University students have mixed feelings about returning to in-person classes Monday

New Brunswick universities are going back to in-person classes on Monday, but not everyone is on board.

About 350 students from St. Thomas University, University of New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Community College have signed a petition calling for a delay to the return to in-person learning. The universities are firm in their stance that vaccination and testing policies are enough protection.

For others, the issue is not black and white. Students are grappling with how to balance their desire to connect with their peers and their fear of contracting COVID-19 as the province reports record numbers of deaths and hospitalizations because of the virus.

Stacie Smith is doing her bachelor of education at UNB and said it's nerve wracking to think about going back to in-person classes on Monday. She feels apprehensive, nervous and overwhelmed, especially considering the record number of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in the province in the past month.

"It's just a little overwhelming right now, knowing that we'll be back around a lot more people than I've been around starting next week," she told Information Morning Fredericton.

Kaushal Rathnayake, an international student completing his PhD in biology at UNB, has some positive feelings about going back to his labs and connecting with his peers, especially since being an international student can be isolating without a community to reach out to.

But his feelings are still mixed.

"Omicron is everywhere," he said. "I can't give you a direct answer that I'm excited, or I'm feeling very nervous … I really want to be in my lab, but I really want to go back to normal with other students, mingling with them, because I'm still terrified to get sick."

The universities contend a return to in-person classes won't mean a return to how things used to be. Most universities have mandatory vaccination policies, as well as testing and isolation protocols in case of an outbreak. 

Students at UNB don't have to show proof of vaccination to attend classes and labs that are required for their degrees. Unvaccinated students have to get tested regularly. UNB spokesperson Heather Campbell said 97 per cent of students and staff are vaccinated. 

At STU, which is next to UNB, students are required to be vaccinated to enter campus, with religious and medical exemptions available. Exempted students have to undergo regular testing.

Rathnayake said the idea of attending classes with people who may not be vaccinated scares him.

"I am not so sure that I am ready," he said.

Kathy Wilson, the vice-president academic at UNB in Fredericton, said the university is willing to go back to online learning if the province goes into lockdown, but students' mental health is also important, and online learning is taking a toll on them. They and staff deserve stability, she said.

A hybrid model?

Students have also asked if it's possible to be given the choice to attend online or in person. Wilson said courses can be moved from in-person to online if instructors have to isolate, for example, and that flexibility is available for students. 

Book Sadprasid is studying computer science and biology at UNB. She said she agrees a return to online learning could help students' mental health, but she wishes a hybrid option could be laid out more clearly.

She said going back to "normal" is not possible with so many cases.

"I really hope that we will not be going back to normal as what we knew before COVID," she said. "I think there is a lot of anxiety in the student community about our safety and the uncertainty. … Will there be outbreak? If there's outbreak, what happen if we get sick?"