UMass Dartmouth Senior Responds to Campus Closure and Postponing Graduation
Harry Fecteau is a senior year marketing student at UMass Dartmouth. He is also our intern here at the radio station. The COVID-19 virus has forced us to be creative in terms of figuring out how to complete his internship hours now that both the campus and the office are closed indefinitely. UMass Dartmouth announced on Monday, March 16 that classes would move to online instruction for the remainder of the semester.
“It’s unfortunate that it had to be mere weeks away from my graduation. Classes were canceled during the school’s spring break, so we didn't get to really say goodbye to a lot of our friends and classmates," he said. "Some kids were supposed to stay on campus for the duration of spring break for personal reasons and now they have to leave campus for good. I can only imagine the stress and anxiety they must be facing during this transition.”
Students were informed that in the coming week, they have to choose a date and a two-hour time period to collect all of their belongings and move everything out.
The college extended its spring break by one week and the online classes are scheduled to start on Monday, March 23. Teachers are using this time to educate themselves on the online programs available to them so they can properly instruct their students remotely.
“Every day there is a new email trying to conceptualize how to act during a time like this. The faculty wants us to be able to graduate and I'm blessed that we are able to continue our education from home," Fecteau said. "As far as the graduation ceremony getting postponed, I don’t mind. I’d rather everyone be safe and healthy. I’d also prefer it in warmer weather, anyway. I just hope that in the future we as a school can celebrate. We all deserve to walk across the stage at some point.”