The overlooked impact of COVID on academics at Colby

There are many reasons to love Mayflower Hill. From the New England fall foliage to the abundance of outdoor activities, Colby is more than an institution. It is, quite frankly, our home.

But like with many other things, because of COVID-19, our home is now in upheaval, and to say that these are strange times would be an understatement.

The desire to return to normal is indisputable, but it is unclear when that normal will arrive, and what that will even look like. In fact, some argue that this is the “new normal,” where in-person interactions are severely limited and most communication happens virtually.

This idea is problematic, however, because it undermines the enormity of the current situation and the consequential need for an adequate response to this disruption.

In the case of educational institutions such as Colby, virtual classes have become standard for a large portion of the campus community. Despite this significant transition, accommodations in the academic realm have been made on an individual basis, often depending entirely on the discretion of the professor.

As a result, the systemic changes that an appropriate response to the current crisis requires have not yet been implemented. The format might have changed, but every other aspect of class structure appears to be moving forward as usual.

Overall, this lack of change fails to recognize the very present reality that academics have been dramatically affected by COVID, even if some in-person classes are being offered.

Furthermore, it is important that students take the time to fully process these times of tremendous social and political upheaval, on top of the current global health crisis. It is not enough for administration to merely acknowledge that these events are occurring, send their sympathies, and make vague promises to implement programs addressing these issues.

The culmination of a global pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and a contentious upcoming presidential election affects Colby students, especially students coming from marginalized backgrounds. To grapple with these issues and navigate various online learning platforms is overwhelming, to say the least.

If Colby claims to prioritize the health and well-being of their students, shouldn’t this include addressing and appropriately accommodating their mental well-being?

Related to this idea are the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. On a surface level, not every dorm on campus has equal Wi-Fi access, and the closings of the Olin and Bixler libraries has significantly limited the amount of quiet study space any one student has access to.

The lack in academic access is something that the College has barely acknowledged, and this is not including students who experience difficult roommate situations.

While the potential solutions may be just as complicated as the problems them- selves, perhaps one option is to implement a pass/fail grading system for the semester.

The implementation of a pass/fail grading system would not only alleviate the burden on students, but on faculty as well. Grading takes a considerable amount of time and effort on the part of professors and, teaching assistants, time and effort that may no longer be expendable be- cause of the various impacts of COVID-19. On top of this, it can be argued that due to the hybrid learning model adopted by the college this semester, exams are inherently unequal. Students taking a class remotely can take the exam from their home, while students taking the same class in-person are required to take the exam in-person.

Location matters when taking exams, and the normal system of grading does not take this difference into account.

Once again, the issue of equity comes up — not everyone taking remote classes have the same tools at their disposal, and are thus at a disadvantage when it comes to academics.

At its core, academics is about the learning process itself, rather than a numerical evaluation of its efficacy. Therefore, in the midst of a global health pandemic that has forced us to reflect on and reevaluate our priorities, it seems that the only suitable response on the part of ad- ministration is to re-evaluate the priorities of the college, and respond accordingly.

~Hae Jung Kim `24