Students Opt to Return Later

Students were given the choice of returning to campus or staying remote for the rest of the winter and spring terms. Due to reasons ranging from concerns about the pandemic to dietary limitations, a number of students opted to return later in the year, after the first set of arrivals on the weekend of February 11.

Many students chose to remain remote due to health and safety reasons. “There was an increase in cases in the US and I was concerned that, since our classmates are coming from a bunch of different places, they could be potentially coming from places that have had a spike in cases,” prep Alexander Luna said. “My parents felt that if there was a choice, it would be better for me to choose the safer option.”

Prep Joseph Alvarez had a similar experience, “If I were to for some reason contract the virus on my way back home from my time at campus, I could pass it on to my sister without knowing. And my sister has major health issues… we want to be as safe as possible,” he said.

Senior Angela Liu agreed that safety was her primary concern. When making the decision whether to return or not, Liu “considered the number of cases around the US and the speed of distribution for the vaccine.” “There was a large surge of COVID cases around the time [students] had to make [their] decision… [so] I ended up staying home,” Liu said.

Another factor in students’ decisions to stay remote this term was athletics. “The Solo Aquatics Swim Team wasn’t allowed to train on campus and I just didn’t see a point in going if social interaction was kept on such a tight leash,” upper Yvonne Jia said.

Prep Audrey Zhang added, “I have a sports commitment here [at home] that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill on campus.”

Students also weighed friends’ decisions when considering coming back to campus or not. “I chose to stay home because only a few other people from my dorm are returning and most of the upperclassmen are returning in March,” upper Mana Vale said.

Politics was also a factor students considered. “The political climate at the time we had to decide was a big reason why I didn’t go to Exeter in the winter. The insurrection happened pretty recently, and with everything so unstable it seemed a lot more rational to stay home,” upper Emma Liu said.

Students were also concerned about how much freedom they would have at school. Senior Natalie Karakey felt that campus would be too isolating if she came back in February. “Not being able to leave campus was definitely a deterrent [for me],” she said. “[Campus] is beautiful, but having to be there, and nowhere else, for the rest of winter and spring feels just a little too confining,” she said.

Similarly, Luna felt that by staying remote, he would not miss much at campus. “Since a lot of the activities are reduced as a result of the pandemic, I figured the experience between being on campus and at home wouldn’t differ too much,” he said.

A big factor for many was travel restrictions, especially for international students. For prep Akubah Ndubah, “the Saudi borders were closed to travelers from certain countries (including the US), so if someone from my family were to take me to campus, they would have to quarantine in another country on their way back home,” she said.

Not all students had the privilege of being able to choose whether to return or not. “For many international students who stayed at home, they did so because it was impossible to accommodate quarantine and travel to the US. In my case, because flights from Brazil to the US are banned, my family had to plan a 14-day quarantine in a different South American country. Even so, despite making many plans and arrangements for quarantining in other countries, all of these closed their borders to Brazil, making flight impossible,” upper Pedro Coelho said.

The remote learning experience has differed for these students. For some new students, remote learning has been especially hard given the lack of social connections with classmates. “I don’t really have any friends [at Exeter] and being one of the only people on Zoom while everyone else is in person makes it really difficult to learn,” Jia said.

Staying in touch with friends has also been a challenge for remote students. “Being remote is kind of lonely, honestly.” A. Liu said. “A lot of my friends are doing things together (socially distanced, of course), but I’m just stuck in my house.”

Additionally, some students noted the difficulty of remaining disciplined at home.“Remote learning has been awful,” prep Yoeku Sam said. “I wish I went to school. Turns out it’s [at] home that I can’t focus.”

However, some students, like Alvarez, have found remote learning to be relatively enjoyable. “Living remotely is helping me become more comfortable with my new classmates and teachers,” he said, “I also feel that I have more time to work on what I need. I don't have to walk to get food everyday, I don't have to walk from class to class, and I don't have to wear masks while being around others. Everything is easier and more accessible.”

For international students like E. Liu, “time zones are definitely still a challenge, but communicating with teachers regarding certain struggles when it comes to time zones has helped immensely.”

Lower Avery Baker decided to stay home for dietary reasons. “I am a vegan,” he said, “I learned from my experience on campus in October and November that there is an exiguous amount of plant and plant-based foods on campus… being home has given me the ability to eat various foods that I enjoy, and I know that if I return to campus, the likeliness of that feeling being resurrected is not very high.”

Regardless of their remote learning experience, many students are looking forward to returning to campus. “Even while there are advantages with working remotely, campus offers many opportunities that I wouldn't get at many other places,” Alvarez said.

Some, like Luna, anticipate experiencing campus for the first time. “I look forward to seeing campus as a student this time, since the last time I was there, I was applying and only able to see part of it,” he said.

Students hope to see things return to normal soon, if COVID-19 conditions allow. “Hopefully by next year it will be better, and I will be able to interact with everyone,” Jia said.