University of Ottawa students worried about COVID call for lectures to be posted online
Students are back on campus and post-secondary schools like the University of Ottawa, don’t require masks in class. Some students, who are worried about getting COVID, want more lectures available online.
Alexandra Whiteduck is a fourth-year student at uOttawa. She says she is nervous being shoulder to shoulder with strangers at school, but has no choice.
"It’s very packed in class. It’s ridiculous," Whiteduck says. "I’ve had to request professors to actually change rooms because there is not enough space for students."
Masks and vaccines are no longer mandatory on the University of Ottawa campus, making some students worried about even showing up for class. Some lectures are posted online to give students a chance to stay away, but not all classes.
"A lot of classes are offering bimodal, but a lot of classes are not," Whiteduck says. "So you do not have the option to either go or not go. Classes are not recorded so you have to be in-person."
The president of the university’s students' association, Armaan Singh, is now calling for all classes to be posted online, to allow students who are sick to still learn from home.
"No student should have to choose between their health and wellbeing, and their education," Singh says. "With the consequences of our university’s inaction of implementing a mask mandate and having accommodations for students to be to able access lectures in an online platform, is that students are now showing up to campus sick with COVID and putting their fellow colleagues at risk."
In a statement, the University of Ottawa says, "The health of all members of our community is paramount, and wearing a mask in the classroom is very strongly recommended. Students who are experiencing COVID symptoms should self-isolate.
"We strongly recommend that professors record classes and share lessons with those who can’t make it to class."
Many students agree that having the option to stay home can help keep everyone safe. However, some feel pressure not to miss class, forcing them to show up even when they shouldn’t.
"I definitely think the bimodal services for classes is 100 per cent necessary," says third-year student, Ieronhenehtha Lazore. "A lot of people are really worried about the amount of people in classes and mask mandates on campus, and even vaccination mandates. So I think there is a general concern."
"I don’t think it’s as big of an issue as it was this time last year," says second-year student, Reilly Lennox. "But there’s definitely still a risk and it’s better to play it safe sometimes."
Being in her fourth year, Whiteduck has experienced every form of pandemic education. Now she says having options would be the best option.
"If we’re paying so much in tuition, why aren’t these options available to us," Whiteduck says. "Why can’t we be bimodal. Why can’t we choose either to be in-person, or at home."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.