The following editorial was contributed by Senior Jacob Reynolds:

Is there any benefit at all to distance learning? The short answer would be absolutely not, but the issue is much more complex than that. With complex societal factors online learning affects all people very differently (especially the beast of a topic that cognitive development in children is) we must look further into detail. Learning in school to some children may be their safe haven away from a self-destructive home or community life or it could simply just be a time for group bonding and comradery that humans as a species so desperately crave. Distance learning deprives all people of this to an extent.

The common working class family that has children needs their children to be in school, as they cannot provide a caretaker while they are out risking their lives everyday attempting to provide for their families–that’s if they have a job still as many have been laid off or furloughed. This lack of parental or mature oversight has a profound effect upon children and it is definitely not a pretty one. According to www.insidehighered.com, the majority of higher education students elected to do in person learning instead of “zoom u” as they call it. The reasoning speculated for this decision is that students’ online feel alienated by the computer and lack the social interaction humans need to survive. The lack of this social interaction can drive many to become depressed and no longer want to pursue education because of the effect it is having on their mental state.

Another issue that I really have a problem with that ties into online or distance learning is the cancellation of events, such as graduations or dances such as prom or homecoming. The fact that milestone events like this are being cancelled when people have worked hard to try and attend them to see their time spent pay off as they receive that diploma, go to a formal dance, or rush a fraternity is absolutely heartbreaking, as it is something you can never get back. Now yes, we are beginning to see stuff start to open back up with precautions on place, but I think it should have been that way from the start. If you’re a “scientific expert” but your information changes every other week and said information is putting people’s livelihood in the mix, you should seriously step back and look into the world and see what you’re doing.

Now, I am absolutely for everything to stop the virus, as it is completely devastating and I don’t think I’ll see anything like it in my lifetime. What I am against, however, is the absolute buffoonery it has turned into with politics and all sorts of controversy being involved into it. You know who ends up footing the bill in scenarios like this when congress can’t decide on a stimulus or doctors can’t decide if its 6, 8, 10, or 50 feet we need to stand apart or even doing distance “learning” where results and assignments are just counted like heads of cattle or products off the assembly line? It’s us–the American people. People like our parents that work all day to make a dime while someone else makes a dollar, or our grandparents who fought wars and risked their lives, or even people like you and me–the next generation of people that will run this country and are having to put up with the shortcomings of our leaders today.

So yes, I believe distance learning is abhorrent and anything of the sort is detrimental to society.