Class experience differs in many ways

A Detroit Mercy student in the McNichols library. / Photo by Devonne Mccullough

BY NOLAN KROHA / VN Staff Writer

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a majority of Detroit Mercy classes are being conducted mostly or entirely online through Blackboard.

The program and its Collaboration app allow students and professors to operate virtually in the safety of their own homes rather than risk being on campus or living in a dorm with others who might not be as vigilant.

With students staying at home for online classes and university-sanctioned activities being reduced as a result of the restrictions put on gatherings, one can imagine how this all might affect students and their college experience.

Nineteen-year-old Isabella Scaccia is a sophomore and double major in history and religious studies.

A commuter, she feels as if she is missing out on part of the college experience.

“I miss going to school each day and interacting with other students and my professors,” she said. “It feels like the clock is ticking and I’m losing the crucial timeframe where I meet the friends I keep for life.”

While most students are living at home this semester, others are staying on campus.

Unlike some universities, Detroit Mercy still allows students to live on campus, giving each a private room in accordance with social distancing rules.

Matthew Komoroski is a 19-year old sophomore in the five-year MBA program and one of the students living on campus.

“There isn’t much social interaction or connections going on,” he said. “Classes are mostly online.”

Komoroski lived on campus as a freshman last year.

“It has been a fraction of what the real experience was last year,” he said. “The activities going on are only a shell of what they once were. I have more downtime than I ever did last year.”

Although students haven’t even completed their second week, they are starting to miss certain aspects of campus life.

Some feel deprived by the lack of classroom discussion online while others miss the hands-on experience of being in a lab.

But the one thing that most students interviewed agree that they miss the most is being able to hang out with friends.

While the semester has just begun, some can’t help but think of the future.

What will this new college experience mean over time?

Some hope online classes will make learning easier.

Others, like Scaccia, wish in-person classes would return soon. 

All will have to take it day by day, because online classes are here to stay for the fall.