What’s Next?
By: Eman Kharoshah
Editor-in-Chief
“You’ve finally made it to the end of your university years, how do you feel about it?”
“Are you excited?”
“Are you worried?”
“Are you anxious?”
I don’t know.
Thursday marked the last day of classes in a four-year undergraduate journey for hundreds of students at AUC. This signaled an end of pulling all-nighters studying for that exam, nervously preparing for a presentation, editing that article or writing yet another paper due the next day.
The fact that graduation is finally here has left many of us in a state of denial. Personally, I even caught myself a couple of weeks ago wondering about my spring semester schedule, and panicking about missing my registration date.
Is that how it feels then? Not knowing what’s coming next, not having a set plan, not having a fixed daily schedule?
Since we joined AUC four years ago, most of the class of fall 2020 has been waiting for this exact moment- that last class and that final submission following which a mini-celebration is thrown with friends.
For myself, I always anticipated the last day of classes to end with an iced chocolate drink from Espresso Lab before taking the 7:45 pm bus back to 6th of October. But when that last day finally did come, I simply logged out of Zoom and submitted my final paper on Blackboard.
The only thing that made it all feel real was writing the typical “I’m finally done!” post, and posting throwback photos on my Instagram stories.
Perhaps it did not feel real earlier because I, and the graduating class of fall 2020, were all deprived of a final semester on campus. We didn’t get to have a proper “last day of classes” where we could sing along to Christmas songs in assembly, and take pictures with the giant Christmas tree outside the library.
As much as I didn’t want to go through another online semester, deep down I knew that AUC’s decision to adopt this modality of teaching was for the best, and most importantly I knew that my health and my family’s comes first.
At the end of last semester, I watched my close friends go through the hardest thing — being the first class to graduate during a pandemic. I felt sorry for them for not getting a chance to say goodbye to their professors and friends. My heart ached for not getting a chance to hug them and celebrate their successes. I thought that by the fall semester things would get better and COVID-19 cases would go down, but things don’t always go as planned or as we want them to.
According to the AUC community dashboard, the total number of COVID-19 cases at AUC today is 557 cases and the number of infected cases a day is going up.
When students of the graduating class of 2020 found out that their last semester at AUC was going to be held online, they had mixed feelings, with anxiety being the most prominent one. I myself was anxious about my courses being too demanding and not being able to cope during this tough period. Thankfully though, some of my professors this semester were a great example of how professors should act during times of crisis.
Whenever I felt worried, anxious or stressed, they were there for me. Whenever I was freaked out about a deadline, they were understanding and willing to extend the deadline for the whole class.
I know there were some of my fellow students who had a horrible experience during this online semester based on the posts I saw on Rate AUC Professors Facebook group or from stories my friends told me about their own experiences.
For the professors that gave their students a hard time, had them retake their exams and took advantage of the fact that students are staying home all day so that they can assign them as many assignments as they want, this is not okay.
I believe that your responsibility as educators is to be more understanding and empathetic toward your students, their well-being and mental health.
And for the students whose experience wasn’t the best, you should feel glad that you made it till this point of the semester.
You made it through the toughest of times.
Coming to this point, I feel thankful that my path crossed with the amazing people I got to know at AUC and I feel more thankful for joining The Caravan two years ago, the place that has shaped my personality and made me who I am today.
From being a reporter, to being a managing editor and later on the Editor-in-Chief, I can say that I have proudly learned a lot, more than I could have imagined, from The Caravan’s family whose members come and go but its pillars remain within them no matter where they go in life.
Fortunately, this is not my last opinion editorial at The Caravan, but it is my last one as an undergraduate student.
As for what is coming next, many of us are still uncertain; I am fine with that. To the graduating class of fall 2020, always remember that it is sometimes a gift to feel uncertain.
