In my opinion, the City University of New York (CUNY) is doing its best to ensure students get their education regardless of the Coronavirus outbreak. CUNY, as a whole, is doing a great job providing support to all its students. However, the public health crisis has currently warped the standard education to e-learning, which many students have a hard time grasping because they are more familiar with in-person education. Students who do not have Internet access are still required to gain an education when there are little to no resources available to them. The CUNY system has put into place access to their computer labs for students who do not have access to a computer at home, but the labs have specific hours of operation. Universities cannot expect students to complete all their course work each day in such a short amount of time when the computer labs open and close. E-learning takes an exorbitant amount of time and effort to learn and produce completed assignments effectively.

I believe our universities need to do better in providing resources to all their students so they have the potential to succeed, and not only create convenience for students who are better prepared or resourceful. During my experience at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), I have encountered many setbacks.

When I initially started at BMCC, I did not have any guidance, which caused me to go at a slower pace than students who were more familiar and integrated with college life. During my first year, I dropped several classes due to my lack of studying skills and familiarity with my campus. There was also a lack of community of people who shared my experience and that caused me to lose focus, ultimately leading to my continued dropping of classes in later semesters.

After failure after failure, I realized if I continued on this path I would not end up getting my college degree on-time. I believe our college system is lacking in the areas I mentioned before in my college experience, and with distant learning becoming prevalent due to the coronavirus, it has only become more difficult. I believe many students will be at a disadvantage and drop their classes. Up until now, students relied on their professors and the classroom structure to succeed. Now, those students have to be self-taught, which creates many hurdles for students to easily get distracted at home.

Duwayne Wright is a second-year student at Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY and a member of Young Invincibles’ Young Advocates Program.