Student attending an online lab class, while wearing a lab coat and goggles. PJ Heusted / / AS Review
By MacKenzie Dexter
With spring quarter classes moving online due to COVID-19, students are navigating how to complete their work in a new setting. However, while all students are adjusting to online classes, some classes and majors are very dependent on campus settings and materials. The safety precautions implemented through social distancing and working from home is inspiring students to get creative with how they do school at home.
Kassidy Haluska, a senior studying environmental science, is taking organic chemistry as well as science and management and outreach of contaminated sites [SMOCS]. She is also a photographer for The Planet, an environmental publication at Western.
Haluska said in an email that SMOCS is reliant on campus resources, which she no longer has access to. She said she spent the majority of last quarter preparing for spring quarter, which would have taken place in labs.
“Unfortunately, those projects that we spent all winter quarter preparing for were canceled,” Haluska said in an email. “Now a majority of our work will be reading and data analysis from home, which is just a very different experience.”
She also plans to take a lab class during summer quarter, which has also been moved online, according to an email sent out to students.
“I’m really bummed because I think that would’ve been really beneficial to have more chemistry lab experience,” Haluska said in an email. “I also just love hands-on work.”
For Haluska’s work on The Planet, she is writing her own stories instead of working with writers. Since she’s working from home, she’s trying to figure out stories to capture during quarantine.
“It’s a very different type of work,” Haluska said in an email. “We have to be really creative with our subjects because we can’t meet with anyone in person to take pictures of them.”
Haluska said that the most challenging part of online classes is not being around her peers.
“When classes were held on campus, I used to run into people I knew all the time,” Haluska said in an email. “I really miss that sense of community.”
Michelle Hughes, a senior studying studio art, is learning how to take her surface design, color photography and 3D forms in fiber classes at home. While her professors are helpful and understanding of the challenges students are facing, not having access to campus resources has made being a student hard.
“For my surface design [class] I had to coordinate a lot with my professor to pick up materials while also practicing social distancing,” Hughes said in an email. “This course comes with its own challenges because it’s very dependent on dying [sic] fabric/textiles, and stitching.”
Hughes said that her classes have resources such as dyes, mixing areas, washing materials and places to hang up their work to dry. Hughes now uses her apartment kitchen as her studio space in order to complete her work. Hughes is also buying her own materials, which are normally supplied in the classroom.
“When ordering my supplies I’m really limited to how much I can afford, and when considering cost I also have to consider quality of the materials which is something I haven’t had to think of before, but overall I have to make sure I am able to get all the materials needed to complete each assignment,” Hughes said in an email.
Hughes is taking new measures to accomplish work at home, including being more independently creative and working with the resources she has at her disposal. However, she misses working with her peers and getting feedback from them during class.
“I like to be inspired by my classmates and it’s super helpful to have other eyes looking and critiquing my work as it unfolds, and of course not having my amazing professors right there with me for more hands on help,” Hughes said in an email.
Nathan Wilkinson, a sophomore art studio major, is also facing challenges with the lack of resources available without access to campus.
“I don’t have access to the Photography Lab’s resources, which I heavily relied on during previous quarters,” Wilkinson said in an email. “The resources aren’t the only part that I need, the lab, and Fine Arts building, in general, is a creative space that motivates me and provides more opportunities for collaboration.”
Wilkinson said that the hardest part of adjusting to online classes is finding motivation.
“Being in a creative environment and around people energizes me and makes me feel more invested in courses,” Wilkinson said in an email.
Tips on how to be more productive in online classes can be found here.