Thousands of Humber College students push back on planned return to in-person learning
CBC
Thousands of Humber College students are pushing back on the school's full return to in-person learning, which is set to begin March 7.
The students say the mid-semester change, which would be for seven weeks, would cause major disruptions for some people, including those now residing in other cities.
Gustavo Lopes has created a petition to have classes remain virtual, saying it's a matter of equity and student voices being heard.
"It's online right now, and as much as online is not perfect, it's manageable," Lopes told CBC News.
"And once the college starts demanding people to return in person, it creates a lot of issues for a lot of people."
Lopes said some students still don't feel like they can quite commit to in-person, adding that "it's a complex issue."
He said while there are students looking forward to a return to in-person learning, there are also "people who have had to move out of the GTA for a number of reasons."
"I think it's become increasingly difficult. You know, before we had a commitment that, like a semester would either be all online or all in-person, and now we have this sort of on and off again situation that becomes really difficult," Lopes said.
"It just feels like a big ask too to ask students to return, especially for those of us in fourth year who are graduating very shortly. Like why do we have to be in-person? And the hybrid experience was pretty rough for, I think, students and faculty last semester," he added.
Lopes' petition has so far garnered more than 3,000 signatures.
Azi Afousi — who led a similar petition last fall — said she will now have to be in class five days a week once in-person learning resumes.
"As a more mature student, that takes away from my ability to work, that takes away from a lot of my family obligations," Afousi told CBC News.
"Right now we have to band together and we have to understand that our fellow classmates are suffering."
Afousi points to inefficient communication on the part of the college, adding that they also need to communicate in a more timely manner.
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