Students are Excited UWM Will Return to In Person

UWM will be returning to in-person classes in the fall of 2021. According to Scott Gronert, the dean of the college of letters and science, the fall will consist of 77% in-person classes. We are not far from the usual 85% in-person said Gronert.

One year ago, the UWM union would be constantly busy. From students to teachers to alumni and many more cutting through to get to their next building or sitting down to enjoy lunch from one of the many restaurants, it was always busy. Some days you wouldn’t even be able to find a place to sit down.

Flash forward one year, and the UWM union is quiet and empty. A few students walk around, some stopping to get their pre-ordered food from the one restaurant still open. Students sit far away from each other and never dare to take their masks off. Quinn Stephens, a junior at UWM, describes the Union as a ghost town.

One year ago on March 18, UWM was shut down because of COVID-19, and students and teachers were required to finish the semester online. The majority of all classes stayed online throughout the 2020-2021 school year.

Hopes are high for the union to return to its busy state. On March 9 during the UWM town hall meeting, Chancellor Mark Mone announced that UWM will be returning to mostly in-person for the fall of 2021. According to Mone, we need to return to in-person for three reasons: the students’ wants/needs, the social aspect and to help the financial troubles that came with shutting down for COVID-19.

“We are in good shape for the fall and if we just keep getting the vaccination that will pave the way for a more normal fall,” said Mone.

“We expect all the resident halls to be mostly full, and dining services to back to closer to normal,” said Kelly Haag, Chief Student Affairs Officer.

According to Mone, many students have come to him saying the number one thing they need is to go back to in-person.

Arianna Mendiola, a freshman at UWM when COVID-19 hit, decided to take the whole year off because she struggled with online classes.

“I learn better in a classroom setting,” said Mendiola. “I just knew it wasn’t going to go well if I had to self-discipline myself to go to class without the change in location. I knew I was just going to put so much stress on myself.”

Mendiola is excited to return to in person in the fall because that also means the return to school for her. Over the last year, Mendiola missed getting to meet new people and engaging with her classmates and teachers.  

“I’m really excited to go back to in-person,” said Mendiola “I actually kind of missed going to school and being in class.”

As Mone talked about, the social aspect has been hard on many students. Mendiola said online classes made her feel isolated.

“With in-person classes, you are with your peers and that helps a lot with not feeling alone,” said Mendiola.

Stephens agreed that the best part about in-person classes is having people around you to ask questions and get help.

“I hate that I can’t get help right away or get access to the studio,” said Stephens, a graphic design major.

The biggest thing that Stephens hates about all online classes is not being able to be active on campus. During her freshman year, Stephens was on the women’s club soccer and basketball team, which both had their seasons canceled. She also misses being able to go to sporting events.

“A lot of our school spirit comes from being able to attend sporting events,” said Stephens. “I miss Panthers supporting Panthers.”

Kenna Smith is a senior at Kimberly High School and will be attending UWM in the fall as a freshman. At Kimberly, she had the choice to go fully in-person or online and Smith chose to stay in person.

“I feel like in-person classes are a lot easier for me to be engaged,” said Smith. “I was able to procrastinate a lot in online classes because there was no structure.”

Smith fell in love with the school and plans on attending whether in-person or online.

“I know a lot of college freshman were sad their first year was not normal so I am excited I will be able to have a semi-normal freshman year,” said Smith.

She is most excited to meet new people, move to a new city and grow as a person in an environment that is so accepting of different people.

You can watch the full town hall meeting here: https://youtu.be/I7TIiEIGlwc