Ontario university students face anxious winter as classes resume online, for now
Winter term in Ontario is beginning for most university and college students on Jan. 10, with many schools starting the semester online as the highly contagious Omicron variant has ripped through the province.
But several universities have told students they are expecting them to return to campus for in-person classes by the end of the month, fuelling uncertainty and anxiety for some given the COVID-19 surge that has increased hospitalizations in major city centres.
Others who have been cooped up with family during the holidays face the pressure to return to student housing, all while navigating the transmissibility of the Omicron variant and living with multiple roommates.
As of Friday, Omicron cases in Ontario have soared off the charts, with 11,899 new cases reported across the province. Due to limits on testing capacity, it is estimated the number of people newly infected with COVID-19 is much higher. This prompted the province to return to Stage 2 of its reopening plan Wednesday - closing gyms, bars and restaurants for indoor dining, and placing limits on gathering.
For many universities across Ontario, the newly placed restrictions and unprecedented rise in cases pose a challenge for how to mitigate spread in on-campus housing and student towns. Some, like Western University, University of Toronto and the University of Guelph, have moved to shift classes online for the first few weeks of the semester, until the end of January.
As much as possible, students are encouraged to do their learning and studying remotely," stated a Western memo to students on Jan. 3.
U of T has moved dining halls to takeout only and said rapid-test distribution is on hold due to lack of supply, and remaining kits are being allocated to students in residence.
Guelph is issuing a $200 refund for on-campus housing residents who choose to delay their return until Jan. 21.
Queen's University is delaying its in-person operations even further, until the end of its Winter Reading Week on Feb. 28. In deciding upon remote delivery through February, we wished to provide as much certainty as possible for planning purposes for students, faculty, and staff in an evolving and uncertain situation," the university told the Star.
McMaster University in Hamilton has also delayed its return to in-person classes, planning instead for a gradual return to campus for first-year students on Jan. 31 to give them a head start to adjust to university life. The other students will return Feb. 7, the school said. COVID-19 tests can be booked on campus only for students living in residence.
OCAD University in Toronto is delaying the winter semester altogether, planning for a full return to classes in-person Jan. 28, and will allow the semester to run longer into April. Any classes that were already remote will remain online, the university told the Star.
If the virus turns for the worse" it has other plans ready that include offering more remote courses.
The OCAD delay of a few weeks provided a much-needed break as many students are burnt out, said Chance Angus, a third-year advertising student at the school.
Angus said it also gave her time to get her booster before classes return at month's end. She said after three consecutive semesters online for her, in-person class would be a relief.
The decision (to postpone the semester) has helped preserve in-person learning, which I'm grateful for," she said.
But for some students, the threat of Omicron and recent restrictions have thwarted any plans to return to campus. Amisha Sachdeva, a fourth-year journalism and psychology student at Carleton University, has decided to stay in her Ajax home for the foreseeable future instead of returning to her on-campus housing in Ottawa, as Carleton has also delayed the return to in-person classes.
I don't anticipate classes returning (in-person), even after January," Sachdeva said. It's just a very nebulous situation right now."
Sachdeva added many people in society are making sacrifices to curb the virus. For her, the sacrifice comes in the form of a few thousand dollars spent on residence fees.
I'll take the losses any day, because at the end of the day you can't quantify a human life," she said. If that's what we have to do to get through this, then I am OK with that."
Like Sachdeva, Lindsay Dienesch, a Wilfrid Laurier University student, is worried about returning to campus. After the pandemic hit, Dienesch decided she would move back to Chatham, Ont., to live with her parents. She had lived in student housing near Laurier's Brantford campus before that.
Now Dienesch, a fourth-year social work student, is concerned she will be called back by the end of the month to in-person classes by the school, which is a two-hour drive away.
The idea of going back to class makes her very, very nervous," she said. With the lack of testing ... it's a little worrisome to see these cases go up," she said. I have one semester left ... it makes it extremely hard."
Laurier states on its website that while winter term began Jan. 4, in-person classes will resume Jan. 31 provided public health direction allows." Meanwhile, students will be able to live in residence, and athletic centres and libraries will open this month, depending on public health requirements, it states.
To pay for a three-month lease for an apartment near campus would be a waste of money, and so would a long commute, said Dienesch.
The worry kind of goes down to how much notice are you going to give students, whether you are (going back) or not?" she said. There are students with living situations that they need to figure out or transportation."
Others, like first-year Queen's student Alexa Bartels, plan to be near campus for the duration of the winter semester but worry about what lies ahead.
Bartels, originally from Ajax, did not go back home for the holidays for fear of exposing her family to the virus. She lives with four roommates, one a nursing student doing a hospital placement. She also works in Kingston and her income helps pay for school.
It's really emotionally and mentally taxing, being cooped up in your room on your computer, especially in post-secondary," said Bartels, who is studying arts and sciences. I'm on the fence about deciding to take some time off or sticking to my required courses, because it's all up in the air."
She added another challenge is navigating risk while sharing a household with four other students. We just kind of have to trust that they're making the right decisions," Bartels said, adding her household members wear masks around each other at the onset of any symptoms, even when testing negative for COVID-19.
While Queen's is not planning in-person classes until after February, Bartels said she remains concerned about the future of the winter semester. We get optimistic, and then we kind of get let down," she said of learning during the pandemic.
It's really hard being a student at this time."
Nadine Yousif is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering mental health. Follow her on Twitter: @nadineyousif_
Olivia Bowden is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star. Reach her via email: obowden@thestar.ca