Safe to say, it’s been a hectic past few weeks. On March 12th, Wellesley decided to move to online learning for the rest of the semester, and requested that students (if able) depart for home immediately. I decided to book my flight for the 13th. What happened within the next 24 hours was a combination of tearful goodbyes, hasty packing, and general chaos. I had barely finished decorating my single in Beebe for the spring semester, and by the time I had left, I was only in the room for a little over two months. Just like that, the next time I step foot on Wellesley’s campus will be as a senior. It’s been four weeks, and I’m still trying to process everything that has happened.
An empty Beebe 227
Luckily, remote learning for us started last week. Classes are now run through Zoom, and it feels great to have a schedule/routine again. During break, my days were filled with plenty of Netflix, watercolor painting, Scrabble with the family, neighborhood walks (the wildflowers in Southern California are in full bloom at the moment), and trying out new recipes. Now that we’re back in the semester, it’s less of that and more of schoolwork. I’m also trying to keep my spirits up by exercising, journaling, and video calling my Wellesley and study abroad friends over Zoom. Just recently, we had a virtual game night, and I have to say, it went really well!
The wildflowers
Wellesley decided to make the rest of the semester mandatory pass/fail. It really takes the pressure off, and I feel like I’m learning for the sake of learning, and not just for grades, which I enjoy. It also reminds me of shadow grading and my first semester.
I did want to share with you all how my classes have adjusted to an online format. All of my professors have been understanding and accommodating to everyone’s circumstances.
Only two of my classes – CS 220 (Human Computer Interaction) and WGST 302 (Global Health and the Environmental Crisis) – are in the live Zoom format. In CS 220, we’re currently working on a group project on improving food access in Wellesley. It is a bit more relaxed, as every Monday we have a live lecture on Zoom, and then on Thursday, we have group meetings with our Professor. The class is mostly focused on the group project now. WGST 302 is a seminar, with course content that’s very relevant to the times we’re living in. Our whole class is centered around analyzing the COVID-19 crisis. It’s a bit rough because the class is held at 8:30 EST (so, 5:30 am where I am), so I have an early morning every Tuesday. Time zones can be tricky. Although, I have enjoyed all of the discussions we’ve had since resuming classes.
Finally, my last two classes – Psych 219 (Biological Psychology) and CLSC 300 (How we Choose: A Decision-Making Seminar) – are not live. For 219, in addition to readings, we have two prerecorded lectures that we have to watch for the week, and then are assigned a group activity to complete over Zoom/Google docs which covers those lectures/readings. The format has been working well so far. Finally, for CLSC 300, we have our regular readings to complete, and we have to post multiple comments on a discussion thread/forum.
So far, the online format has worked pretty well. I’d say that Wellesley did a pretty good job with the transition!
I hope everyone has a good weekend, and is finding ways to take care of themselves during this time.
I’ll see you next week,
Shreya