Relief or regret? First-year students switch to online classes again
After so long, when we finally got a glimpse of our vibrant college life, here we are, back to the screens. KOMAL SINGH, English (Hons) student at Dyal Singh College
Just three months after a much-awaited return to campus, students in some colleges of Delhi University have been asked to attend classes online, till the first week of June. The reasons cited by colleges, in the notices, are the paucity of classrooms due to the ongoing exams for second and thirdyear students.
NO MORE TRAVELLING IN THE HEAT
Komal Singh, a student of English (Hons) at Dyal Singh College, says, “Online classes have advantages as well as disadvantages. On the one hand, this comes as a relief as it’s serving as kind of a summer break that students will not get now. So, it’s good that we don’t have to stride off in this heat to colleges. But, at the same time, it will also break the flow of our studies as we know how monotonous online classes are, and we have been tolerating them for two years. After so long, when we finally got a glimpse of our vibrant college and offline classes, here we are, back again to the screens. It’s okay if it’s just for a month, but it should not be extended any further.”
WILL HELP STABILISE ATTENDANCE FOR SOME
“All I did in the first month was bunk classes to be with friends and part of societies. Hence, I’m low-key glad for the online mode because this might stabilise my attendance a bit (smiles),” says Shirley Goodwin, a first-year student of English (Hons) at Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, who is relieved to get a break from regular college. She shares, “The first month of living on my own in a new city was exhilarating, but equally overwhelming. It feels nice to have the change to be back in my home town (Kanpur) for a breather. Also, I wanted a break from my PG’s dining services!”
MISSING OFFLINE ACTIVITIES ALREADY!
Pulkit Kashyap, a first-year student of BA Program at Rajdhani College and an avid photographer, says he is missing going out in the campus with his camera. He shares, “Since college has gone online again, I miss taking to my photography. The streets look lovely in the evening, during summer, and I could have captured all this beauty had there been the bahana of going to college.”
BETTER OFF WITH MORE STUDY TIME
Shreya Gupta, a BCom (Hons) first-year student at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, shares how this set-up has made it easier for her to work for her society, Enactus: “College has shifted online for us. Right now, there isn’t much work because even the second and third-year students are busy with exams. But staying at home, we get much more scope to focus on social work commitments.”