center, where students exercise, and planned to open dining services, following the strict guidelines laid out by the state of Massachusetts.
Following the announcement, students began to prepare for the fall;, making financial plans, purchasing dorm room decorations and getting excited to return to the western Massachusetts campus.
After being sent home for the semester on March 13, following the onset of the pandemic, UMass students knew they weren’t returning to tailgates. But still, the ability to live on campus gave some students hope for a partly “normal” college experience.
In the weeks following UMass’ announcement, other universities throughout the United States began to reopen. Almost as soon as they did though, they closed again, as outbreaks spread between students. One infamous example is the 130 positive at UNC Chapel Hill following a fraternity party.
On Aug. 6, about seven weeks after announcing their original plan, UMass decided to completely reverse their decision to exceed precautions even beyond state guidelines.
The biggest change and upset was that only specific students with in-person classes or who required housing would be allowed to live on campus. They also chose to close all inessential buildings, meaning that there would be no access to the recreation center and library or other on-campus study areas.
Additionally, the UMass chancellor, Kumble Subbaswamy discouraged students from moving back to the Amherst area in general, addressing off-campus students.
“It was really upsetting to me, because UMass is the only stable sequential home that I've ever had. I really didn't think that it was going to close and then when it did, it was really emotionally upsetting,” said Lydia Shields, a junior at the university studying political science.
Shields was not alone in this feeling.
“From a senior's perspective it is really sad. But obviously, I want to do whatever's best for the town of Amherst,” said Lauren Musshorn, who graduated in December with a degree in environmental science and natural resource conservation. She is continuing her education at UMass in the spring where she will complete a masters in geographic information technology.
“I just wish that the initial ruling could have been the ruling from the beginning. I feel like that would have saved a lot of pain. And I really feel like UMass is just out for money and that's like low key why they made the actual decision so late because it's a lot harder for freshmen to withdraw,” Musshorn said.
During her undergraduate education, Musshorn was very involved at the university, just finishing her term as president of the Panhellenic Council and senator for the Student Government Association. She was also a resident advisor, a New Student Orientation leader and an employee in the College of Natural Sciences office.
As the fall semester progressed, Musshorn said that overall, she thought that UMass did a pretty good job dealing with the pandemic, especially compared to other schools.
Musshorn noted the university specifically succeeded in testing, having completed 185,542 tests by the date of Jan. 1. On Sept. 10, UMass opened asymptomatic testing up to students. Eventually, on Oct. 5, the school opened their testing site to Amherst First Responders and Inspectors.
When Musshorn came home for holiday break, she was potentially exposed to the virus and needed to get a test. She found so much trouble in this process that she realized how accessible testing was made at UMass.
Musshorn also complimented the school’s ability to contain outbreaks. UMass saw a spike in cases following Halloween and towards the end of the semester on Nov. 30. At the time this article was published, here are currently 544 cumulative positive cases linked to the university.
As the new year begins, Musshorn and Shields both plan to get the vaccine as soon as it is available to them.
In early October, Shields tested positive for the coronavirus after two negative test results. Shields said her symptoms included pressure on her chest and losing her taste and smell. She also said she slept for about 20 hours per day, making it hard to do school work.
When Shields contacted her professors to let them know, she said “they were incredibly understanding about it.”
Shields was at home with her parents during her quarantine and contacted the university to let them know she tested positive but was out of the state. UMass checked in with her twice during her quarantine.
Like many UMass students, Musshorn and Shields both shared frustration that tuition did not decrease for the fall. In-state tuition at UMass for this year is $16,439 while out-of-state tuition is $36,427 and international tuition is $38,512.
Students around UMass stressed that they were not getting the same academic experience online than they usually do and therefore, should not be charged the same price. The majority of classes were taught remotely during the fall semester. The only in-person instruction was for labs or other courses with required equipment.
Shields said she thought that keeping the tuition the same was “criminal.”
“I think that it's reflective of how unimportant students are compared to their monetary contribution to the college, that the tuition was charged the same amount for, for us being, you know, not allowed to use any of the facilities at UMass,” she said.
