COVID-19 Raises Issues for Professors and Students
By: Corinna Rodriguez, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc. © 2020
As COVID – 19 surges its way throughout the counties in Texas, professors and students are speaking on their concerns about returning to campus this upcoming Fall semester for live in-person and remote learning courses.
Professor Dennie Johnson, who teaches English at Southwest Texas Junior College and Sul Ross State University in Eagle Pass, sat down and discussed how it feels to be someone in the higher education field. The one thing that Johnson lives by throughout his years of teaching is that “English is a discipline, I have always said that all you need is a book, a piece of paper, and a pen and you are good to go.”
Johnson has taken into consideration that plans can change for the Fall semester, but as of right now he has stated that his classes are looking like they will be face to face unless it is stated otherwise by Governor Abbott. As a matter of fact, Johnson highlights the fact that there are different options for the upcoming semester. In regards to the different options, he has stated that there is a sense of reality due to this pandemic since he believes that “some students are thriving in this virtual environment.”
When Johnson was asked about the topic of wearing a mask for the safety of himself or other people around him he says that “the mask itself does not hurt me, it is not costing me anything, it does not cause damage to my freedom, it does not cause damage to my health”.
Professor of Practice Kym Fox has been teaching in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University for nineteen years, and she has taken the time to sit down to discuss what the plan is for the upcoming semester. Fox says that “Texas State will be having classes in the Fall, but it is a flexible model.”
Fox has accepted the fact that we will get through this pandemic considering that there are so many changes happening within the education system itself. As a matter of fact, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication has come to a decision that a partial amount of the courses will be online, while the remainder of the courses will be alternating on days for in-person and remote learning.
As a Journalism professor, Fox is determined to train her upcoming students to become the next best generation of Journalists. In fact, she says “I want Journalists to be good at thinking on their feet and doing all the things that the world requires of them and the many changing circumstances and this is darn good training for that.” On the other hand, Fox gives her opinion about the idea of face masks, and she says “I think it is important for us to wear face masks, I suspect that we will be wearing them for a long time, and I do not wear my mask for me, I wear my mask for you, and you wear your mask for me.”
Olivia Garza is fulfilling her dreams of becoming an elementary teacher. The junior is attending Sul Ross State University and is majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies. Before transferring to Sul Ross State University, Garza attended Southwest Texas Junior College. Garza believes that it does seem like she will be returning back to campus this upcoming semester, but other than that she does not know how the university will be hosting their classes.
One of the few things that make her worry, “if we were to go back to school there are a handful of people that are acting as the pandemic does not exist considering that they are not taking this pandemic seriously. In fact, one does not know what the second wave might hold”, says Garza.
Jorge Gonzalez is pursuing his goal of wanting to work in the law enforcement field. The senior at Texas State University is majoring in Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement with a minor in Psychology. Before transferring to Texas State, Gonzalez attended a community college back in his hometown in Fort Worth, Texas. Gonzalez’s graduation date is estimated for Fall 2020.
As things progress throughout the months, a few of the things that Gonzalez is worried about is the fact that students have not heard anything from the university itself. “The transition from having in person courses to remote learning has played such a difficult role for me,” says Gonzalez. The transition itself made it difficult for Gonzalez because of how everything felt so rushed during the semester.
Paul Morales, who is a finance major, studied at Texas State University, but later transferred to The University of Texas in San Antonio, shared his thoughts. He has discussed that this unpredictable time has had a big change to his life. “It has made life a bit tougher than usual because there is now a fear of being able to contract the virus”, says Morales.
University professors and students face a dilemma of issues as the Fall semester quickly approaches within a month or so with the coronavirus pandemic causing changes on a daily basis to their studies and lives.
Editor’s Note: The Eagle Pass Business Journal welcomes Corinna Rodriguez as an intern with the publication. She is a senior at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, majoring in English and a double minor in Journalism and Political Communications.
