By Julia Eisen

After almost a year of Zoom discussions, pre-recorded lectures and hours staring at screens, President Darryll Pines announced last week that the University of Maryland is planning to return to in-person classes for the fall 2021 semester. 

In an email sent out on Feb. 11, Pines thanked faculty, staff and students for their cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pines stressed that it has not been easy, but flexibility and diligence from the entire community has allowed the university to operate these past few months. 

The administration is planning for most in-person activities to resume, but there might still be some virtual learning opportunities included in their fall plans. Pines’ email suggested blended learning, a model that is primarily in-person but mixed with online content. 

Pines said that in-person activity “allows faculty, staff and students to interact more frequently and get to know one another; researchers to innovate and collaborate and students to benefit from all that our campus has to offer.”

UMD is now in its third semester online and the transition back to in-person learning will be a challenge for the community. 

“I think making the transition will be difficult for everyone, both students and professors in that we’ve been so used to the new normal of everything virtual for so long,” said Fabi Salerni, a junior community health student. 

Salerni suggested the use of masks and continuous practice of social distancing in order to feel safe in a classroom. 

Some students have already started to receive the coronavirus vaccine but are still nervous to return to in-person classes. 

Harrison Wu, a junior kinesiology major, is fully vaccinated but was wary of the possible spread of asymptomatic cases. 

“I miss having large lectures and seeing people face to face, but a lot of returning back to normal depends on factors that seem to always be changing. I’m confident with the current trends that the general population will be vaccinated in the summer and therefore be safe to return to a normal class structure, but it seems there are always hiccups and problems with our path towards a return to normal,” Wu said. 

Wu also suggested that students should be able to opt-out of in-person instruction if they do not feel safe. These details have not yet been addressed by the administration. 

Lindsey Schindler, a junior psychology and criminal justice student, works with the University Health Center during COVID-19 testing events and said she thinks testing will be implemented next semester even if students are vaccinated. 

“I think as long as COVID is still a thing as long as people are still getting sick, we will be doing testing. People are still asking us, if they are vaccinated do they still need to get tested every two weeks and the answer is yes,” Schindler said. 

Vaccine distribution efforts are improving nationwide. The state of Maryland has already delivered over 580,000 second doses of the vaccine, according to the Maryland government. 

Although there are no details yet, the University Health Center said in a Jan. 25 email that it will distribute vaccines on campus once available and according to government guidance.

There is still uncertainty over who will get vaccinated and how many people will get vaccinated before the fall 2021 semester starts. 

Featured photo: The University of Maryland tests thousands of students, faculty and staff every week. Photo by Joel Lev-Tov.