With midterm season in full swing at Queen’s University, areas of the school’s campus that would normally be filled to the brim with students cramming for tests are quiet and nearly empty.
After a tumultuous December that included hundreds of COVID-19 cases linked to the university, classes were moved to remote delivery on Dec. 16, 2021.
But as of Monday, thousands of students will be returning to in-person learning.
“Online school isn’t great,” says third-year student Rein Tiisler. “Some people have really flourished with it; personally, I haven’t. I’m much more of an in-person, hands-on kind of learner.”
First-year engineering student Raymond Zhang has only ever known the university experience during the pandemic.
“Online school was not my strong suit, so the faster we get back to in-person classes, the better,” Zhang says.
Between late November and mid-December, there were around 500 positive cases linked to Queen’s.
According to students who spoke with Global News, the details and protocols surrounding the return have been well communicated by officials.
Although Queen’s principal and vice-chancellor Patrick Deane was unavailable to speak about this, a public statement regarding return protocols is expected this week.
“Personally, I’m triple-vaxxed and a lot of people are so I’m not personally concerned,” says Tiisler. “Especially with Omicron, it seems to be on the downturn.”
According to a statement from KFL&A medical officer of health Dr. Piotr Oglaza, the public health unit isn’t concerned either.
The school still has a vaccine mandate in place and the Council of Ontario Universities says all schools will maintain vaccine policies until at least the end of the current term.