This piece was co-written with Chaimae Chouiekh
It is undeniable that 2020 was one of the hardest years to survive for students at AUI. Truth is that both the experiences of Spring and Summer 2020 were overwhelming. To illustrate, everyone was obliged to study online and to adapt to the new system. However, we argue that the most difficult part for the community was the separation between students that occurred during fall 2020. Therefore, as fall 2020 is coming to an end, students are starting to wonder about the potential scenarios for Spring 2021 especially that the AUI administration hasn’t provided any information yet.
The long-awaited fully Face to Face scenario
Isn’t it what all students dream of? The revival of AUI campus life. This possibility might seem absurd as the COVID situation in the world is still unstable, and positive cases have never been higher in the country. With the latest rumors about the vaccination campaign, this hope might have a semblance of truth in it. However, this possible scenario sheds the light upon a very crucial inquiry. Is the university ready to face the come back of all its students, staff, and faculty?
It is no secret that the enrollment of approximately 800 newcomers came with its fair share of unprecedented problems. According to our sources, 5% of Fall 2020’s newcomers went through a disciplinary hearing. Moreover, the return of the “online” continuing students will certainly create a shortage in academic, housing, dining, and student spaces. Not only that, but the absence of those particular students resulted in the nonfull immersion of newcomers into the AUI culture, creating an abyss between the two categories of students.
Academic Area
As far as academic classrooms and buildings are concerned, the university has always advertised the reduced number of students enrolled in a specific section -31 students/section as a maximum-. Amidst Fall 2019 and according to Al Akhawayn’s website, the university was counting 2022 students enrolled adding to the 800 newly admitted newcomers, this will certainly create overcrowding of classes, as the capacity of the 8 academic buildings won’t be enough.
“The academic capacity will never be enough for all the students. Even if we think of creating new buildings, it will take at least two years to have it ready, like the 8B did”
Hajar Zehimi, Registration office
Furthermore, this will always endeavor the whole add/ drop and pre-registration process, as the clearance procedure is still heavily bureaucratic and not all faculty are entitled to be advisors. Moreover, the number of faculty ( 39 Partime and 113 Full-time ) is insufficient to meet the needs of all these students, creating for that matter inadequate time-slots.
Residential Area
According to the 2019’s statistics, the residential area of Al Akhawayn counts 19 students buildings, with a capacity of 1764 beds ( 748 Female and 1016 Male). Even while considering that a portion of AUI students prefers living in Ifrane rather than on campus. The capacity of AUI’s housing department won’t suffice for the whole community. While keeping in mind the single room and studio offerings, the ratio will still be 1.6 students per bed. Additionally, and except for the two newest dorms ( 38 and 39 ), most other buildings are only offering two relatively unspacious and unventilated common kitchens.
We should also take into account the storing issue that will most certainly occur at the end of every semester. As a matter of fact, the 15 storage areas are always heavily used by students to the point where no space is left. As a result, congestion in the building’s common rooms, the possibility of more triple rooms offerings, and the migration of students into the AUI Annex and downtown residences.
Dining services
While looking into the dining services, the issue can be tackled from two different dimensions. First, how is the dining services staff going to cope with the overflowing number of students? Second, will higher demand affect the quality of the goods and services?
From complaints posted on the student community group to surveys about food services on campus, it is well known that students have always been unsatisfied with the poor quality and price of the 5 dining restaurants at AUI. The return of everyone might also worsen the easily noticeable never-ending queues and brimful dining halls during peak times of the day. Moreover, it might as well negatively affect the quality of food, as more pressure will be put on the staff to satisfy everyone.
Student spaces
Through the IGTV posted on AUI Chronicle’s Instagram page, we could clearly feel the student’s struggle and exasperation at the lack of student spaces on campus during COVID times. Nevertheless, the struggle will definitely be more palpable, especially during Midterms and Finals period. The capacity of the library and the 3 remaining Labs -Lab 8B is currently used as a classroom for Computer science classes- is inadequate to the massive demand for a study space. Noise, unhygienic smelling, and the frequent disrupting of the wifi will certainly harden the revision process. In that sense, the deficit of gender-mix spaces pushes students to use the soccer field, building 1 area, or even residences’ french doors as hanging out spots.
