For many, returning to campus is bitter-sweet. While many students love the idea of seeing their friends and teachers, others don’t see the purpose in returning for a short amount of time and facing an endless amount of restrictions on what they can and can’t do while on campus. On one end, returning to campus will allow students to see one another, learn in an in-person environment, and provide a change of scenery. However, other students argue that returning back to campus with strict protocols defeats the purpose, because it will limit the amount of fun students can have. 

Not being able to hug a friend after being unable to see them for over a year frustrates some students. From a social perspective, school is no longer a place where you can socialize, meet new people, eat lunch with your best friends, or go to teachers for help during free periods. Online learning has made it difficult for most students to find motivation, keep up good grades, and has taught them to adapt to awkward situations. Returning back to school will allow students to see their peers again, learn from in-person instruction, and return to a regular schedule. With that said, however, most students have already adjusted to online learning which might make the return to in-person learning difficult. After a year of adapting, students will need to adapt once again. 

In an academic perspective, students have fallen behind on their work, they feel overwhelmed, and they are constantly battling the stresses of exams and homework. Online learning has made school significantly more exhausting, considering that students spend an entire day of attending class via Zoom, only to return back to  their laptops when completing assignments. With only short breaks in between, students feel like there is no escape from this virtual reality. On-campus learning will provide more relief: breaks might feel longer, walking on campus will provide a change of scenery, and talking to peers will provide a sense of comfort. Hopefully, learning on campus will ignite some form of inspiration within the students, but it might be difficult to return to what we once considered “normal.”