We are now two years into a worldwide pandemic, and things have changed for many fellow otters here at CSUMB. However, it’s not just the students who are having to deal with these unprecedented times, it’s people from all around the campus such as professors,staff, and even chefs who help to cultivate a healthy on campus environment.
Head Chef of the Dining Commons, Mr. Joe Fox, goes into depth about how so much has changed within the food industry, especially here at CSUMB.
When asked about how COVID-19 has affected his own team of chefs here on campus, Fox said “One of our biggest issues was students not being able to self-serve, so we had to staff more people, it was extra labor, extra costs, and when more people are getting sick on a daily basis, you are constantly shorthanded.”
As you can imagine, this would be extremely difficult when trying to serve food to a very large number of students on a daily basis, but overall, it seems like Fox’s team has made it through the toughest stretch of COVID and they are on their way to getting things back to normal.
Roopa Signh teaches in the communications department for law and civics engagment and was able to give some interesting insight on how the learning experience has drastically changed since the start of COVID-19.
Professor Signh also talks about how she isn't entirely worried about the germs or cleanliness of people returning to in person, but how she is worried about a much bigger issue. She is more focused on the idea of schools prioritizing money over their students. “I'm more worried about the practices of profit over people or profit over accessibility within universities.” Roopa brought up a really valid point because we've seen schools do this all over the country now.
As universities were starved of profits throughout the pandemic, they are more eager than ever to bring kids back to in person learning because this does tend to bring in a lot more money. CSUMB was one of the few Cal state universities that remained open after the covid surge back in December, but they also required a booster shot in order for students to return to in person classes, so I don’t feel like CSUMB was solely focused on making a profit during these times. Though this might be the truth, I think there are plenty of Otters that much rather attend in person learning, including myself. Brendan Derbish is a senior Communications Major and he too prefers in person learning over online classes.
Brendan said “online learning was nice at first because it gave you a break and put less pressure on you, but then you start to take them less seriously after a while, and you start to space out a lot.”
All in all, COVID-19 has radically changed the college experience for many people here at CSUMB. Looking forward as freshman and graduating seniors, the mask mandate will be lifted come next fall but it is still likely that freshmen will have to be vaccinated, or they will be tested weekly to prevent outbreaks.
As graduates look to start their careers after college, it also looks like they will get to experience a real graduation setting rather than a virtual one, which is exciting because it finally feels like progress is being made with the ongoing pandemic.
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