Prompt 7
Kylee Macke
Senior
I am leaving for home Thursday this week (11/19/20). So as of right now, nothing is super different in my life, however I am nervous to try and finish up school at home. Whenever I go home it is usually only for breaks, so it's a mindset thing for me to not want to do any school while I am at home. With finals week coming up and a lot of projects, tests, and one more week of zoom while also adding in Thanksgiving "break", I'm scared I might fall behind or struggle more than I am now to find the motivation to finish everything. Another thing I am also worried about is how bored I am going to be. Once I leave my house off campus I am technically not allowed to return unless I get tested or until our volleyball report date. I live with two basketball players and as of a couple weeks ago they entered their "bubble". So, to eliminate any exposure to them, I am required to stay put which in past years I have floated back and forth. All other sports right now are depending on the basketball teams here. If they do not make it, then there is a high chance that fall and spring but more so fall sports will not play this next semester. As far as the restrictions in my hometown, well I live 20 minutes away from campus in Ankeny, Iowa. So, we fall into the same county restrictions that Des Moines and Drake does. So, it's nothing new or surprising when I go home because I basically am home.
I do think that Drake did a good job of reducing cases throughout the fall. In my last prompt I talked about how there was some miscommunication errors and a shock to the students that we couldn't do typical "college" things. However, once everyone got used to it, I think the covid team at drake, all staff, and students did a good job. So, props to everyone that was involved with planning this chaotic year. As far as next semester goes, I'm just assuming that it will be very similar to this semester as much as I wish it couldn't be. Quite frankly, I am a little nervous if we will be able to return to campus if cases in the state and the country continue to skyrocket like they are now. If we don't return next spring, I truly might lose my mind and spiral. Online school is terrible. But hopefully if we start out pretty much the same as this semester that rules will loosen up because covid is getting better or there is a vaccine that is working or available to people.
For next semester, I am planning to still take my classes all online. We will be traveling for volleyball and I don't want to put my professors, classmates, or myself at risk of giving or getting exposed/sick in the spring. I am not excited about it, but I know it is the smartest thing to do with us traveling across state lines and seeing other teams. My concerns are more personal, I can see myself getting really burnt out with a whole year and a half of online classes and especially it being my "senior" year.
Madeline Kedrowski
Sophomore
For those who are leaving school now: How different are things now that you are at home? How different are the restrictions in your hometown compared to your school?
Being home feels very weird after being at school all semester, Wisconsin has more restrictions in regard to masks and such than Iowa does. That would definitely be what the biggest change is.
Do you think your school was successful with the Fall semester? How are you feeling about next semester?
I think Drake was very successful. They kept cases really under control and I think the students did well. I am excited to go back next semester and I feel safe doing so.
Jasmine Inthabounh
Junior
-
Once my sorority house board announced that the house was closing for the Spring 2021 semester I began moving back home slowly. Since I live in the same city, it was easy for me to gather my things at different points throughout the end of the semester. At this point, I wasn’t going to any of my classes in person. I was attending everything virtually. I settled in a home in the beginning of November. I wanted to make sure I was home and settled before the end of the semester and finals. I missed living in the sorority house at this point. There was a lot of spaces for studying and doing homework but at home I just stayed in my room. It felt different.
-
I think that Drake did their best to keep everyone safe during the Fall semester. I think that they made a good move closing campus early due to an increase of COVID cases. They always kept us up to date with cases and those in quarantine through emails. I feel that next semester is going to be difficult. This past semester was hard, and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like to be completely online. I thought I would be used to it by now but it’s hard to stay focused and separate school from the rest of the things going on in my life. I just decided to be completely online because to me it made the most sense.
Cheyann Neades
Senior
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Drake’s “success.” The state of Iowa has not been in a good place when it comes to COVID this year, so I feel that we never should have had students back on campus this semester.
Next semester, I’m hoping that Drake makes testing more accessible, and does not limit tests to students who are randomly selected or those showing symptoms.
My plans for next semester are to take my classes online if cases remain high in January. I also plan to run Drake Mag, the student organization I am in charge of, completely online as I did this semester. I plan to function the same way I did this semester.
Thanks!
Sydney Clifton
Senior
-
I am not leaving school now since I have been virtual all semester, however I was participating in band in-person. This has been a different change as I was used to paying attention to the time in the afternoon and evenings. Restrictions in my home town are the same as my school, because I live in the same town that my school is!
