With technology and society constantly evolving, it’s strange to think it took a pandemic to get faculty to use technology such as Zoom to their advantage. While the return to in-person classes has been welcomed by many Syracuse University students, it seems wrong that SU is no longer employing this new technological familiarity, as it makes classrooms more accessible.

Although SU is not actively preventing professors from using Zoom or other virtual classroom spaces, the administration is not encouraging it either. Faculty must get preapproval from the appropriate dean and Provost before they can shift their class online or make it hybrid. The reasoning behind this is due to student feedback, said Chris Johnson, the associate provost for academic affairs, in an email to The Daily Orange.

“Feedback last year indicated that students were disappointed when they registered for a course listed as in-person and found that it was hybrid or online,” said Johnson. “That’s why we asked faculty and academic departments to specify the course modality (online, in-person or hybrid) prior to student registration.”

Students may be disappointed at first if their in-person class turns out to be hybrid, but many students utilized the hybrid option in past semesters even when it wasn’t required. This additional option allows those who have been contact traced or otherwise feel unwell to miss physically attending class without falling behind or worrying about missing work.

A Zoom link could mean the difference between sending us home and continuing down the road to normalcy. Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that fully vaccinated individuals should wait three to five days after being in close contact with someone who has contracted COVID-19 before getting tested. A temporary online option could offer a solution to students who may miss three to five days worth of classes. 

Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie said in an email to The D.O. that students are able to get tested whenever they want, but encourages that they wait three to five days per CDC guidelines.

“It’s important to note that while individuals can test as soon as they’d like after a potential exposure, the CDC recommends 3-5 days post-exposure as it usually takes at least that long for a COVID test to return a positive result,” Haynie said in the email. “Individuals who test before day three will likely receive a negative result, whereas if they wait until day 3, 4 or 5, the COVID test is more likely to detect the illness.”

Due to the return of exclusively in-person classes, students are forced to make the tough decision between potentially falling behind in class or potentially exposing other students and faculty to COVID-19. With the delta variant spreading to vaccinated individuals, there is the possibility of contracting the virus while one campus. Students who test positive must quarantine for 10 days, and they will likely worry about falling behind in their studies on top of dealing with the physical and mental toll that quarantine presents. 

Although SU is doing a lot in terms of mandating restrictions that aim to prevent students from getting COVID-19, the university needs to do more for the unlucky students and professors who do end up getting sick. SU should encourage all teachers to offer a Zoom link for sick students and become more flexible with absences. 

After spending a year and a half learning how to hold classes online, there is no point in backtracking when technology can make classes safer and more accessible for students who are trying to keep the campus safe. 

Skylar Swart is a junior political science major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at saswart@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter at @SkylarSwart.

Published on September 7, 2021 at 11:05 pm