This pandemic that we are going through has made things harder for many of us. We are trying to figure out how to finish out the semester currently going on and figure out a plan for the semester coming up. There are many students and staff wondering if there has been a decision made as to how spring semester will go. David Gallienetti informs us that, “Yes, there has been, if you go to Lakeland.edu/Spring2021 the current plan that we have is there. We are planning on doing Spring semester as we did for this (Fall) semester. All rules and guidelines will be the same. We are going to be doing the testing, the same as we did this semester.  The one thing we learned with COVID is you have to be able to pivot and do it quickly.” Spring semester will look a lot like, if not similar to, how this current semester is going.  

According to the web address Gallienetti provided, “Classrooms will be about half full to ensure safe social distancing, and students will sit six feet apart, some classes may require a mix of face-to-face and virtual instruction. Students will be informed about these classes closer to the start of the semester. We will use some of our large spaces (like the Wehr Center Fieldhouse, the Bradley Theater, and the event center in the Younger Family Campus Center) for classes.” 

“We will be postponing some classes that were scheduled for this spring to a future semester. If you are enrolled in one of these classes, you will be notified by email. You can then work with your advisor to sign up for a replacement course or explore a co-op job. Despite these changes, students will still be able to graduate in the timeline they had planned.” 

So, as you can see, there has been a plan figured out. Now will it change? Possibly. This pandemic literally changes by the day, so having a rock-solid plan for the next couple of months ahead isn’t easy, but at least we all know that Lakeland is doing their best. Keep your heads up and Go Muskies!