“I have classes that are entirely online to the point where it's not even a Zoom class, the professor puts the lecture in PDF form. And then it's like at that point, I could probably get that information on Google,” Shields continued.
Remote learning also presented difficulties for students with different learning styles. Shields said she is not an auditory learner, making remote classes especially difficult.
Simply the act of going to class can motivate students. On Zoom, many students turn their cameras off, making it difficult to engage in the classroom.
“I think that people are a lot more encouraged to interact in class when you're sitting there around people and the professor's like actually looking at you,” Shields said. In her classes, Shields connected with other students she already knew from previous semesters to maintain her community.
Furthermore, a huge part of the college experience is socializing. Shields described a feeling of missing out on her youth. As a highly social individual who loves meeting new people, something that she has taken advantage of at this school with nearly 30,000 students, she has felt “this crushing sense of I will never be this young again.”
“I'm only 20 and that is really, really young. But I will never be 20 again, right?” Shields said that there are important milestones that are unique to college that she is missing out on.
In an effort to minimize health risks, UMass removed all academic breaks for holidays. This meant that students worked non-stop throughout the semester, resulting in intense burnout. By November, Musshorn said the semester “needed to end.”
To maintain their mental health throughout the semester, Shields exercised and Musshorn would paint. Both of them mentioned how spending time online would help, specifically mentioning TikTok.
The pandemic has also greatly affected students' career paths. Before the pandemic hit, Shields planned to teach English in Seoul for the summer. When this was canceled, she decided to change her post graduate plans and travel to Korea for a year.
“Which shifts my law school [plans] and everything back an entire year. So that's a huge effect that [the pandemic] had,” she said.
Because of all the uncertainty the pandemic has caused, Musshorn decided to solidify her post- graduate plans early. She applied and was accepted to Teach for America, back in April and plans to spend two years in Hawaii after graduation. Teach for America is a competitive program where American citizens, residents and DACA members with Bachelor’s degrees teach at low-income schools across the country.
Despite these plans and her new degree, Mushroom said that she doesn’t feel like anything has changed. “I feel like I'm sitting in limbo,” she said. Musshorn said she is grateful for the years she had at UMass and said she grew a lot in 2020 but she just wants to start the next chapter of her life.
“I feel ready to move on,” she said, but of course, that is not yet an option.
In addition to all of the challenges caused by COVID-19, the fall semester also included a presidential election. The United States is deeply divided about how to combat the pandemic. In Massachusetts, there is a statewide mask mandate and COVID-19 regulations, but many states around the United States do not require masks. Cases are rising across the country and the vaccine is not being distributed at the expected quick pace.
When asked if she feels like an American, Musshorn said she just wants to get out of the country.
She was “baffled” that the election between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden was so close and said it is disheartening that half of the country still supports president Trump.
She also expressed frustration over the difference between how states are combatting the virus feeling like even if some states and individuals are doing everything they can, the virus cannot be contained if others do not regulate it.
“I do feel like the Northeast [of the United States] has done a very good job. I think Governor Baker did really well with the Coronavirus. I think he's been very strict about it,” Musshorn said. “At a federal level, I think we did a terrible job. It's been very frustrating to see that, for example, Massachusetts went on lockdown for two months, maybe even longer. And some of the southern states never really did it.”
Musshorn is currently working a part-time job at Recreational Equipment, Inc. and said she has never had to fight with a customer about wearing a mask. However, she said that at REI stores in other states, her coworkers have had issues with customers not wearing masks.
“I wish we had just done, for example, what New Zealand did. I wish everyone went on lockdown [and] took science realistically. It's been really frustrating, as a science major, to watch the administration blatantly disregard science and everything about it has been really, really frustrating and really sad,” Musshorn said.
Cassie McGrath is a current reporter for MassLive, this article was written while she was a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and News Editor of the Daily Collegian. She can be contacted @cassiemcgrath_ on Twitter.