The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/zoom/page/3/)
Although typically in-person, “Black Life on the Hill” turned out to be an “amazing success” virtually, joining students both new and returning together to learn about campus organizations.
“I miss seeing people face-to-face and actually having that interaction. I feel like it’s pretty hard to have that engaging discussion if you’ve never seen the professor or all the people before.”
So, if on-campus housing capacity is truly the limiting reagent in the fulfillment of “any person, any study,” then Cornell should look to other avenues of expanding its reach.
As college students across the nation impatiently await announcements from universities regarding the status of the coming fall semester, many of us are searching for productive and meaningful ways to spend our free time now that classes have ended. With internships, summer research and academic programs cancelled, some of us are trying to readjust to living in our hometowns with parents and siblings, away from the friends, professors and resources we’ve come to rely on at Cornell. As we navigate this new reality, many students are staying connected with peers through podcasting, music-making and Youtubing, innovating new ways to engage with others in the absence of physical space. A few weeks ago, I learned about a free platform called Schefs that aims to connect students from different universities and facilitate interesting discussions about a wide range of topics, from pop music to quantum mechanics, all through a shared passion for food. Co-founded by two college students, Pedro Damasceno and Lola Lafia of Columbia University, Schefs started out as a way for like-minded people from schools across the nation to come together on their campuses and share a themed meal.
To The Editor:
Deepti Talesra ’21 and Paula Amols ’75 both make great arguments for not opening the University this fall. There are issues regarding the quality of education online, issues of comradery, and significant financial burdens to Cornell University, Ithaca and the student body. We do not have a crystal ball; we have flawed changing models of the pandemic’s progress and a ton of unknowns as to what will or may happen this fall and coming winter. Coming out of shelter-in-place too early will likely lead to a second wave of disease and death beyond anything we personally have ever experienced. Physically calling students back from all over the world where the virus is at various stages of infection could present a significant health problem for the Cornell and Ithaca communities. Experts and data suggest that a vaccine will not be available this year and maybe not be fully available until later next year.
A new platform, co-created by Jake Roll ’21, helps high school seniors decide where to attend college when they can’t visit campuses.
A community separated by uncontrollable circumstances can still be united through the appreciation of a life well-lived.
I want to shed some light on fall semester plans from a student’s perspective. As an incoming senior, this is my very last year and marks the culmination of my college experience. So, before we consider the possibility of making fall online, I would like to express some of my concerns. Firstly, having online classes will not be helpful to anyone. The actual quality of what we are learning has decreased significantly.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already upended our lives at Cornell and beyond. It will undoubtedly continue to do so into the fall. The question Cornell students are yearning to know is: How different will this fall be for us? We are almost uniformly dreading any decision that would make the fall 2020 semester much different than it has been in the past. But … would a little change really be that bad?
Earlier this week I woke up with reddened, crust-filled eyes and strained to check my phone for the time. Class was in four minutes and counting down. Shit. But, online instruction brought slight comfort to this realization. I didn’t have to jump out of bed and start a chaotic race across campus or even worry about losing all the minutes that slip into the void the mirror of a public bathroom becomes when you’re agonizing over your reflection.