According to the World Health Organization, there could be a setback in any progress made in the fight against COVID-19 if schools and businesses reopen too quickly.
Schools, malls, stores, and other businesses had originally thought they could resume normal operations at the end of March or beginning of April, but now it’s impossible to say.
The date for a return to campus is impossible to determine at this time, though live distance education at Hunter has been ongoing.
Students are asked not to return to campus until further notice. All classes have transitioned to live streaming education through the video conferencing app, Google Meet.
Is There Any Good News?
Though these are hard times for all of us, we will get through this.
We, as a community, have weathered adversity before.
With this is mind, Hunter students have opted not to push the pause button on their education, but instead to take an optimistic view. In this way, they realize that once this is all over, they will be that much closer to their career goals than if they had taken a wait-and-see attitude.
Hunter’s approach to online learning has been to use the same philosophy of live student engagement that has been so successful when our campuses were open. Google Meet allows for direct interaction between instructor and student.
Instructors still respond to student questions in real time, and the same software and other digital presentation methods employed before the current situation continue to be used. Instructors communicate with students on an individual basis as they had in the past, both before and after class, to answer questions and to give words of encouragement.
How Do I Find Out What’s Going On?
Instructors update their students on a daily basis, and the directors of education at both campuses send out texts through the Remind app. The Hunter website and Facebook page are updated with news, and you may always contact Chuck Copt in Medford or Dr. Blanchard in Levittown with any concerns.
Every department at the school continues to be fully operational, though from a distance. Phone calls and emails are still being received and responded to.
Our Thoughts and Prayers
We at Hunter realize the COVID-19 crisis has hit some people harder than others, from difficulty obtaining essentials for the household, to economic and support issues, to severe illness.
Our hearts go out to members of our student body, alumni, and the greater community. The most important things in life are health and family. We can only have hope for the future and wish you, your family, and your friends the best through these trying times.