by Nick Dill, Student Reporter
The coronavirus pandemic had an impact on many things, especially Northwestern students’ ability to receive a quality education.
Northwestern transitioned to alternative online-only learning from March to May during the 2020 spring semester. This was a huge change for students, and many said they struggled to adapt to the new learning environment.
Classes had to be conducted via Zoom, and students had to complete all assignments on their own time.
Spring sports were also affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Many student-athletes need their sports to help them stay focused, they said. Without seasons, they didn’t have that “drive.”
Morgan Laneve, a junior health and sports science major from Las Vegas, Nevada, plays third base for the Lady Rangers softball team. She said she struggled with distance learning because of how it impacted her softball season.
“Distance learning did interfere with my college experience because I did not get to finish my sophomore year of softball,” Laneve said. “Our softball team was headed in the right direction, and learning that we couldn’t play the next day was the hardest thing to hear.”
Laneve also said she had trouble with online learning because she was not able to communicate with her professors face-to-face. She said she is a visual learner, and having online classes made it difficult for her to adapt.
“I would rather have in-person classes because I am more motivated to go to class and learn in a face-to-face environment,” Laneve said. “Face-to-face gives me the opportunity to learn from the professor instead of self-learning.”
Laneve said another hard part was balancing homework while being back in her home-learning environment with her family.
Weston Jarvis, a junior health and sports science major from Greenville, Texas, is a catcher for the Northwestern baseball team. Jarvis said the coronavirus pandemic affected his college experience because the baseball season was cut short. He had to adapt to the new reality of school without a baseball season.
“In the beginning, it was difficult since I’ve never really taken online classes before,” Jarvis said. “But eventually, as time passed, it got easier.”
Communication was one of the main struggles that students noticed through distance learning, they said.
“I would have to say that it was a lot harder to learn the material compared to listening to a professor explain in person,” Jarvis said. “Sometimes, I’d be lost and wouldn’t know what to read at times or what assignments to do.”
Communication between students and teachers was another struggle.
Jaizac Garcia, a junior wide receiver from Houston, Texas, disliked online learning because he didn’t have as much help from teachers in his classes.
“Emailing them didn’t really work because teachers were getting like 100 more emails since everybody was online,” he said. “You really had to be more independent as a student.”
Garcia also struggled with not being around his friends and teammates on the football team.
Kaitlyn Phillips, a senior general studies major, also said communication between teachers and students was lacking.
“The dislikes were not being able to go into my professor’s office and talk when I needed to,” Phillips said.
She said emailing her professors was an option, but not everyone is going to have email access at all times.
The coronavirus pandemic affected seniors and their last year of being a Ranger.
Hayden Graham, a senior health and sports science major, was affected by the sudden change from in-person to distance learning in his last semester.
Graham said he didn’t prefer online classes because he missed the interactions with his classmates and teachers. He said he had to focus on his time management and make sure to set aside more time for his classes.
He said he did struggle with how the coronavirus pandemic affected the graduation process.
“I was pretty bummed when I was unable to walk for my graduation ceremony due to COVID,” Graham said. “The slideshow presentation was put together well, but being able to walk across the stage with that diploma is something that a lot of us look forward to.”