Junior Nikita Kakani’s parents told her she had to come home for spring break after she canceled her trip to London due to the novel coronavirus.

Kakani, an international student from India studying supply chain management and marketing, said she’s unsure whether she’ll be able to return to Syracuse University this semester.

“If either the U.S. or home is quarantined, I will be stuck wherever I am,” Kakani said.

SU announced Tuesday that it’s transitioning to online classes through at least March 30 due to the coronavirus. Students told The Daily Orange that they’re concerned about the logistics of online learning and uncertain about their travel plans.

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease. The virus has spread to at least 113 countries, infected over 118,300 and killed more than 4,000 worldwide.

There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Onondaga County. There are 216 positive cases in New York as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the New York State Department of Health. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency on Saturday in response to the spread of the virus.

SU will transition to online classes at the end of Friday. SU made the decision after monitoring guidelines from New York state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, at a press conference Tuesday.

The university will work with faculty over the coming days to support the transition to online learning, Haynie said during the press conference. SU’s Information Technology Services created a guide for the rapid development of online courses that was shared with faculty, he said.

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Several students have expressed concern about how their teachers will conduct the online classes and confusion about the different software they plan to use. Some expressed fears that the online platform will affect their learning and academic performance.

“The thought of doing online classes is really scary, and learning-wise, I know that doesn’t really click the same for me,” said Sophia Pappas, a freshman environment, sustainability and policy major. “I’m really nervous about everything going online.”

Students enrolled in classes that may require more in-person instruction have also expressed doubts about how content will translate to distance learning.

SUNY-ESF announced Wednesday that the college will shift to online classes beginning March 23 and lasting until further notice. Alyssa Kess, a senior studying conservation biology at SUNY-ESF, said many of her classes are field-based and require more labs than other schools.

Matt Conway, a junior sports management major, also said many of his sports management classes work better with in-person instruction.

Other students feel left in the dark about how, or if, their professors will implement online courses.

“My (professor) said she’s not going to do the online classes, so I don’t really know how that’s going to work,” said Amanda Garrison, a junior in the David B. Falk School of Sport and Human Dynamics.

When students leave for spring break, they can’t return to SU dormitories while residential instruction is suspended, Haynie said Tuesday. Students unable to leave campus for the break are welcome to stay in their dorms, he said.

If SU continues to extend the online learning period, students who live in off-campus housing may have to pay for an apartment they’re not living in.

Brendan Mortensen, a senior broadcast journalism major who lives in an off-campus apartment, said he and some friends are considering returning to their apartments after spring break to get their money’s worth.

Several students also expressed concern about how they will return to SU if residential learning resumes.

Naama Erez, a sophomore economics major from Atlanta, Georgia, said she’s not sure how she’s getting back to Syracuse if classes resume.

“I already had flights booked back to campus,” Erez said.

Some international students, like Blessing Emole, a junior magazine journalism and writing studies, rhetoric and composition major, are concerned about where they’ll stay if the university continues online classes, and how time zone differences will affect their ability to attend class.

SU prohibited students, faculty and staff from international travel for university business Monday until further notice, Haynie said in a campus-wide email. The university also “strongly discourages” international travel for personal reasons, he said.

Freshmen such as Pappas and Jeanette Orlando, a public relations major at SU, said they’re disappointed that they were unable to experience a full first year at SU.

Seniors, meanwhile, said they are disappointed at the prospect of saying an early goodbye to friends or missing graduation if the outbreak continues. Haynie did not have an answer as to how the transition to online classes could affect graduation.

“As a senior, I have friends who are going to be moving all across the country,” Mortensen said. “It’s tough to know that time is cut short.”

Published on March 12, 2020 at 12:39 am

Contact Maggie: mehicks@syr.edu | @maggie_hickss