On Thursday at 4 p.m., the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced they were switching to online classes after Spring Break, closing down campus in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, the noticeably fewer students still on campus prepared to leave for what could be the remainder of the semester.
Junior PR major Melanie Fiala knows some students are upset about it. Some professors she knows are indifferent about online classes.
“I’ve had a lot of professors that have pushed off the planning for online and that a little frustrating,” Fiala said. “But I also have professors that have been planning for like a month.”
Other students are skeptical about the coronavirus but understand the need to keep students safe.
Jake Bartecki, a sports media major, felt that it may have been blown out of proportion but understands the safety of the students come first.
“I think it was really smart for the university to give next week off,” Bartecki said. “There are a lot of classes that I don’t know how they’re going to do online.”
Bartecki and several students wondered how some of their classes that require labs, talking with the professor or in class work will be completed.
They also wonder on how studying for home will be as well.
Bartecki is from Chicago. His mother has been anxious but Bartecki doesn’t want to leave campus.
“It’s a crazy time,” Bartecki said. “I don’t really know if I want to go home. I want to see my friends and finish out my semester with them and my girlfriend.”
Even though he does not want to leave, Bartecki is returning to Chicago on Monday.
Other students have been feeling the reality they may need to return home.
Many classes on campus Friday were bare. Some lecture classes had less than 20 students in attendance. Others were cancelled out right. For many this is the end of the semester they thought would never happen.
Kayla Schroeder, a sophomore microbiology major, said her roommate was crying because she didn’t want to leave. She also faces the task of understanding what her lab work will look like with remote learning.
“At first I was just kind of excited maybe for like 30 minutes,” Schroeder said. “But after that it kind of set in like how difficult it is going to be.”
