Dear Dedicated Readers,
As a graduating senior, I have experienced Smith in many forms: completely online from my home in the fall of 2020, taking virtual classes from my dorm room in the spring of 2021, in-person classes with virtual options in the fall and spring of 2021 and regular in-person classes since then.
Throughout my time at Smith, the college has evolved a lot, and with this, its policies on online classes and taking classes via Zoom have evolved as well.
In the spring of 2021, to complete a certificate I had been working towards at UMass, I needed to take one more course which happened to be online. The registrar’s office wouldn’t accept it, citing a policy restricting online courses to certain terms.
Even though online classes were perfectly acceptable for the first year of my Smith education, suddenly, this was no longer the case. Moreover, in her Aug. 5, 2020 letter to the Smith Community announcing that Smith would be completely remote during the fall of 2020, then-President Kathleen McCartney wrote, “While the mode of instruction is changing temporarily, students will still receive the high-quality academic experience they have come to expect from Smith College.”
Hearing from the registrar’s office that remote classes were not of Smith-quality academics was frustrating. Either I had been lied to by President Kathleen McCartney, or the registrar’s office was using this sentiment as an excuse to be inflexible. While I prefer in-person classes, I got a lot out of my virtual classes in the fall of 2020.
Last fall, I got COVID-19 and was unable to attend classes. I reached out to my professors for support, hoping that I could continue my education remotely through Zoom or another virtual tool. To my disappointment, I learned that the Smith administration had discouraged the use of Zoom classes, asserting that they did not equate to the quality of a Smith education and it was too much of a burden on professors.
This experience was far removed from that of my sister, who, during the same time period, was able to attend her classes through Zoom while recovering from COVID-19 at her Connecticut boarding school. She left her isolation completely caught up on work and even ahead in some of her classes. I had a very different experience; I left isolation completely behind and drowned in work due to the inability to dial in remotely as a way to stay connected while ill.
This year, around the same time as last year (an unfortunate coincidence) I also tested positive for COVID-19 and wound up in isolation again during the second week of classes.
This time, one of my professors offered a Zoom-based class to accommodate my situation, but the majority chose not to, heeding Smith’s guidance. Consequently, I started the semester behind on my coursework and having missed out on valuable class time.
While I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment that students can get much more out of in-person classes at Smith, I think that there are many things to be learned from the pandemic and the ability to come to class remotely due to illness is one of them.
The pandemic reminded us of the importance of flexibility and adaptability in higher education. The ability to pivot to remote learning during exceptional circumstances, such as illness or other unforeseen events, is a valuable resource that should be preserved as we move into a post-pandemic world. The assertion that Zoom classes were “not up to par with a Smith education” left me disheartened, as it seemed to undermine the adaptability and resilience that Smith had proudly demonstrated in the previous year.
The pandemic has taught us numerous lessons. One of them is the importance of being able to adapt and continue learning when necessary. While of course there are many aspects of pandemic life we definitely should disregard, that doesn’t mean that we should be rid of everything we learned from the pandemic: some of these lessons are valuable and worth keeping. In utilizing what we have learned about Zoom classes when one is ill, Smith has a unique opportunity to blend the best of both worlds, ensuring that students can access quality education regardless of the challenges that may arise. This evolving landscape should be a part of the college’s legacy as it continues to prepare students for an ever-changing world.
With gratitude,
Phoebe Rak ’24
Editor-in-Chief
