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What My First Remote Finals Week Is Looking Like

Like everything else this semester, finals week is undergoing changes thanks to remote learning.

Valentina Marzulli

Dec 09, 2020

The State University of New York at Stony Brook

What My First Remote Finals Week Is Looking Like

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At Stony Brook University, all classes went online after Thanksgiving. We were doing a hybrid semester this past fall, and while our COVID-19 cases were relatively low, this decision was made before we even opened back up for the fall semester. My guess is to lessen the chances of students bringing back covid from Thanksgiving dinners in different states. Now that our second COVID-19 spike is in full swing, I am grateful for this decision. Our already scant campus is even more bare, with most of the few students who were living in our residence halls leaving for the semester. This means all final exams are going to be administered entirely remotely.

I'm an undergraduate psychology major currently taking a majority of gen-ed courses. I can't speak for the entire student body when I describe my forthcoming experiences with remote finals. However, it seems most of my professors have deviated from the usual timed online BlackBoard exams. Campus traditions like a campus-wide midnight breakfast or an abundance of self-care events are nonexistent. Here's what this already unusual semester is serving up for finals week for myself and for some of my peers:

Lots of "final" everything.

Final papers, final presentations, final assignment... or just the last assignment on the syllabus that's being counted as the final exam. I personally am only taking one actual traditional final exam. Maybe professors want to mitigate cheating? Who knows. But my finals week is looking much like a typical finals week for my roommate, the English major.

School feels optional.

We had the entire week of Thanksgiving off. I must have went at least four or five days in a row without looking at a computer screen or logging into a Zoom meeting. It was such a beautiful feeling. So when classes started up again, I was just so... done. We weren't even learning anything new in any of my classes. The Zoom burnout is real.

There's no food on campus?

I guess Stony Brook assumed most folks left after Thanksgiving. Our already limited dining options are even more limited, with some eateries reducing their hours or just closing altogether. I do think some nuance is justified; with covid getting worse in New York, it would make sense to enforce a curfew in food establishments.

So. Much. Testing.

Anyone staying on campus from this point onward must be tested for coronavirus twice a week.

I'm well-rested and not pulling all nighters.

The best thing about having final assignments due instead of final exams is that I don't have to be up at ungodly hours studying. Gone is waking up at six in the morning to make it to my final in two hours. The earliest due date I have for an assignment is six in the evening.

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Recommended for you

What My First Remote Finals Week Is Looking Like

Like everything else this semester, finals week is undergoing changes thanks to remote learning.

Lots of "final" everything.

School feels optional.

There's no food on campus?

So. Much. Testing.

I'm well-rested and not pulling all nighters.

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The Best Lines from the Fab Four

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you

Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend

He say, "I know you, you know me", One thing I can tell you is you got to be free

Oh please, say to me, You'll let me be your man. And please say to me, You'll let me hold your hand

It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. They've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see

Can you hear me? When it rains and shine, it's just a state of mind

Little darling, it's been long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it' s been here. Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright

We danced through the night and we held each other tight, and before too long I fell in love with her. Now, I'll never dance with another when I saw her standing there

I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say

You say you want a revolution. Well you know, we all want to change the world

All the lonely people, where do they all come from. All the lonely people, where do they all belong

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday

And when the brokenhearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.

And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

I'll give you all I got to give if you say you'll love me too. I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you. I don't care too much for money. Money can't buy me love

All you need is love, love is all you need

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more

Obviously the best superpower.

There have been many lessons learned.

1. The importance of traditions.

2. How to be thankful for family and friends.

3. How to give back.

4. What the word "community" really means.

5. That it isn't about the destination, but the journey.

6. The consequences of making bad choices.

7. To trust people, until you have a reason not to.

8. To be welcoming and accepting of everyone.

9. How to be my own, individual person.

10. How to work for what I want.

11. How to be great at giving directions.

12. How to be humble.

13. To be well-rounded.

14. How to be great at conflict resolution.

15. The beauty of getting outside and exploring.

16. To be prepared for anything.

17. That you don't always have to do it alone.

18. How to be creative.

19. To brush off gossip.

I have never been so thankful to know you.

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

Don't freak out

Email the professor

Attend the first class

Keep attending class

Have a backup plan

Remember that everything works out at the end

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