The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 19

January 26, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 10 Opinions Turning on your Zoom camera is common courtesy Is 2021 better? Unmuting your Zoom camera during class should be common courtesy Siena Berardi I am a final semester senior taking five courses over Zoom. Whether it be for my 9:30 a.m. graphic design course or my 6 p.m. video editing class, my camera is turned on and I’m ready to learn. The way in which we learn has changed over the course of this last year. With a pandemic that has killed nearly 400,000 Americans, it is obvious that the switch to a virtual platform was pertinent for safety. It is still not safe for classes to meet in mass and without facial coverings. Conducting classes over Zoom continues to solve all of these problems. While learning and adapting to a college routine online, I also began to form a few pet peeves. A pet peeve in specific is that of the muted Zoom camera. On the first day, professors typically ask for students to keep cameras on, unless they have been explicitly told a reason as to why it needs to remain off. When a professor is lecturing and trying to engage in a conversation and all they hear is dead silence and there’s only gray rectangles with names they have yet to see in person, it The year 2020 was a doozy, for sure, and many people were glad to be rid of it. We’re only 26 days into 2021 and many people are already comparing it to its predecessor. Is 2021 already competing with 2020 in terms of crudiness? In the U.S., for sure, it’s already been a year. On Jan. 6, right-wing extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an attempted coup. The COVID-19 vaccine has been rolling out very slowly. After four years, former president Donald Trump was banned from Twitter as well as almost all social media platforms you can think of. Americans are overwhelmed, and rightfully feels wrong. Professors are putting in the work and we should be too. Connection is so important during this time and we have had to find ways to do so safely. Not just internet connection, but the human connection. The way I see it, classes are giving us a reason to brush our hair, put on a clean shirt and socialize with other human beings. Even if this socialization is just awkwardly smiling and saying “Yes I can hear your audio professor.” Don’t let your professors teach to the void. Socialization in a pandemic, wherever we can get it, is good for the soul. Being in contact with others reduces stress levels and proves to us that we’re all in this boat together. It may seem stressful to keep your camera on at all times, to look picture perfect at all times, but I promise you, no one is staring at you. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I keep my camera on and eat tortellini. With two evening classes in a row and prolonged camera use, I feel I have earned the right to politely chew my pasta while my professor analyzes “Citizen Kane.” It doesn’t matter if you’re chewing or cooking, keep the camera on and let your professor know that they aren’t teaching to sleeping students. so; but will 2021 be as bad as 2020? I don’t think so, I have hope. 2021 still has a lot of potential, and even though in the U.S. there has already been some bad, there has been some good. The vaccine is here; something we’ve waited for for over a year. If vaccine rollout is effective, we may even get to stop wearing masks all the time, see our friends and family and even attend concerts or large events that we’ve been holding onto our tickets for. I have hope that, as the new administration moves in, the vaccine rollout will become even more efficient and the various versions of the vaccine will become more widely available to more of the By: Siena Berardi Sports Editor population. Wehaveanewpresidentialadministration. A new president was sworn in, even after nationalists tried to overthrow our democracy. A historical vice president was also sworn in; the first African American, the first Asian American and the first female vice president. After nationwide debates and conversations are happening around serious topics such as racial violence, climate change and many others, I have hope that this administration can make change that is progressive and not regressive. Some of the long-awaited films and shows that were delayed in 2020 have received 2021 release dates. I have a few myself that I am anxiously awaiting to see. HBO Max is offering a wide variety of newmovies on their platform in 2021, and some nostalgic shows such as “Friends” are making a comeback. I’ve been holding onto various concert tickets and I’m optimistically sure that I’ll be able to attend them by the end of this year. I have hope that 2021 has a lot to offer entertainment- wise. 2020 beat me down, just like a lot of other people, but I can’t help remembering the good moments along with the bad. I have hope for 2021. I have hope for more good moments to come. By: Sofia Gallus Arts & Entertainment Editor Overall, I just feel that, when it’s possible, turn on your video camera. Let us see that messy bed -- you can even show us how you make it. It is so important that we remain light- hearted and kind to each other especially during these perilous times. Zoom classes won’t last forever, but in a few years when I look back on the days when I learned frommy bedroom, I want to remember smiling (or rolling my eyes) right back at a screen full of peers. PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY S. BERARDI Have some respect. Turn on your camera. I’m worried about our future With the COVID-19 pandemic came a plethora of things to worry about regarding the short-term and long-term effects of this virus. However, there is one topic that has been on my mindas a semi-overachievingcollege student: grad school. Listen, I knew before the pandemic hit that grad school would be hard to get into no matter what, but with this pandemic lasting as long as it has, I am seriously worried not only about my future, but the future of many of my peers who are also attempting to further their education. Browsing through the grad cafe website, among my own personal research, one core similarity among those who got accepted into institutions is having some sort of shadowing, internship or observation listed on their resume. Normally, I would be on top of the game trying to pick which opportunity I want to take advantageof inorder tobumpupmy resume, but that avenue has dried upworse than the Sahara. In general, companies and organizations are not offering these positions anymore, and rightfully so. Why would a group risk having more people involved than precisely necessary? All I amsaying is that, if I do not find some opportunity to give a little sparkle to my resume, then I am going to be extremely worried about my chances of getting into grad school, and I know a handful of my peers feel the same way. Even when this pandemic seems like a thing of the past, it will still be just time wasted instead of excelling in my career. If any grad schools’ admissions boards are reading this, please go easy on us. By: Rick Esner News Editor