collegian.tccd.edu
Vacation takes a sinister turn PG. 2
Wednesday, August 25, 2021 – Volume 34 • Issue 1 Entertainment
Opinion
Opinion
Editorial
REMAKE HOLDS ITS OWN 2001 anime gets a facelift for modern audiences. PG. 2
STUDIO TOXICITY The unacceptable actions of the gaming industry. PG. 3
THERAPEUTIC SOLUTIONS How therapy can help students overcome adversity. PG. 3
PLANET’S HEATING UP The continued abuse of the Earth. PG. 3
Students return after 17 months
Jose Romero/The Collegian
Students walk down the D-Wing hallway in the main building of SE Campus on the second day of classes. The hallway houses admissions, registrar and business services.
DISTRICT
DISTRICT
Are campuses safe for physical TCC courses?
Faculty reflects on returning to campus after shutdown
Safety protocols questioned amid return
LOGAN EVANS
JOSE ROMERO editor-in-chief
TR biology student Marie Conley said they were ready to return to campus because cases were going down and they’re fully vaccinated. Now, they feel conflicted. “ I n o longer feel safe,” Conley said. Conley works on campus, so they have to be there physically. The Delta variant is the main cause for Conley’s concern because of its transmissibility. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the variant is twice as contagious as previous strains. If the college wants to stay open the entire semester with the lowest amount of deaths, a mask mandate is needed, Conley said. TCC ended its mask mandate June 3 and sent out an email Aug. 22 writing that masks will not be enforced but anybody who chooses to wear one can do so. NE library specialist Samantha Kayem questions whether a mask mandate would be the right call. “I believe that wearing masks reduces infections,” she said. “However, I am not sure it would be wise for TCC to defy the governor’s ban on mask mandates.” Kayem is referring to an order issued Aug. 11 by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that prohibits government entities from mandating masks. “The path forward relies on personal responsibility — not government mandates,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. Vaccines are another option for transmission prevention. TCC currently doesn’t require COVID-19 vaccinations as well, which is following another order mandated by Abbott. In March, when vaccinations became available to a larger population in Texas, the number of cases dropped down by thousands, according to The New York Times. By late May and the majority of June, the seven-day average dropped to around 1,300. In Tarrant
County, some weeks had cases in double digits. Currently, cases are back to over a thousand. C o n l e y a n d K a y e m d o n ’t t h i n k mandatory vaccinations should be a required protocol. “TCC supports an underprivileged community that has less access to vaccinations than the rest of the population,” Conley said. “They shouldn’t mandate it, but they should have vaccine clinics weekly so those on campus can get their vaccines while attending class.” Kayem doesn’t think vaccines should be required because it hasn’t reached full approval from the Food and Drug Administration. As of Aug. 23, the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine. N W s t u d e n t J o s e A c o s t a v a l l e ’s perspective on returning to campus is more optimistic. “I think it is a good idea for those who are more visual learners and need to see what they learn in action,” he said. Acostavalle’s optimism is limited when it comes to how long he thinks the semester will stay physical. He said the increase in COVID-19 cases will cut on-campus classes short, leaving students to transition back into an online-only environment. Kayem doesn’t think campuses will shut down entirely like last year. “I assume campuses will stay physical with accommodations being made for students exposed to or infected with the coronavirus, which will allow those students to complete coursework remotely until they are well and no longer a risk to others,” she said. Kayem and Conley weren’t delighted with how the school handled course selection. “I think some classes must be offered physically,” Kayem said. “However, I wish that TCC would have offered a wider variety of online classes to reduce the spread of the virus and meet the needs of more students.” Conley said classes should be smaller, which could help prevent the spread of the virus.
managing editor
As nearly three semesters of virtual learning give way to an in-person Fall, TCC instructors prepare for a return to form and reflect on the lasting changes the pandemic will bring to their classrooms. “It’s definitely uncharted territory and new beginnings,” NE history professor Chloe Northrop said. Northrop, who had a baby during quarantine, feels strong empathy for students hesitant to return. While she is 35, healthy and vaccinated, other members of her family are severely more at-risk. Northrop’s grandmother, who often takes care of her infant child, is 84 — well into the most vulnerable age group for COVID-19. On top of that, her sister contracted a breakthrough case of the virus after being vaccinated.
“You appreciate the students in the room more. It’s something you take for granted, that one-on-one relationship that you get.”
Jay Adkins
SE associate professor of music
These close-to-home factors have given Northrop an acute sense of the anxiety many students face as cases in Texas continue to rise. Going forward, she plans to record her on-campus lectures for students who may need to stay home from classes. Northrop’s biggest priority is making sure students feel safe in the classroom. “I don’t want them to take unnecessary risks because of a harsh attendance policy,” she said. “At TCC, we need to listen to what our students need. I want to make sure I’m meeting those needs, which are incredibly diverse.” The addition of virtual alternatives
to in-person courses is an unexpected but welcome element to the post-virtual semester, NW associate professor of Spanish Mayra Fuentes said. “I think the organization online learning forced us to have is going to be very beneficial,” she said. “It’s not something we can just get rid of.” Still, Fuentes is excited about the connection that returning face-to-face will bring — a connection that was lost while teaching a subject like language which relies on interpersonal communication. “Most of the faculty here are in this field because we’re passionate about what we teach and we love interacting with the students,” she said. “So having that conversation and expanding their way of thinking — we’re craving that.” For Jay Adkins, SE associate professor of music, the upcoming semester is all about rebuilding. Most of his students who were enrolled in a two-year music program at the start of the pandemic have either graduated or moved on in the two semesters since last meeting. “We’re having to recruit and start over,” he said. Like Fuentes’ experience with teaching a foreign language online, Adkins found that playing music virtually pales in comparison to playing in person. While the online semesters were tailored more toward recorded performance, some students did not have access to the high quality equipment that others had, which caused a disparity. “We tried to put things online and a lot of students did not like it at all,” he said. “I did a number of records like that with my other groups and it’s not the same.” Music — like language for Fuentes — is built on personal connection for Adkins. While he plans to incorporate virtual elements like listening assignments into his future courses, he looks forward to recapturing the connection with his students that only face-to-face instruction can bring. “You appreciate the students in the room more,” he said. “It’s something you take for granted, that one-on-one relationship that you get.”