-
I think my school was successful with Fall semester. We were able to (for the most part) keep very safe and not a lot of us ended up sick. For next semester, I am desperately hoping we will see the light at the end of the tunnel at least and be able to do more things in person.
-
I have been online this semester and regrettably will be online next semester as well. It will be easiest this way especially as we are now entering prominent flu season on top of dealing with COVID-19. Plus, I will not have to waste gas traveling into school for only one class. I will also be able to keep my family safe as me going into one class has caused strain on my family. I am concerned with having the same struggles I did this semester and not being able to find an internship or job once I complete my degree.
IMG_5178%2520(Changed)_009_5x7%2520Print_.jpg)
Lucy Panfil
Junior
I recently left school to come home for break. Things are much different at home than they were at school. For starters, my motivation at home is lower. Even though I am on Thanksgiving break, I still have things I need to be doing. However, it is much easier for me to be in a productive mindset when I am at school, even if classes are all online. Also, the COVID situation in my hometown is different than at school. At school, people take the coronavirus seriously and are required to wear masks if in buildings or within 6 feet of people. In my hometown, people do not take it as seriously. Many people in my town do not wear masks around even when they are inside or near someone else. It is frustrating that people do not see how serious it is. I am working at the library in my hometown over break, and I am very glad that they take it seriously and make sure everyone who comes in is wearing a mask. Other than going to work where I know everyone is wearing a mask, I am not planning to go many places in town since I know there will be people there not wearing masks.
I think that Drake was as successful as they could be this semester. Obviously, things were going to be different, but I think that they did a good job of handling things. I am glad that they took it seriously and put people’s health first. Even though I am not a huge fan of online classes, I am glad that most of my classes were online so that I did not have to worry about my health. In regard to next semester, I think that things will be pretty much the same. Maybe things will be better by then but I am doubtful. I am predicting that there will be hybrid online and in-person classes again in the spring semester, and Drake will handle things the same way as they did for fall semester.
Gracie Geist
Sophomore
Originally, when Drake sent us home for the semester earlier than planned, all my friends and family had COVID in my hometown. It was difficult for me because I had to find somewhere else to stay. I ended up taking a bus to Iowa City to stay with my best friend and work on some classwork. I don’t prefer taking classes online in the first place because I have trouble focusing. At school, it was a little easier to stay on top of my work because I was still in the school environment. I was able to sit down and do schoolwork on top of my job, rowing practice, etc. Now my only responsibility is homework and I think I have plenty of time to complete it, so I just wait until the last minute.
Regarding restrictions in my hometown, it is about the same as the ones at Drake and in Des Moines. Masks are mostly required or suggested, but you still have those people who refuse to wear masks places. I really only hang out with a small group of people, like I did at school. The only thing that has changed for me really is that I have a lot more time to spend on homework because I have less distractions.
I think that my fall semester was pretty successful. I am not good at learning in an online environment, but I maintained pretty good grades throughout the semester. I believe that I could have done better in all my classes, but I was just trying my best in the online environment. I do have more classes in person next semester, and they are mostly the hands-on classes I need for my major – art classes. I think I will definitely be more successful next semester because more of my classes will be in a class environment than on the Zoom platform. I am hopeful that more of my classes will move in person, but we will see. Overall, I am just ready for COVID to be gone because I will be able to focus more on my schoolwork and participate more in classes.
Sydney Skemp
Sophomore
Things are not much different for me now that I am home. My household has very similar
rules that the university follows-CDC guidelines. I feel a bit more concerned to go to a restaurant
in my hometown now that Covid numbers have spiked again. I am from La Crosse, Wisconsin
and right now the numbers here are terrible, even compared to being at a university with 20-year
olds!
I think that Drake was successful this semester with keeping Covid numbers down and
keeping the safety of their students a number one priority. I am proud of my school for doing
better than what seems to be a majority of other schools. Staying on campus for as long as we did
seem to be a huge feat and I am proud of my administration and peers for caring about the safety
of our community.
I am praying that next semester will be a bit better than this past semester was social life
wise, but knowing how this virus is, the most that I am truly hoping for is to just be able to go
back and do exactly what we did fall semester. I am playing on going back to campus and living
in my dorm next semester just as I did this past one. I just want to be at my school, with my
people, learning as much as I can, regardless of if I have to wear a mask or not.
