80% of CSI classes are in person

By: Carlos Glick

Classes began January 28^th and a majority of classes this semester are in person compared to last semester; from the looks of it, students are excited to be gathered back together and reuniting with their friends.

This semester, approximately 80% of classes are taught in person, whereas 20% are being taught virtually or are fully online, which is a huge step up compared to last semester.

Last semester, I remember walking onto campus and the campus being mostly empty because quite a majority of classes were being taught virtually. This semester, more classes are being taught in person, so I see more students are coming back to campus. 

I had the privilege of interviewing a CSI student, Kadiatou Diallo, who is currently a Junior and is majoring in Biology. Diallo says, “I think most of our classes are in person, because they want things to get back to normal, which is a good thing since a lot of us haven’t been in person for 2 years.”

Diallo continues by saying, “I also feel like we’re not really taking safety precautions since it’s a lot of us crammed in small classrooms.” 

Another student, Rimshah Gul, who is currently a Junior here at CSI and is a Political Science major has this to say: “I think people took their time to get vaccinated. That’s why there’s more people here this semester.”

Gul continues by saying, “Also, I think last semester we were hearing about new variants a lot too. But now it’s been a while so preparations have been made taking that into account.”

This semester, there are more classes being taught in person, which means more and more students are on campus.

For those who like to socialize, like me, this is a good thing because for those who came to CSI pre-pandemic, you know your way around the campus and are familiar with the campus. Whereas, if you were a Freshman or Sophomore during the pandemic, or if you started college during the pandemic or are a transfer student, chances are, you would feel totally new and don’t know where to go or what to do.

When the pandemic started, I was in my second semester here at CSI but was a Junior because I was a transfer student, in which I transferred from Kingsborough Community College and I felt really sad and in a way kind of trapped because I really enjoyed the campus. 

Like many of us, when the pandemic happened, most people were like “I can get used to this.” Then weeks turned into months. Months turned into years, and you were like “I want this pandemic to be over with!”

Today, now that the campus seems full with so many classes being taught in person, people are starting to get out of their shells and slowly interact more. For those who like to socialize, then you finally are able to (with more people). 

College taught on Zoom is a heck of a lot different than classes being taught in person. You learn a lot more. 

When you are on Zoom, your attention span is very minimal. Whereas, if you are in a classroom and especially, if you are in an interactive class, you learn a lot more while at the same time, having fun.

If you are one of those students who want to be on campus but are afraid to because you might catch the new variant, there are rooms and study places on campus that you can go to. Take advantage of the resources we have on this big and beautiful campus.