Teaching On Campus in the Covid-Era

While most MRU faculty are adjusting to remote delivery, those still teaching on campus are also facing changed working conditions.  Faculty Forum asked Holly Crowe about what her experience of returning to teaching was like this term…                             

I drive  onto campus early in the morning of September 16^th to find that the parking gates of Lot #1 are open and all other lots have been barricaded off.  Alright!  My dream of Lot 1 parking has finally come true.

 After uploading the HotSpot parking app and fighting with it for 10 minutes to pay,  the warm glow of Lot 1 luxury has washed away. It is 0830 in the morning as I head into the West Gate entrance, the only one open, to swipe my OneCard and enter into the nearly empty halls of MRU main campus. It is echoey and dark.

As I round the corner into my lab room, I am re-warmed by the affection of my students and the relief we all feel to be together again. I can see their smiles underneath their array of masks through the expression in their eyes.  Many express gratitude for being able to return to their studies.

The lab rooms are reconfigured.  The board tables we used to sit around are gone and there is hand sanitizer at every bedside. We have a huge bucket of sanitizer wipes, masks, gloves and a thermometer at the door. As each student walks in I screen them, check their temperatures, and offer some guidance on what to expect during our lab time together. 

The masks are hot, the heightened sense of the unknown is palpable and yet here my students sit waiting and eager to get back to pursuing their educational goals.  I am so proud.

By Holly Crowe 

September 28, 2020