August 1, 2020

Texas State University announced an update on July 29, 2020, via news.txstate.edu that they will still be opening up for the fall semester. Dr. Margarita M. Arellano, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students said: "Our administration, faculty, and staff have been working hard to prepare a fall plan that prioritizes your health and safety while offering expanded choices in course instruction delivery, accessible student support services, and opportunities for safe engagement activities." This did go in correlation with the Road Map to Return Action Plan announced by Texas State President Denise M. Trauth, however, the University did ask for students to quarantine up to 14 days before returning to campus along with seven other requests. Professors did have the option to move their classes online however, not all professors took the University up on that offer. When it comes to how the students feel about returning to campus; I found that it truly varies from student to student. I interviewed graduate student Gino Vazquez on how he felt about returning to campus. When asked if he felt it was necessary to return to campus, he had this to say, "I believe that it is not necessary to return to campus in the fall. Texas State extended spring break by one week and then ultimately made the last of the spring semester online. Summer one was online, and then Texas State changed its mind and made summer two online as well. There were no cases in San Marcos back in March, and we were told to stay home. Now cases are running wild in San Marcos and Texas, and we're expected to return in the fall." Gino Vazquez then explained that he can already visualize students in the Texas State University "free speech zone" chanting about their rights to not wear a mask. I also interviewed Texas State University student Joshua Cox on how he feels about the Universities return plan. Mr. Cox explained to me that his classes were all moved online and as an art major this is very unfortunate. "I cannot actually learn art online. These art classes that we spend big money on require hands-on learning and that is just something you can't get online." After my interviews, I found that depending on what a student is majoring in definitely makes a difference on whether they preferred online classes or not. What do you think? Should college students return to campus? Let me know on my twitter page @Rejeanlevell. The news on returning to campus is changing day by day, so feel free to follow me on social media to stay updated.