COLLEGE STUDENTS, FACULTY RETURN TO IN-PERSON CLASSES
Chico State, Butte College campuses open for learning
CHICO >> Students from Chico State and Butte College returned to in-person classes Monday for the first day of school, and the excitement level for both new and returning students was high. Many were excited but some did share concerns for the COVID-19 Delta variant which has appeared in Butte County.
Chico State freshmen talked about spending the last week moving into their dorms and meeting new people, Walmart trips, and finding new places to shop and eat in downtown Chico such as the Madison Bear Garden.
Seniors talked about the excitement of their final first day of school in-person and being ready to push through their final year together.
Chico State is offering 65 percent of its classes with an in-person component, while Butte College has around 550 of its 1,200 sections offered in the fall with an inperson component. Both schools are offering hybrid classes which will have a mix of online and in-person learning. Masks are required indoors at all times for both schools.
Chico State Associated Students President of Business and Finance Austin Lapic said he has two of his five classes in-person in his final fall semester. Lapic said as a senior he was not able to choose his classes based on the in-person availability, but has told himself he will be on campus five days a week. He said he lived in Chico all of 2020 despite learning online, still lives in Chico and would much rather be on the campus.
“So if that means I have
to wear my mask, if that means I have to upload my vaccination card, if that means I have to get my third dose in November, I don’t care,” Lapic said. “If I can be here, learning with my friends for my last year here that means the world to me. … I don’t want to be at home all day learning.”
Lapic said he plans to spend his time on the Chico State campus study- ing in the library or in his office located in Bell Memorial Union 221 inside the Wildcat Leadership Center. Lapic did admit he has some worries students may lie about their vaccination status, however he said, “we’ll just have to roll with it.”
“I’m so much more happy to be back, even if it means there are those risks,” Lapic said.
Chico State junior Walker Doucette is an art education major and a member of the Chico State track and field team. Doucette said he too is excited about returning to in-person classes, however he admitted he didn’t hate online courses his sophomore year and part of his freshman year as much as others.
After spending the first two months of online education at his parents’ home, Doucette returned to Chico for the spring 2021 semester to train with members of his team. He said with online classes he was able to make food when needed, go to the restroom and prepare for work as classes concluded.
Doucette, who was on the Chico State campus two hours hours prior to the start of his first class, said the vibe on campus is different than it was with students learning from a distance. He said being surrounded by people who want the same thing — learning in-person — is something that has been taken for granted.
“Peoples’ faces are high, they’re ready to get back to learning and be in school in-person which is great for everybody,” Doucette said. “It’s great for teachers and administration too. It’s going to be a great year.”
Butte College
Butte College was offering free breakfast sandwiches to students Monday which will continue Tuesday.
President Samia Yaqub said the breakfast sold out quickly Monday but will be fully restocked Tuesday morning.
Yaqub and Director of Institutional Advancement at Butte College Lisa DeLaby said students’ primary questions have been, “Where is the library? Where is the cafeteria? Where is the campus center?”
Yaqub shared that she has been seeing a lot of passion, joy and some trepidation and anxiety amongst staff members returning to classes. She said for a lot of faculty and staff its a breath of fresh air to be interacting with students once again. Others are excited to be back but would like to return in “small doses.”
Despite not teaching any in-person classes until Wednesday, Butte College agriculture business instructor and faculty adviser Jacob Vazquez was at the welcome booth outside of the cafeteria Monday. Vazquez is teaching just one class inperson in the fall 2021 semester — animal science.
Vazquez, a former Butte College student who was named the Butte College Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year, said the energy on the campus was definitely different than his time as a student and in previous years because the numbers are down with many students still taking classes online.
Vazquez said Monday was much more exciting than the first day of school in fall 2020, which he said felt like, “just another day.” He said he truly enjoys meeting students and it was a bummer that a whole cohort of students came and left Butte College only learning from online classes.
“It’s really exciting, just the energy here to see students and they’re excited, we’re excited, so I think it’s going to be a great semester,” Vazquez said. “The college did a great job of supporting faculty wherever their comfort level was. Giving the option to stay remote if they were comfortable with that or to be in-person if they felt that was more valuable to their instruction.”
Yaqub said Monday felt more like a first day of school pre-COVID. In the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters, Butte College held difficult to convert classes on-campus, however students were limited to the places in which the classes were being offered. Yaqub remembered the first day of school in 2020 and said the only activity she saw was a group of wild turkeys running through the campus.
“It felt so strange, eerie and quiet. Look here today there’s lots of students and activity,” Yaqub said outside of the student center Monday. “We got more a traditional first day except everyone’s wearing masks.”