As a new school year begins, Fresno State students are trying their best to adjust to virtual instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While many students are furthering their education virtually this semester, some are still required to meet for in-person instruction. 

Instead of the usual 24,000-plus students expected to be at school, less than five percent are present this fall.

To do their best to ensure student safety, Fresno State has established necessary protocols and is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Public Health guidelines to keep the campus COVID-19 free.

Safety precautions in place include virtual and in-person questionnaires regarding COVID-19 symptoms, requirements for face masks, temperature checks and social distancing and frequent hand washing when at school.

With COVID-19 precautions and safety guidelines strictly in place, students and staff taking in-person courses have been forced to adapt quickly to the school’s “new normal.” 

Uninhabited hallways and classrooms have made Fresno State a near-ghost town rather than a thriving college campus.

Tatum Rosander is a student in Fresno State’s nursing program and is set to graduate in the spring of 2022 as a certified registered nurse.

As of now Rosander has adjusted to taking her classes online, but still attends clinicals for the nursing program in person. The clinicals serve as a way for nursing students to gain exposure to different areas in health care like emergency rooms, pregnancy and maternity wards and many other departments within a hospital.

While many students are struggling to adapt to the changes that the pandemic has brought, Rosander feels comfortable attending classes and has done her best to embrace the new school standards.

“I feel comfortable attending in-person classes because I feel it is necessary for my major,” Rosander said. “Because there are proper [pre]cautions put in place, such as wearing masks and joining in smaller groups, I feel comfortable attending my clinical class.”

One major challenge Rosander faces is working with the CDC safety measures while trying to learn the most involving major classes. 

As a nursing student, many in-person classes are hands-on and require students to learn kinesthetically. It’s important for them to practice techniques and complete scenarios with one another to improve their skills.

Rosander also said that the pandemic has affected her style of learning due to classes being moved online. But because of this, she’s thankful to have one class that still meets in person. 

“It gives me motivation to complete my work prior to meeting and allows me to put the material into practice at the Nursing Resource Center or at the hospital,” Rosander said.

The initial class for the newly created Masters of Athletic Training program in the kinesiology department will also continue meeting on campus.

First-year graduate students, Danielle Caoili and Fernando Magana, are currently enrolled in AT 202, the foundations of athletic training.

Along with three other students, Caoili and Magana practice social distancing in class and make sure to hold one another accountable to ensure their safety. 

The group has even made a pact to stay home whenever someone is feeling sick, so each student remains safe and can continue meeting in person.

Both have commended their professor, Brittany Clason, for working hard and following social distancing practices. 

“Ms. Clason is doing a great job having us socially distance within our room and making sure to remind us to wear our face masks when we are in closer contact with each other,” Magana said. “She’s definitely doing her part and making sure that we’re staying responsible and accountable on our end.”

Like nursing, the Athletic Training Program requires students to practice hands-on activities to complete their courses. 

With the pandemic, Caoili and Magana have felt the repercussions of social distancing practices. 

Instead of attending three clinical rotations, the group will only be attending two, one at Fresno State and the other at a local high school.

Caoili worries that if case numbers continue to rise then all courses will be forced to continue online, but she believes that as of now, Fresno State has done well practicing social distancing. 

“I’m just worried that they’re essentially going to have to shut down all in-person classes, but for now I do feel like they’re doing a great job,” Caoili said.

Although in-person classes do pose their own challenges for these three Bulldogs, Rosander, Caoili and Magana remain hopeful. 

“It’s a pandemic,” Caoili said. “[But I’m] going to push through it and focus on my mental and physical health and get my degree.”