The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: virtual classes

  • The class of 2021 scrambles to reach the finish line

    The class of 2021 scrambles to reach the finish line

    Seniors surrender to an unexpected finish to their college career

    Mary Swisher is a senior Humboldt State University athlete and an elementary education major who’s been impacted tremendously by the pandemic.

    “It’s honestly quite heartbreaking that this pandemic ended my collegiate career early,” Swisher said. “I also haven’t seen my family since coming to school in August because of the rules that Athletics has put forward.”

    Previously, Swisher’s education involved fieldwork and equipped in-person classrooms now, classes are strictly on Zoom and involve limited interaction with others.

    “All of the rules are in good meaning and are necessary,” Swisher said. “But I haven’t seen anyone but my roommates in months.”

    Madison Kiser, an HSU senior, was most worried she would miss social interaction with peers. To her surprise, Kiser is grateful for Zoom classes and the ability to interact with classmates.

    “I still get to be my social butterfly self thanks to Zoom and other ways to spend time together virtually,” Kiser said.

    Despite her frustration, Kiser is grateful her professors have been understanding with the situation.

    Danica Grier, senior softball player for HSU, had her final collegiate season cancelled after last year was cut short but is thankful for being able to complete school work on her own time and the deepened her bond with her roommates.

    “I was able to go home early where I met my boyfriend,” Grier said. “I was also able to get a puppy during this time since I was going to be home for the Southern California lockdown.”

    Alex Kandalaft, an HSU senior, stopped working when the pandemic began and made the decision to move back in with her family.

    “I moved back home, which is something that I did not expect to do in my wildest dreams, my last year of college,” Kandalaft said. “It’s definitely weird not being able to go out to bars on the weekends and social stuff like that but I’m making the most of it.”

    With the obstacles this semester has presented, Kandalaft wishes that she is given a proper ceremony to close out the end of her college career.

    “You never expect to experience your graduation in sweats, back in your hometown, watching a video recording over YouTube,” Kandalaft said.

    The virtual commencement for the class of 2020 sat poorly with the graduating class. As of Oct. 20, the format of graduation for the 2021 class is undecided.

    “If graduation would be online I would be really hurt,” Kiser said. “I know that the pandemic is serious and we don’t want any outbreaks. I think if we follow guidelines and think outside the box, we can have a rewarding in person graduation.”

  • Humboldt State President Speaks on Fall 2020 Instruction

    Humboldt State President Speaks on Fall 2020 Instruction

    President Jackson speaks with Faculty Senate over virtual teaching

    Editor’s note: Grace Caswell is a student of Journalism Department Chair Vicky Sama. Almost the entire staff of The Lumberjack has also had Sama as an instructor in journalism courses.

    Tuesday, May 19, President Tom Jackson of Humboldt State University resurfaced from his hiatus to discuss the fall 2020 semester instruction plan with the Faculty Senate due to COVID-19.

    The transcripts of the meeting between Jackson and HSU Faculty Senate were provided in an email by Journalism Department Chair Vicky Sama. The meeting regarding online instruction for the Fall 2020 semester built off of CSU Chancellor’s Timothy White’s recent statement.

    “The chancellor’s statement last week, which we were pretty sure was coming, we knew that was the direction he wanted to take, that leads us in this position as a university that we are 100% virtual,” Jackson said in the email transcripts. “That’s done. We are 100% virtual but we also knew we would have an opportunity to ask for an exception.”

    The exception will be sent to the Chancellor requesting face-to-face instruction for classes that are unable to make the direct translation to online instruction. About a quarter of HSU’s classes are hands-on courses, Jackson provided examples that would be included in the request.

    “We are preparing a request, in response to the Chancellor’s statement, that HSU be allowed to establish a hybrid approach to instruction in the fall.”

    HSU Interim Provost Lisa Bond-Maupin

    “One of which was our labs– labs activities-based work– studio, art, ceramics– those elements that can’t easily be converted to a virtual modality but is a really strong core of who we are as a university, could be a reason to make an exception,” Jackson said in transcripts. “Another one, in general, would be the continuation of very specific research or farms or agriculture, forests, oceans, rangelands, other things like that.”

    The request is almost finished and asks that HSU be considered for hybrid instruction. HSU Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Lisa Bond-Maupin stated that the request for hybrid instruction would still operate and emphasize online curriculum with little in-person contact.

    “We are preparing a request, in response to the Chancellor’s statement, that HSU be allowed to establish a hybrid approach to instruction in the fall,” Bond-Maupin said in an email. “That would include virtual instruction, and very limited face-to-face instruction where it’s safe to do so per county health guidelines. This planning requires extensive work, and no final decisions have been made yet.”

    Jackson elaborated on Bond-Maupin’s emphasis of following and abiding by county health guidelines. Fall instruction really depends on the Chancellor’s decision to approve or dismiss HSU’s exception request which is estimated to take a day or two. Then, if permitted by the Chancellor to proceed, a chain of discussion will occur between administration, faculty and department chair members.

    “With that decision we will know if we are 100% virtual or if we have been permitted to develop face-to-face curriculum based upon on our request,” Jackson said in the email transcripts. “It then shifts to the faculty and the chairs of those specific sections, which are 593, as far as lab-based activities going into the fall, that’s a rough number, and it may change here or there. And then specifically what items need to be taken care of in terms of a safety protocol in accordance with public health, and that will occur very rapidly over the summer.”

    Over this coming summer, HSU will enact development plans for professors and lecturers. Those teaching lecture classes that can operate in tandem with online instruction will continue developing those skills. Those who teach labs or studio classes have a chance of having to develop hybrid teaching methods over the summer.

    “If you’re scheduled to teach a lecture class, the answer is already there. We’re in virtual mode,” Jackson said in the email. “But if you’re scheduled to teach a lab or studio art or something like that then I encourage you to give it some thought and chat with your chair because there is a 50-50 chance.”

  • COVID-19 Cancels Fall 2020 Face-to-Face Instruction

    COVID-19 Cancels Fall 2020 Face-to-Face Instruction

    Face-to-face instruction for Humboldt State’s fall 2020 semester has been canceled due to COVID-19. California State University Chancellor Timothy White announced Tues. May 12 that instruction will primarily be offered online. A virtual plan is expected to be implemented into the entire CSU system as the possibility of a second COVID-19 wave of cases is predicted.

    “Our planning approach will result in CSU courses primarily being delivered virtually for the fall 2020 term,” Chancellor White writes in a CSU press release. “With limited exceptions for in-person teaching, learning and research activities that cannot be delivered virtually, are indispensable to the university’s core mission and can be conducted within rigorous standards of safety and welfare.”

    Academics that can not make the direct translation to an online format, such as artistry and laboratory classes, will be conducted through a hybrid approach which limits in-person contact as much as possible and continues to emphasize online instruction. 

    HSU, along with other CSU systems, are subjected to differing class standards based on the level of necessity placed behind face-to-face instruction. The fall semester is projected to primarily remain online, however, updates and further information will be announced later in the week.