Students still feeling stress a month after returning to class

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Travis Stoker | The Seahawk

UNCW students stroll down Chancellor’s Walk

Darius Melton, Contributing Writer

When UNC Wilmington allowed students to come back to campus on Oct. 6, the general consensus was that the new class times and condensed semester were major sources of stress. It has been over a month since then, and though many have changed their tone since returning, others feel that the issues have only grown as classes have moved forward.

Katie Chang, a senior majoring in Math here at UNCW, leans more toward the negative side of the situation, noting that while some students have begun to adapt to the schedule, others are still struggling to keep up with the quicker pace.

“School has been really, really stressful,” Chang expressed. “It’s just a lot of time management and a lot of us are feeling stressed out. Some of us are feeling it more than others.”

Third-year student Rebecca Harris, spoke to that last sentiment, and though she did mention that a few classes are moving along as usual, she also described how double-majoring in Studio Art and Math with a minor in Journalism has multiplied the impact.

“Honestly, it’s hard,” Harris explained. “The classes are all really scrunched, so like where we’d usually have two weeks to work on a project, we now have maybe a week or a week and a half. That’s really stressful when I have three or four classes that I’m doing the same thing for, and so time with friends is not as much as usual. I had this whole college thing worked out, and now it’s like, ‘Okay, that’s not a thing anymore.”

While pressure on students has been high as of late, a few students have noted that this part of the school year is usually difficult during a normal semester. Many classes had their midterm exams this past week, and large projects are plentiful this late into a semester.

Nicholas Wade, a junior majoring in Sociology, brought up some of these issues and took a more even-handed approach to the subject.

“It’s honestly strange since I’ve never experienced something like this ever before,” Wade admitted.

“It’s definitely a rushed semester and I think that the school could have maybe handled it a different way, but other than that, it’s just usual stress. We’re nearing the end of the semester. It’s definitely going to be a tight squeeze, but I think we’re going to be okay for the most part.”

UNCW’s fall semester ends Dec. 13 with Commencement on Dec. 15, so there are still four weeks left for students to find their footing and end the semester on a high note. As mentioned earlier, it will be a tight squeeze and will require good time management skills, but there is still a chance to save this semester.

“We’re Wilmington strong, so we’ve got this,” Harris ended her interview with a grin.