Everett Mullican
Senior
Leaving school may be a big transition for most students who live on campus. For myself, it wasn’t much of a change at first, then as time went on in just the first few days, I’ve felt very different, just the feeling of not leaving home and staying in my room for the class wasn’t the same. Because my hometown and schools are close to each other, few restrictions have changed, though with cases increasing, mask requirements are being required more than not around everywhere you go.
I feel that our school had been successful in most of our fall semester. I didn’t hear too much complaint about wearing masks or online learning, a complaint about small things like the inconvenience of remote learning was certainly present, but nothing to fully damage the reputation of success for not only the school but also the students. Students are given a list of resources to assist them in their learning, issues, and tasks. I feel next semester may be very similar, if not we will have more remote learning than before due to recent rises in cases.
Though I wasn’t fully online the entire semester, most of my classes were. With that said, I’d like to continue to be as successful as possible and engage in my classes to the best of my ability. My concerns are that my distractions may become greater as time goes on and I am led to increasingly comfortable conditions for class. In all, my concerns do not feel overwhelming, as I’m sure that I may be able to overcome them, if not, my school has more than enough resources to help accommodate me and my issues or tasks with many instructors who are more than willing to help.
Rachel Hartley
Junior
This semester truly went by in a blink of an eye. To me, the idea of success looked a little
different this semester than in previous ones. As someone who’s very academically driven, my past
successes have been related to mostly accomplishments in grades and merit. While that’s still
important to me, I’ve learned a lot more about valuing my time away from schoolwork. If I do
nothing but eat, sleep, and work, I start to burn out. To me, working remotely wasn’t the hard part,
maintaining a social life was. I had to learn to reach out to people more and have those weekly zoom
calls or virtual game nights. My parents and cat are good company, but I needed to create a “college
experience” in a new way.
As for next semester, my main fears are the continuation of the feelings of “FOMO,” the fear
of missing out. I chose to go remote again next semester due to safety concerns regarding COVID-19
and how Iowa has been handling the pandemic. However, more Drake students are choosing to go
back to campus and less people are choosing to be remote. While I don’t think campus socialization
will change very fast, I will have less people to relate to. Not to mention that I’m worried about
professors having to make accommodations for only myself. Regardless, I am happy Drake offered
this choice again. I think it’s important that every student feels comfortable in a situation where
everything is so uncertain, and I am looking forward to continuing my routine next semester.
Taryn Ripple
Junior
If I’m being honest, being at home after living at school all semester is kind of depressing. I’m glad to see my family, but it’s a weird and difficult adjustment to readapt to living at home. As far as my classes go, things aren’t that different now that I’m home since almost all of them were online for me anyway, but it’s still a bit strange to be in a different environment. I haven’t noticed much of a difference in terms of restrictions or distancing; most people are still wearing masks when I’m out and about and it feels more or less the same as when I was on campus.
I don’t know if I’d call the fall semester a success, but I think it went about as well as it could have given the circumstances. Online learning was definitely an adjustment, but now I’ve grown used to it and the idea is certainly more palatable than it was last spring.
I have absolutely no idea how the spring semester will go. Things are looking hopeful right now since it sounds like we’re well on our way to developing an effective vaccine, but for now it’s impossible to know how that will impact social distancing guidelines. I’m planning on coming back to school in January and it’s hard to imagine this semester being any different from the last, but I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.
Lauren Igbanugo
Sophomore
In terms of Covid, restrictions are pretty similar, however it isn’t much of a bother to work around because I don’t need to go to too many places while I’m at home. For example, I don’t need to put a mask on to go eat at the dining hall, because I have food at home.
I think my school did a pretty good job of keeping the strict Covid rules enforced(but that didn’t change the fact that cases in Iowa are still rising). Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are getting sent home/ordered to stay home next semester, but you never know! Regardless of what the outcome is, Drake University takes the pandemic very seriously.
I’m used to being online at this point. It obviously isn’t as effective as being in-person, but we’ve been online long enough to the point where I can learn pretty quickly on my own. I don’t necessarily have any concerns, I’m just planning to do my part in putting this pandemic to an end.