Editorial | Tips for transitioning back to in-person classes

As in-person classes commence again, we are all a little rusty in terms of the dos and don’ts of entering the classroom. The constant back and forth in the past few years between Zoom university and classes with real, live human beings is enough to make anyone’s head spin. As we enter classrooms for the first time in 2022, here are some tips to ease the transition.

•  Leave early to get to class on time

After two and a half long luxurious weeks of rolling out of bed and logging right on to Zoom, it might take some time to adjust back to getting out the door on time again. What a crazy concept — you have to go to class, class no longer comes to you?! Additionally, with this crappy weather, you definitely need extra time to get to class since the ice makes South Oakland practically a skating rink.

• Check where your classes are before leaving

There’s no greater pain than running up the stairs in Cathy and aimlessly wandering around the halls until you find your class. Or, even worse, walking into the wrong classroom and having the whole room turn around and look at you with their thousand yard stares. To prevent this awkwardness, make sure you have a picture of your schedule saved on your phone.

• Dress to impress (aka not pajamas)

No longer can you roll up to class with ratty pajama bottoms and your dad’s old t-shirt as you lay in bed half listening to Zoom. Now you have to actually put on people clothes and shoes to trudge out into the world to go to class, the horror! In all seriousness, now that we are back in person you can show off your cool outfits instead of everyone just seeing your name on a black screen.

• Comply with COVID-19 rules

There’s nothing worse than someone pulling down their mask to answer a question and then sniffling and coughing. Don’t be that guy! Make sure your masks fit tightly so no snot droplets can leak through and that you’re staying six feet away from people — even though the classrooms in Cathy are too small to even walk through.

• Make sure to pay attention

These last few weeks of online school have made it way too easy to get distracted. At least now in a classroom, someone will call you out for scrolling through TikTok. Make sure to take in what your professor is saying and hopefully catch up with the couple weeks of content you’ve missed because you tried to learn a TikTok dance while the professor was talking.

• Make some new friends

Now that we’ve escaped — hopefully — the awkwardness of Zoom school, you can now make some real live friends in your classes! Try not to let your dwindling social skills from sheltering in place stand in your way and try to make a new friend — or at least someone to share notes with if you miss class.

• Make the most of your in-person college experience

Being back on campus means that you can walk along Forbes and see people again — just hopefully not your ex or a previous group project partner. Make the most of being able to have lively conversations in class again and hope that it doesn’t turn into a political argument! Welcome back to real-life school Panthers!