The Queensborough Community College campus is empty a day after the announcement was made. Photo by Bianca Silva
QUEENS CUNY STUDENTS REACT TO
CANCELLATION OF IN-PERSON CLASSES
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 20-26, 2020 3
BY BIANCA SILVA
BY BIANCA SILVA
CUNY’s campuses were significantly
emptier than usual
Thursday as students and faculty
prepare to fully transition
to “distance learning” for the
remainder of the spring semester
beginning March 19 amid
the coronavirus outbreak.
Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced on March 11 that
all City University of New
York campuses will be suspending
all in-person classes
for the semester following a
John Jay student testing positive
for the illness and outcry
from students and faculty to
close down.
CUNY’s dorms, libraries,
research facilities, daycare
centers and laboratories will
remain open during and after
the instructional recess. For
students, the news brings major
ramifications that will impact
them for months to come.
Carlos Ocana, a sophomore
biology major at Queens College,
is already feeling the consequences
of the announcement.
He was in class when he
found out he wouldn’t be going
to school anymore and emphasized
the need for face-to-face
interaction with professors.
“I like asking my teachers
questions during their office
hours because sometimes I
don’t get it,” he said. “Biology
is hard and I need extra help
and I can’t do that anymore.
It’s only going to be online and
I feel that’s the whole point of
going to college. If not, then
anyone would just take online
classes. It sucks.”
Ocana works at the “Corner
Pocket” game room on the
Flushing campus and mostly
relies on his work study job to
help him pay for his tuition.
An empty campus may lead
him to look elsewhere for income.
“Work study is sometimes
the only main source
of income,” he said during his
shift. “Luckily for me, I have
another job, but it’s a backup.
I’m trying to look for another
job because I don’t think this
is going to go on for a long
time. My boss actually told me
that on Friday, they’re going to
let us know if we’re still going
to work here.”
Ocana mentions how his
weekend job at an Astoria restaurant
isn’t enough to cover
tuition and bus expenses despite
receiving some federal
aid that eases the stress of attending
school.
Similarly, for Camille Ryan,
a second semester nursing student
at Queensborough Community
College in Bayside, is
scared that the transition to
distance learning classes will
sidetrack her goal of graduating
on time next year.
“I was just concerned for
my graduation date from the
program,” she said. “Was I
going to be held back? Was I
going to have to restart this semester?
Everything was just
up in the air as far as what’s
going to happen regarding my
nursing program.”
Ryan moonlights as a flight
attendant on the weekends,
and worries that the 30-day
European travel ban imposed
by President Donald Trump
on March 11 will affect her
ability to work on an airline
for the foreseeable future and
pay for her courses.
“How long is this going to
last? Is there a timeline? I don’t
know,” she said.
Ryan’s classmate Jack
Wong, who is also a second
semester nursing student, was
frustrated when he learned
that the shift to online courses
would be long term — potentially
putting a damper on his
plans to take summer courses
on campus.
He’s worried that distance
learning classes will deter
him from gaining the necessary
skills such as assessing
a patient and learning to draw
blood in the field.
“It would definitely have
a negative effect because you
have clinicals in part of nursing
and we’re not getting
that,” he said. “We’re probably
not going to go to a hospital.
I’m not sure yet. I feel like our
clinical skills aren’t going to
be as good going into next semester.”
Despite the increasing severity
of the outbreak in New
York, Ryan is not overly worried
about being infected as
long as she follows protocol
and mentions that as a flight
attendant, she has yet to interact
with a passenger who may
show coronavirus symptoms.
“You’re always at risk for
something,” she said. “Follow
the safety precautions and
just wash your hands and be
cautious of people that appear
sick. I’m not really somebody
that freaks out easily, so no,
I’m not worried about that.”
For Ocuna, the nature of
his work on and off campus requires
him to keep his hands
clean at all times due to the
possibility of encountering a
sick individual.
“I do use gloves, hand sanitizers,
I have a lot of hand
sanitizers at home,” he said.
“Every time I go out, every 10
minutes, I use hand sanitizers.
I try to be safe.”
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