Post-secondary on hold if courses are all online
PATRICK PEARSON
If COVID-19 forces Ryerson University to move all its classes online next fall, Patrick Pearson says he’ll probably delay going there.
He is excited about starting the journalism program at Ryerson and living in residence in downtown Toronto, but how universities will conduct classes in September is up in the air as administrators await guidance from public health authorities on what social distancing and other measures should be in place.
“I might just wait until they are ready to open up traditional in-person classes,” said Pearson, 18. “If I’m paying $8,000 a year for tuition, I want that experience.
“I don’t mind online classes, I’ve done them in the past, but part of university for me is being able to immerse myself in the lifestyle, and interact with other people. That is a large part of why I want to go to university.”
Journalism is also a very handson program, he said. “It would be difficult to replicate that in an online environment.”
Pearson has a fallback plan if Ryerson doesn’t pan out in September: continue to work at Canadian Tire and save money.
It’s a stressful job, loading packages into customers’ cars while trying to maintain a safe distance. “But I trust my co-workers, and management at my store is really good about following all the proper procedures.”
Pearson will also continue to indulge his passion for music as a vocalist, guitarist and drummer. He plays in three punk bands and has a solo musical project, although gigs and recordings have been put on hold for now.
High school graduates are heading into a world of uncertainty, but Pearson said that’s nothing new for his generation.
“I think for people my age that’s something we are used to. The world we are entering is a very uncertain one in many ways. There’s a lot of economic uncertainty, there’s a lot of social and environmental uncertainty. I think we are very used to this in the last few years. As we have been growing up and learning about the world around us, it’s been like this.”
His generation is hyper aware, for example, of the repercussions of hundreds of years of abuse of the environment and the growing wealth divide between the rich and poor, Pearson said.
Many young people he knows are politically engaged and looking for change.
“I feel like on the one hand it’s very scary, the world we are entering into. But on the other hand, I feel like we are going to be able to pull through.
“We’re a very strong generation and we don’t get credit for that.”