In August, on the eve of the start of the school year, I shared my thoughts regarding the imminent return to Montreal campuses.1 Now, the academic year that began then is coming to an end. In the meantime, we have been through a few waves of the pandemic and encountered several variants. If we are not done with the challenges posed by COVID-19, this year convinces me more than ever of the importance of the in-person experience for our student communities.
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
We welcomed the new cohort as it should. This was entitled to the traditional speeches in the school court. She also attended the usual Aboriginal welcoming ceremony, led by an elder and accompanied by drummers. As for the second-year cohort – having started their law studies on Zoom – asked for the in-person welcome she was deprived of in the fall of 2020. So we did our best for her too! When a copy of the Civil Code was given to everyone, a fist bump from the dean replaced the more classic handshake, COVID-19 requires.
Several courses tapped into the particular potential of in-person teaching, thanks to the energy and dedication of professors excited about returning to classrooms. Discussions in small groups took place much more fluidly than in breakout rooms Zoom.
The year in attendance was marked by several formative moments for the student body. I am thinking, among other things, of the question and answer session between the student community and our graduate, the Honorable Mahmud Jamal, the first person of color to access the Supreme Court of Canada. The teachers of the Indigenous legal traditions course served their groups a dinner of bannock and soup to mark the end of the course.
A student pointed out to me that if the Zoom allowed the people of a cohort to get to know each other a little, it was different for the interactions between the cohorts. These valuable interactions, which build professional networks, tend to take place in common spaces. Above all, it is the spontaneous proximity that facilitates instructive, and sometimes difficult, exchanges between students from different backgrounds and opinions. I am therefore happy to see people back in the Atrium, in the heart of our building, whether they sit down in small groups or play ping-pong or the piano.
Our graduate community, whose philanthropy supports our activities, closely followed the comeback. She wanted the next generation to benefit from the rich student life that has marked her career so much.
To paint a fair picture, let’s admit that the return to campus was imperfect. While some have experienced the end of isolation that is harmful to their mental health, others have experienced anxiety due to the increase in social contacts. Tolerance was found to be variable towards the requirements related to wearing a mask as well as the vaccination passport. Some would have made decisions other than those of public health, university administration or professors, each responsible for accompanying each student absent due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, in my estimation, the student experience for the year 2021-2022 was far superior to that of the year spent remotely.
The university of tomorrow cannot be that of yesterday and our reflections continue concerning the part of the educational tools which comes back to the technological supports, of which Zoom. Nevertheless, the return to campuses after the long absence persuades me that it is worth retaining a significant portion of in-person interactions. There is always a place for vibrant campuses in a bustling student city like Montreal.