Students at UA return to classes on campus

Masks, keeping distance new regimen

FAYETTEVILLE — Students returned Monday for in-person classes at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where they found a few familiar faces and some new things to get used to.

Megan Rodgers, 20, said it was her first time back since March, when UA suspended face-to-face classes in response to concerns about covid-19.

Face coverings and physically distanced seating are part of new campus protocols aimed at reducing the risk of transmission.

“Definitely, like the vibe is different. But mostly I’m just really excited to be here and really hoping that other students like follow the guidelines so that we can all be safe,” said a mask-wearing Rodgers, an international studies major.

Rodgers said she recognized classmates while managing to keep her distance.

“I think it was, like, weird going into classes and I saw people that I knew and not being able to hug them or dive in. Like, I’m talking to them across the room, if that makes sense,” Rodgers said.

The class she’s taking is part of UA’s August Intersession, which offers courses in a 10-day, concentrated format.

Only a few dozen courses are offered that way, so the campus remains mostly deserted for now. The UA residence halls have their first move-ins scheduled for next week, and the first day of fall semester classes is set for Aug. 24.

Not all colleges in the state are returning to faceto-face instruction this fall, with private universities Lyon College and Hendrix College citing a general trend of an increasing number of covid-19 cases in announcing they will begin the fall semester with online-only instruction. But the largest public universities in Arkansas have said they will welcome students back to campus this month.

Jack Threet, a senior history major, said that with so few people on the UA campus Monday, he didn’t consider it an especially big day.

“I’ve worn a mask on campus before,” Threet said.

He said he did prefer faceto-face classes. UA, like other universities, shifted to online-only instruction to finish out its spring semester. Until Monday, its summer classes were also taught remotely.

“It feels like if you’re only online then it’s just only reading, and there’s maybe not the connection you need,” Threet said.

His first day back was in an upper-level history course taught by Freddy Dominguez, an assistant professor of history.

Wearing a mask while teaching is “very do-able,” Dominguez said. More difficult is reading the room when students have their mouths and noses covered, he said.

“You can’t see the students’ expressions,” Dominguez said.

Also different for a first day were some unexplained student absences, Dominguez said. He taught in front of eight students but said 14 had enrolled. One student had been in contact, while Dominguez said he wasn’t sure about the others.

In the upcoming fall semester, UA officials have said each class will be recorded for students to view if they do not make it to campus.

Dominguez said he plans to record his class sessions in the coming days. He said he has also altered his teaching somewhat compared to past Intersession courses he’s taught, giving students more reading to do at home.

In past courses, “sometimes I let them go out to the coffee shop or something and work together for a while,” Dominguez said. “But you can’t do that in these circumstances, or at least, I haven’t figured out a way to do it yet.”

Some other Intersession courses — as well as some fall semester courses — normally taught face-to-face are this year being taught entirely through remote instruction. Out of 46 total Intersession courses, 25 are meeting in-person, UA spokesman John Post said Monday. The Intersession courses end with class finals on Aug. 14.

The total shifted down from last week, which Post said is typical in the days before the Intersession.

Threet said he wasn’t too worried about the fall, when thousands of courses will be offered by UA.

“I think if we maintain social distancing and masks, that seems to just lower the chances of spreading tremendously,” Threet said.

Rodgers said she respected the new requirements and changes, which also include reducing the capacity of classrooms. In Dominguez’s class in Kimpel Hall, for example, signs stated that the previous capacity of 67 had been reduced to a maximum occupancy of 33.

The numbers relate to physical distancing, with UA reconfiguring rooms so that students sit at least 6 feet apart. A larger lecture hall nearby had signs indicating that its occupancy had been reduced to 44 from 210.

Desks and seating areas are also numbered.

“I sit in the same seat every day now, and stuff like that, like all the procedures, those made me feel a lot safer,” Rodgers said.