Poll Reveals Students Want to Return to Campus

Students at the City University of New York (CUNY), the public university system of New York City, began to study online in March 2020. It is March 2021, and classes are still online, a condition that seems likely to continue into the fall. Many of us do not like it. So, I created an Instagram poll to get a better idea of what students think.

Out of 38 students, 31 voted for in-person (80 percent), and seven voted for online learning (20 percent). Clearly, the majority want to go back to in-person learning.

Students prefer in-person learning because of the quality of education. Face-to-face interactions and organization are two factors students miss because of online learning.

“I don’t like how unorganized most professors seem to be,” Dulce Castillo said. The John Jay College of Criminal Justice sophomore’s complaint is echoed by many college students who find themselves forced to attend classes online. “On campus, at least I get to interact with people and see my friends. It’s also easier to talk to the professor and ask questions after class instead of having to wait for everyone to log off,” she said.

Some students complain about the amount of time they must spend online. Samuel Shah, a Binghamton University student said, “One thing I dislike about online learning is the length of classes.”

Diana Garcia, a Syracuse University student said, “Zoom fatigue hits so hard too.”

Others feel cheated financially by online learning. Sarah Dawoud was a sophomore at Hunter College and dropped out. “I paid the same amount of money as I would on campus for staying in my house and getting no benefits of the on-campus resources,” she said.

She points out that it is a difficult way for those with challenges to learn. “It wasn’t worth it for me and also as someone with an attention deficit, staring at a screen and concentrating was really difficult even for the first 15 minutes of a 50 [minute] to an hour class.”

But even some student critics admit that there is an advantage. Samuel Shah said he found the biggest plus: “The convenience of being able to take classes anywhere.”