By: Jayden Presley, Vallo Vision News
MONTEVALLO, ALA. – With a chill in the air settled over campus, the fall semester has arrived at the University of Montevallo.
Classes are in-person and masks can only be taken off in residence halls, outdoors, exercising or when in a private space. Faculty may also remove their masks to teach if six feet of social distancing is observed.
Student Health Services held a vaccine clinic on Aug. 27, available for anyone. UM strongly encouraged students, faculty and staff to vaccinate.
Students and faculty continue to follow university policies and are adjusting from virtual to in-person classes. MK Bryant, a sophomore Mass Communication major, enjoyed the change to in-person classes for the fall semester.
“I feel like it’s a lot easier to meet people now,” said Bryant. “I get to meet people I have classes with, and I feel like it’s a lot easier to ask more questions. I’m not having to rely on email with seeing my instructors in-person.”
Bryant is a student who learns best by asking many questions to comprehend information. The in-person format and interaction with people has benefitted her this semester.
If UM returns to virtual learning as the year progresses, Bryant said she understands because safety is important. She hopes it does not have to happen since she is doing better in-person.
Even with a better classroom experience, everything has been different for Bryant since starting her sophomore year. Her freshman year occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I graduated high school in 2020, so it had a large impact on losing the end of my senior year,” said Bryant. “I haven’t seen some of my close friends from high school in over a year because of it. That’s been really upsetting.”
With a new school year ahead of her, Bryant is trying to be more involved on campus. Moving from the big, busy city of Montgomery, Ala. to the smaller town of Montevallo, Ala. proved to be a different experience for her as well.
Bryant, who minors in theatre, is more involved with the theatre department. She also went to the college night mixer at the beginning of the semester.
“It was loud,” Bryant smiled, “I didn’t stay for very long, but it was fun.”
She also likes spending time with friends at Farmer Hall where they watch TV and get pizza bagels from Einstein’s.
“The activities I enjoy are things I do by myself, like art and writing as a hobby,” said Bryant. “I do a lot of painting and working with clay.”
Other than writing short stories since she was little, Bryant is in touch with her artistic side.
She concentrated her major in multimedia journalism since she wants her career to involve writing. While she feels like she could have done more with her hobbies during the pandemic year, Bryant also agreed that she had more time to be creative.
She is confident with how the university has handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think everything has been handled well. I’ve felt really safe on campus,” said Bryant. “The students have been doing a good job of upholding the expectations that the university has put in place.”
Like last semester, academic buildings strictly followed the mask mandate. The difference this semester is some classroom seating arrangements have students sitting nearly shoulder-to-shoulder.
“I’m glad we’re still wearing masks in classes just because classes aren’t being distanced anymore,” said Bryant. “At close proximity with other people, I’m more comfortable at the moment wearing a mask.”
Any updates to the health and safety measures policy will be communicated to students, faculty and staff through UM email. Keep up with UM social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates as well.
Vallo Vision News 