On March 9, students were notified through an email that classes were suspended until March 23. Three days later, students found out that the college would be moving to remote learning for the remainder of the semester. The same email announced that all students needed to move off campus by the end of that week.
As dorm rooms were packed up, and upsetting goodbyes were made, the Skidmore campus was cloaked with a somber tone.
Instagram and other social media erupted with students explaining how this sudden change has deeply impacted them, especially those that could not return home easily and/or those with a home environment that is not well suited for remote learning. Skidmore has tried to mitigate its student body’s state of shock, but the administration cannot alleviate the wide range of struggles that students are currently facing. An anonymous student shared that they “did not feel like [themself]” when having to continue the school year away from their friends and normal academic environment. It seems that this is a shared feeling among students across the world.
In recent weeks, New York state has become an epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the majority of the Skidmore student body living within the eastern United States, this has meant that many are under state-mandated stay at home orders.
Under lockdown, and with limited access to the outdoors and social interaction, many students are dealing with heightened mental health struggles. For some, they are experiencing intense paranoia about the increasing urgency of the pandemic. Thacher Andreae ‘22, who is currently residing in Massachusetts, shared his fear that “no matter how much we might wash our hands, avoid touching our face, keep our distance from others, it seems like the virus could still find a way to impact all of us.” He explained that although he wants to remain optimistic during these times, it is hard to find optimism when “there’s too much unpredictability and already-seen damaging effects.”
Andreae is not alone with his feelings. Alike, Jack Walsh ‘23, who lives in upstate New York, expressed that the biggest adjustment for him has been “how much more careful you have to be with everything.” He shares the apprehension that “you realize that anyone can have the virus and everyone is at risk of getting it.”
This new reality has also been felt by students who were away from Skidmore for the semester on study abroad programs. Current junior Clara Pysh ‘21 was forced to quickly pack her bags as she departed from London. Pysh was quarantined early into the pandemic as a person on her floor contracted COVID-19 and expressed frustration with the situation as “we were all being given different information and so none of us really believed or understood what was truly happening.” However, Pysh believes the time on the “quarantined floor” allowed her to become closer to other students.
Additionally, Skidmore has a large population of international students who make up 11% of the student body. These students were placed in a difficult situation when the college moved to remote learning, as moving out and traveling home may have required more planning than domestic travel. Countries all over the world have adopted different regulations and rules in response to the pandemic, which could have made travel from the U.S. difficult.
Sanjna Selvarajan ‘21 is currently home in Malaysia where she has “been on strict, police-enforced lockdown” since she returned from her London study abroad. Selvarajan is thinking of her friends “in the US and especially New York” and she hopes to return soon to “some semblance of normality.”
For some, traveling home was impossible. In fact, Skidmore reports that there are still 155 students living on campus and approximately 233 students living off-campus. Simone Hadebe ‘20, who remained at Skidmore, expressed that campus is not the same without its student body. She said that “You wouldn’t know that there are 150 plus students here just by looking out of your window; it’s desolate. I miss all the vibrancy and life that students brought to campus.” Upon reflection of these past few weeks, Hadebe mentioned that she was “deeply disappointed in how the administration handled this situation in regards to housing, finances, and transparency.”
The college’s decision to switch to remote learning for the rest of the semester was also controversial. Many students have struggled with remote classes, as, according to Walsh, “discussion-based classes have been hard to transfer online because the academic environment is not the same.” Andreae echoes this belief as he learns “best in academic settings” and Zoom is not equivalent to the energy in campus classrooms.
Students also feel as though there is a lack of consistency across the board with professors and workloads. An anonymous student explained, “some students have received lots of support from their professors while others have not.”
For the most part, there is genuine support for the college’s S/U grading option. Andreae appreciates the option as it is “beneficial for others like me who find learning and working in a place that's not an academic setting extremely overwhelming.” However many students, including Andreae, believe the college’s policy should be more flexible. The deadline has since been extended to April 28.
There is no denying that these past few weeks have been filled with uncertainty for everyone, including Skidmore’s administration. But, with this in mind, Selvarajan asserted that “the unfair and discriminatory treatment that many students faced, coupled with the realization that our school's administration had never really planned for an emergency situation like this,” has forced her, and other students, to consider how they will return next semester, and what conversations must now be had.