The Hybrid learning scenario
The current COVID-19 situation in the country sets the scene for a Spring semester that will be very much similar to Fall 2020. With only a small portion of students allowed back on campus. However, this scenario raises an important question: How will the current freshman overload affect the fate of those forced to stay home for fall 2020? Who will be allowed back on campus?
Since March 2020, juniors, sophomores, and non-graduating seniors have been refused access to campus in order to implement the 50% capacity policy on campus. Besides, they have spent almost 2 fully online semesters, feeling neglected from their university experience, and enduring all sorts of stress and frustration. The complexity of this situation resides in it being a double-edged sword of unfairness.
Not bringing the “online-community” won’t be fair as they should be given the opportunity to reconnect with the university. In addition, they will have the chance to benefit from the common fees that they are paying for, and maybe get the chance to use the “Face to face” learning instead of being behind their computers. For the case of the “special permission students”, the valid reasons they provided won’t just stop existing after spending Fall 2020 on campus, pushing them to stay home for Spring 2021 will only discredit the decision taken in the first place. Nevertheless, when it comes to freshmen and Newcomers, they still need the guidance and the “somewhat” available campus experience, as their journey and immersion weren’t fully satisfying (a deficit in student life’s / athletics events, stricter rules and curfew, etc).
“Having almost a year of fully online classes has already brought my motivation to it’s lowest level. I really cannot imagine spending another semester home/in my room, next to my computer all day long without having the occasion to decompress by hanging out with my friends or even studying with them.”
Taha Belayachi
The fully online learning scenario
By now, it is fair to argue that students are tired of the online experience. However, whether they like it or not, the odds are that Spring 2021 could be held fully online taking into consideration the situation of the pandemic. Here, multiple questions are raised in regards to the payment of the common fees, the adverse effects of this decision on mental health as well as students’ active life on campus (clubs and athletics).
Common Fees
Since spring 2020, students have been complaining about the fact that they had to pay for common fees they did not benefit for. Even worse, it is still the case for many online students for fall 2020. However, despite all the complaints and the SGA’s attempts to get these “registration fees” either canceled or at least reduced, the administration didn’t approve of that. Therefore, if Spring 2021 turns out to be online, one of the major concerns for students would be this matter. Would it be fair to pay the common fees for the second if not the third time for some students without benefitting from the facilities available on campus?
Student life
Undoubtedly, taking part in clubs, organizations, and athletics is a huge part of every college experience. Unfortunately, because of the online learning method, all AUIers were obliged to cancel their plans in regards to club events and athletics tournaments in Spring 2020. Far worse, other students haven’t regained their on-campus life privileges yet as they weren’t granted access to campus. Thus, if spring 2021 were to be fully online, students that are currently on campus for fall 2020 will have to experience the same interruption in their student life as the one they experienced in spring 2020. On the other hand, students that haven’t accessed campus yet since the beginning of the pandemic will have to endure another semester of lost opportunities from their college experience.
Mental health
Students’ experiences with mental health differ. Nevertheless, we argue that if Spring 2021 were to be online, the mental health situation at AUI would worsen. Spring 2021 seems like their last hope. Students perceive it as the semester where everything will go back to normal; where everyone would be back to campus, classes would happen face to face, and all students would regain their active student life.
“In Spring 2020, when everyone was in the same situation, clubs and departments tried to find activities for us to enjoy from the comfort of our own homes. In the Fall, most clubs focused their effort on on-campus people, leaving the rest of us stranded with little opportunities for social interactions outside our families. If Spring 2021 were to be fully online, it might actually be beneficial for my engagement in student activities, since I wouldn’t be part of the “forgotten group” anymore. As for mental health, I truly prefer not to think about how spending a full year in isolation has affected me. A new semester online will mean a lot of stress, so I truly hope that the community will find new ways to come together in support of one another.”, explains Ayah Isbayene.
Now, that we presented and analyzed all the potential scenarios for Spring 2021, the legitimate questions to be raised are the following: when are students going to be officially informed details of spring 2021 from the administration? Would it be at the end of this semester, so that students can get enough time to decide which classes to take or even the possibility of a semester off? or would it be at the beginning of the second semester, when it would be presumably too late for students to make any last-minute decisions?
