While Giulia F. Mazzarelli â24 logged onto Italian 11: âParliamo Italiano! The Art & Craft of Italyâ from her bedroom in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Jessica A. Boutchie â21 ushered in her final semester of classes from her dorm room in Mather House. Across the Pacific, Charlie J. Yang â24 attended Freshman Seminar 43J: âThe Economistâs View of the Worldâ at 2:30 a.m. local time in Sydney, Australia.
Despite being scattered across the globe, all enrolled Harvard students faced the same experience Monday â the start of the spring semester.
Students who lived at the College before the Covid-19 pandemic said beginning another semester of remote classes came with a unique set of challenges, but that they had grown accustomed.
UPDATED: December 24, 2020 at 8:55 p.m.
Students living in Harvard housing during winter recess, which officially began Monday, reported challenges adjusting to their temporary accommodations, such as moving dorms during a snowstorm.
The students remaining on campus who include international students facing travel restrictions, students with health or safety concerns over travel, and students with challenging home environments were notified of their winter break accommodations on Nov. 9 and moved into their new residences on Sunday.
Some students staying on campus over the break said they encountered difficulties moving into their assigned winter housing units.
“Move-in was definitely difficult with the snow and the cold,” Robert J. S. Malate ’21 said. “We were told that we had to basically clear out of our dorms and take all of our things to our new dorms, which definitely was much more difficult.”