Some faculty at Citrus College are excited to see their students in the spring semester but are hesitant about coming back because of COVID-19.
Vaccines are a big concern for some faculty at Citrus College.
English professor Anna Villeneuve said she is excited about being back in person but hopes that most of her students will be vaccinated.
“The best thing that we can do to maintain a good learning environment is be vaccinated,” Villeneuve said.
Statistics professor Toros Berberyan said he has mixed feelings about teaching in person during the winter semester because it is more common for people to get sick in the winter.
“I have a 4-year-old daughter,” Berberyan said. “She can’t get vaccinated, so I’m just concerned that if I go to teaching class, I’m vaccinated, but I don’t want my daughter getting COVID-19.”
Citrus College ceramics professor Michael Hillman said being fully vaccinated with three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine gives him more confidence teaching his class on campus.
“I would hope that everyone who comes on campus would be vaccinated, and I know at this point that’s not necessarily true,” Hillman said.
Villeneuve said she will use safety precautions such as handwashing and using fresh masks every day.
She said she is worried about having to tell students to keep their masks on in class with the students’ noses and mouths covered.
If a student tested positive for COVID-19 in her class, she said she has online assignments and teaching plans prepared in case a student outbreak occurs.
Berberyan said he is excited to come back because he has more of a connection with his students when teaching in person.
He said he is going to take precautions such as regular cleaning, hand sanitizing and social distancing to prevent COVID-19 exposure when he gets back in the classroom.
Berberyan said he already has online plans prepared just in case an outbreak of COVID-19 occurs.
“I am gonna have everything organized and show the students how to navigate through Canvas so just in case something does happen, we can quickly go to Zoom and find their assignments,” Berberyan said.
Hillman taught on campus this semester and is comfortable teaching in the spring because of Citrus’ COVID-19 guidelines.
“I feel very comfortable that the college is doing what they can at this point to keep everyone safe, and I feel very comfortable in class with the mask on and knowing the students are getting tested,” Hillman said.
Hillman found online teaching impersonal.
“It was odd to teach ceramics online but I am glad to be back in person,” Hillman said.
He said that students who are taking his class this semester were dedicated and anxious to get back into the classroom.
“Obviously there is way more connection with the students and you can just look at them and read what they are thinking or what they need,” Hillman said.
His biggest challenge, Hillman said, is understanding what students are saying when they have their masks on.
“They seem to have been more motivated to be here, so they seem to be a really good group of students that was a little unexpected,” Hillman said.
Hillman said one student in his class tested positive for COVID-19. It was the only positive case in his class throughout the semester.
“We did catch someone who was enrolled in the class before they entered campus,” Hillman said. “So just one student in all the months we have been back on campus and they were quarantined at home for seven days and they tested negative and so now they’re back to working again.”
