By Cyan Thomas
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
For about six weeks, college students in Baltimore and worldwide have been grappling with extremely unique circumstances caused by the spread of the coronavirus.
Students within Baltimore’s so-called “College town” region – or the stretch of land that includes Towson, Johns Hopkins and Morgan State universities, the University of Maryland Baltimore County and more – have been directed by decisions from school presidents, chancellors, deans and counselors, all of whom were unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and still struggle with decisions about the future.
Now, students are faced with a new normal. As the doors of the 5,300 colleges and universities in the United States shut, students’ semesters switched from face-to-face classroom instructions to entirely online. Once at home where students fear a loss of freedom and independence, Maryland students labor under a state emergency and stay-at-home orders.
In addition to feelings of social isolation and fears of infection, some students must adjust to having parents and siblings underfoot while missing dorm friends.
And then there are those students who are in quarantine after returning from study abroad programs that abruptly ended. Other students agonize over the cancellation of graduation, athletic competitions and internships.
Kameryn Atkinson, a psychology student at Johns Hopkins University, said she is largely satisfied with how her college handled the situation.
“They have taken the proper precautionary steps like closing down campus,” Atkinson, 21, said. “And they have adjusted the grading system so that it does not punish students for barriers at home that might get in the way.”
Similarly, Towson University altered its grading system, allowing students the option to make their classes pass/fail instead of a letter grade. This change comes after a student’s petition to have the option went viral on social media.
“All classes should be graded on a pass/fail basis,” Towson student Saunders Healy said. “There are already a number of universities who have embraced this idea, and I believe it is most fair for all students in this time of uncertainty.”
Healy created a petition on change.org, a website where anyone can create and share petitions. In addition to the grading system change, Towson has now added an emergency fund to provide financial aid to students and staff.
“Programs of this sort are available at many institutions,” Towson President Kim Schatzel said in an email. “And we are taking steps to establish such a fund at TU to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.”
UMBC junior Caleb Pinkney said there are a few drawbacks. He said professors should be more accommodating in these unprecedented times.
“The college handled things about as well as could be expected, but some of the staff and professors are not supporting us,” said Pinkney, 20. “You’d think the university would really push the professors to help us every step of the way, but some of these teachers just don’t care.”
Morgan State University, however, has not yet adopted the pass/fail option. Despite this, Alexandria Robinson, an actuarial science major at the university, is satisfied with the changes so far.
“All of my professors already suspected and were prepared for the campus closing, so it was a smooth transition,” said Robinson, a junior. “The professors are also understanding that there is difficulty since we have switched to online.”
Since all the colleges in the “College town” area are officially online for the rest of the Spring 2020 semester, students must get used to their new reality.
“My laziness prefers online classes, but I know I don’t do well with online,” Robinson said. “Online classes just give off the vibes that they’re optional, so I have to get accustomed to that.”