By Michael Piwowarski
UNIVERSITY CENTER – The amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan has now exceeded 2,000 and the pandemic has spread across the state, including all three Tri-Counties.
But well before the first coronavirus case appeared in the Tri-County area, Delta College made the decision to close up and switch to online-only classes. Students – and their faculty – are still adapting to this change, with a few weeks left to go until Delta is slated to reopen. Even if that happens, the college has decided that regular face-to-face classes will not resume.
Related story: Delta extends closure through the rest of winter semester
“It’s unfortunate they have to do it, but it’s a good choice to help prevent spread,” says Ryan Kent, Library and Learning Information Center employee.
Student Kelly Lore says the transition has been “stressful,” noting that the advantage of in-person classes is the ability to ask questions and participate in a real time discussion, making it easier to understand the material being taught.
“Taking math, English and American Sign Language (ASL) online for me is very difficult because I am a visual learner,” says Lore. “I am grateful for the time my teachers have been putting into creating their instructive videos, but it’s not the same as it would have been in class.”
Not only have students had to adapt, but teachers have also had to scramble to change the formats of all their in-person classes.
“[My teachers] have to create new assignments because they didn’t plan for something like this, which is a bit stressful for students,” says Lore. “Teachers are trying their best right now to accommodate their students; they are probably just as stressed as we are.”
When Delta first suspended face-to-face classes, they intended to keep the building open so as to facilitate lab classes, skilled trade courses and other classes that required in-person activities. However, just days after the move to online, Delta opted to close their main campus and all learning centers entirely, meaning that lab classes cannot be held.
This creates yet another problem for teachers, who are now unable to utilize the lab facilities on campus and have to come up with workarounds.
In response to an Instagram poll created by the Collegiate, Instagram user katie_comtois said “I had all my painting supplies in my locker that I intended to pick up today, but now cannot and therefore cannot work on paintings at home for my painting class. My instructor understands, however, and is letting us use colored pencils, etc to work on projects, but I am in no way getting the most out of this class that I was so excited for.”
Delta College president Jean Goodnow announced in an email that the college will review these outstanding issues if Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order is lifted before the end of the semester and Delta is able to reopen to the public.
Lore is concerned that the inability to attend classes at Delta will affect her grade point average (GPA) and her ability to graduate.
“Delta should do something to help students with this stressful semester,” says Lore. “I have heard from friends that attend SVSU that their college is making the winter semester a pass or no credit semester. I think this could be beneficial to all the students that attend Delta College.”
In spite of these difficulties, Delta students believe that this was the right decision to make, to help slow the spread.
In recent polling done by the Collegiate on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, 90% said Delta made the right choice in closing its doors (out of 58 responses total).
“I think Delta’s response to the COVID-19 was very appropriate,” says Lore. “Since this is an airborne disease, it could have spread much faster if we were still attending classes at school. Delta took precautions to keep its staff and students safe from this pandemic.”
