As Le Moyne reaches mid-semester, COVID-19 cases have remained low among both on and off-campus students. While colleges around the country and New York State have had an increase in cases, Le Moyne has remained stable. Furthermore, this semester has looked different for every Le Moyne student. I have asked some students to provide feedback on their experience.

I asked Hannah Rushok (Human Resource Management, ’21) what quality she has seen in students that has enabled Le Moyne to succeed where other schools have not. She responds, “Le Moyne is such a small school and you know everyone. You care because you know the people you’re affecting, as opposed to a larger community you’re not as close with.” Knowing this, do the benefits of returning to campus outweigh the inconveniences?

Wearing masks, social distancing, hybrid learning and overall restrictions might pose an annoyance to some students. Jackie Antonacci (English, ’23), says that it is worth it in the long run. “If we can get through this semester with all the things going on, it’ll prove we’re able to get through something like this in the future, that possibly next semester could be better. I do think this semester is inconvenient, since I live at home. There are days that I have one class on Zoom and one class in the classroom. For that reason, the balance of when and where I’m supposed to be has been inconvenient, but I am hoping that if we can get through the semester with hybrid we can move up in the future.”

Commuters also provided their feedback for how the changes on campus have affected them.

Samuel Bonsu (Biology, ’22) has a suggestion for what the college can do for them: “They should give commuters a space where we can go in between our classes. I know they reserved a space in Nelligan, but I don’t know if they allow us in those buildings. [This would be beneficial] especially because it’s going to get cold out and we have to drive every morning.”

Additionally, with the restrictions on campus, students’ goals and visions change for what they want to accomplish. I asked Emily Humphrey (English and History, ’22) what she hopes to get out of the semester. She says, “I’m really hoping that we’re able to be here until the end of November, and as things are right now, I’m pretty sure we probably will because of how responsible we’ve been. I’m afraid in October people might start relaxing in terms of adherence to protocols, but I’m hoping we’re able to make the most of our experience. I hope that we’re able to grow and still do the things we want while also being able to meet with friends, go to clubs, social events, and classes.”

Although this year’s seniors can somewhat participate on campus this semester, they have still missed out on a lot of opportunities they would have had under normal circumstances. Both Rushok and Catherine Abbamont (Human Resource Management and Management and Leadership, ’21) feel that students should get rewarded for their good behavior on campus. Abbamont says, “Le Moyne should tell us the guidelines of reopening so we know what to expect for our last semester. In comparison to most schools, we have done a superior job and I feel like we should be rewarded.”