Students Crave Human Contact

Some Pacific University students have decided they have had enough of remote learning and remote work. They want to be around other people.

“I absolutely would not work from home,” said Julien Dagan '22. “I need a change of scenery and a routine.”

This sentiment is echoed by some other students who are wary of remote work after a year of challenging online learning.

“If given the opportunity to work remotely from now on I would not,” said student Griffin Stone '23. “If I’m working I need the environment to do so in, it makes it easier to keep on task and ask questions if I feel so inclined. If I’m left at home I get more distracted which makes it harder to work overall.”

Not only is it easier to get distracted out of the office setting, but it’s lonely too.

“The thing I missed the most about online learning was the people,” said Bella Portillo '22. “It was isolating to live your entire college life behind a screen for a year.”

So while most students have had their fill of remote learning, the rise of the Delta variant looms, a potential return to remote workspaces that might come sooner rather than later. Students are preparing for the possibility that they may need to work and study from home again.

“Online classes went really well for me personally, but I do feel like we miss out on a lot when we’re just on Zoom,” said Hayley Guay '22. “As a senior, I’d be disappointed if I had to finish my last semester online, but I would understand if this were the better option if the current global COVID outlook changed.” ■

This story appears in the Fall 2021 issue of Pacific magazine. For more stories, visit pacificu.edu/magazine.