Remote fall semester students arrive on campus for the spring semester

In the fall, Colby distinguished itself from other college campuses in two major ways: the College reopened its campus in the midst of a pandemic and  was able to keep its campus open. This is thanks to a robust testing program and comprehensive safety protocols for  students. While a major COVID-19 scare during JanPlan made the future of in-person learning uncertain, Colby was determined to bring students back onto campus for spring semester. 

Some students who studied remotely fall semester have returned to campus for the spring, but in the flurry of newly implemented testing methods and protocols, their arrival was largely pushed to the sidelines. 

Remote students were all but ignored by administration last semester as they were focused on keeping in-person students safe and mitigating the transmission of COVID-19 on campus. This challenging transition was amplified for first year students, who not only had to deal with being the “new student” amongst a student body that was in-person during the fall, but also to assimilate to the broader Colby community as well. 

One first year student who was in this situation is Andrea Lee `24, an international student. She studied remotely during the fall, but arrived on campus for the spring. For her, fall semester was particularly difficult because of the isolation and time difference.

“Starting off my first semester as a freshman and far away from Colby, I definitely felt ... isolated. With no prior friends, it was hard to make friends since everything was done remotely. The time differences for classes [was] 13 hours, and it was definitely hard for me as all the classes required attendance, and classes were from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. I barely got enough sleep during the fall semester, and it was hard to juggle the time, with squash practices in the morning at 8 am,” Lee said. 

It wasn’t just international students that were unable to attend fall semester in-person — many domestic students were unable to as well. Marthe Godwilling Unkap `24, a first year who was also remote for the first semster, commented on her experience with remote learning.

“My family was extremely worried about me leaving Texas all the way to Maine for the first time by myself. I was sad because I did not want to miss out on the chance of being lost with every other freshman, figure things out together, and make new friends along the way. I thought I was going to feel extremely left out,” Unkap shared.

Nevertheless, even though spring semester has only just started, the difference in learning experiences is palpable. Remote learning, amongst many other things, has been normalized during the pandemic, yet this normalization conceals the tremendous difficulties that come with trying to learn in a virtual environment. This struggle was magnified for international students, who were studying in completely different time zones. 

“[Spring semester] is better than fall semester because of the time difference. In-person classes are much more interactive and I was able to meet some new friends. It was hard to do that during fall semester as the time difference made it hard to communicate with people back here on campus,” Lee explained. 

Administration largely made remote learning seem like a personal choice, but for many students, coming to campus simply wasn’t an option. For example, in Lee’s case, the embassy in her country was closed due to the pandemic, and coming to campus for the spring almost didn’t happen either, as her parents were concerned about the heightened number of  cases of COVID-19 in the United States. 

Nevertheless, there were various resources on campus that Lee could rely on for assistance with her transition to campus. The International Club on campus held weekly meetings and “administration was always reaching out to me, giving support if I ever needed anything.” However, this transition period was disrupted by the sudden quarantine week implemented by the College to mitigate spread of the virus. While this quarantine period was designed to ensure the safety and health of campus, it also posed many problems for students who were arriving on campus for the first time.   

“I found myself quite lost with the quarantine and the need for necessities during the beginning of spring semester. I believe it would have been better if the administration was able to provide international students with more care — they briefly explained what international students needed before moving in, but they should provide help from the beginning and always check on them at least for a few days as they might feel a little overwhelmed and helpless with no friends,” Lee explained.

For Unkap, she found her source of support through the POSSE group on campus, and was able to turn her remote first semester experience into a positive one “by focusing on my self-growth before making the decision of moving in the spring.”

The community at Colby supported her through her transition to campus spring semester as well. 

“I had different members of the Colby faculty as well as my POSSE checking up on me from time to time. I was quite anxious as being the youngest this was my first time stepping out of my shell,” said Unkap. “I was worried about being lost alone, making friends, etc. Nevertheless, I was so warmly received! From my POSSE walking me time and time and again around campus until I could walk by myself to faculty and staff supporting me. I am glad to see just how nice and respectful everyone on campus is and I am happy to have taken the risk to come here despite the situation we are in.”

While Colby slowly lifts restrictions as cases remain low, it can be easy to assume that things are back to normal, or as normal as they can be in a pandemic. However, it is important to remember that not everyone has the privilege to learn in-person, even if Colby’s campus is open. 

~ Hae-Jung Kim `24