This letter has been written by Jamie Flick, a student from Skyline College, discussing the school’s decision to return back to in-person learning in the Spring.

My name is Jamie Flick and I currently live in Antioch, California. I have been in online school since my junior year of high school because of this pandemic. I am not the only student at Skyline who lives out of the county, city, and area in general. I know many of my peers who live in Vallejo, Oakland, Tracy, etc. We all have the same issue about in-person school and the challenge of how to get there.

Despite having other colleges near our location, we chose Skyline for a reason. As for me, the staff at Skyline and the programs offered to me have helped in tremendous ways and having family that used to attend here and extremely useful connections have made Skyline the best choice. I also chose Skyline because of the courses offered on Zoom. Many students also would prefer Zoom courses, but not only for transportation issues. Some people have social anxiety or other disorders that make going to in-person school difficult, especially after almost two and a half years of isolation from school. Despite everyone being vaccinated, I know many people are still worried about what is to come with college being so big.

I moved to Antioch not long ago and I did not realize transportation would be an issue. Going through the steps to change colleges ––– because I cannot attend virtually ––– seems extra and it is discouraging because I want to go to the school I want to go to. Even if it is only for two or three years, those years are impactful since they are the beginning of a long road of education. Yes, many people prefer in-person school and it seems as if the administration has heard those voices, but what about the voices of people with mental disorders, transportation issues, or financial issues that go along with commuting to school every day? Virtual class has helped in many ways but has been shadowed over by the want for in-person school again. I know virtual classes can be hard, but one can say the same for in-person.