Cabrillo students were generally happy about returning to campus Feb. 22, while others were wary of the Covid-19 risk.
The return is “a little weird because this is probably the biggest group of people I’ve been in a room with since 2019,” said student Monica Wilkinson, 24, “so that will take some getting used to; but if the rest of the classes are anything like last night’s, it’ll be a lot of fun.”
“Zoom gets tiring; it’s hard to sit in a Zoom class for longer than an hour.” said student Eli Jespersen.
Issa Bunch, 18, spent the first day back in the library studying with classmates for a math test.
“I prefer in-person a lot,” said Bunch. “As someone with ADHD I have a very difficult time with doing all the long distance stuff. And with so much distraction it’s difficult finding a clear place.”
About 60% of classes are in person now, down from 80% pre-Covid, said college spokeswoman Kristin Fabos. Cabrillo’s enrollment is 8,420, down from 11,811 in fall 2018 and 16,654 in 2008.
Cabrillo President Matt Wetstein said the decision to wait until Feb. 26. “was really smart because we let the surge go by. The case rate is so much lower than it was four weeks ago.”
Vaccination rates “have gone up because we require them and that’s an extra layer of protection,” Wetstein said. “Then you come on campus, and you’ve got to wear your mask.”
Student Mike Hefling said wearing a mask “is a problem because, without my glasses, I can’t see very well and with my glasses on I (also) can’t see very well because of the mask fogging them up.”
Kate Squdusky, office specialist for the Student Resource Support Center, said “I’m happy to see the students, but I’m still nervous about Covid. If we have to be back on campus, I’m glad that we still have masks.”
Business major Colton Conway, 21, said, “I feel the same as when we first went into lockdown, the virus and the cases were and are still there. It feels like a cycle of coming back to where we’ll have to go into lockdown again.”
Isabella Kelly, 18, whose five classes are still all online, said, “It is a good way to balance my time, it gives me a chance to practice time management,” she said. “I’m glad I have time to do my work when I want.”
Bob Sheehan, 57, a returning music student, said that being in person “Makes a big difference, especially when you are in an ensemble. (on Zoom) When you play along, you can’t hear everyone else, I wanted to at least feel like there was an audience.”
Holly Boyd, 18, a Harbor High School senior taking classical piano at Cabrillo, said, “Expressing oneself over Zoom, with cameras on, doesn’t feel as comfortable, It seems like such a burden. I felt like I was disturbing the class.”
Boyd said, “I took calculus last year, and got an A in class, (but) I failed the exam. I just wasn’t that prepared because the whole experience was not as in-depth as an in-person class.” ∎
Voice staff members contributed to this story: Zoe Baxter, Narayan Wilder, Jesse Bridges, Lucille Tepperman, Gabriela Gilson, Steve Cross, Allyson Goetz, Steven Rodrigues, Jaaziah Warren-Smith, Moises Mendez, Paolo Hutchinson Trujillo, Marcello Hutchinson Trujillo
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