Business as Usual? Not Quite.

It’s safe to say that 2020 is schooling us all. With unprecedented situations comes unprecedented changes. But LSUS has been pushing forward with major efforts to create a safe, efficient learning environment for faculty and students. The Business Education (BE) building is an example of the transition.

With one foot through the door, you immediately notice the extensive signage. The hallways are littered with visual aids designed to promote the wellbeing of students and faculty. There are marked walking paths placed to direct students to the right side of the foyers, stairwells and hallways. Green footprints decorate the first step of every staircase. This nod to our mascot is meant to be a creative, yet effective, tool for maintaining a safe distance from fellow students. 

Dr. Cay Evans, Chair for the Department of Education, shares the “immense” preparations that took place to make reopening the BE building possible. Planning started in May, and was followed by Zoom meetings every week of the summer. The groundwork included providing sanitation supplies to all faculty offices, positioning plexiglass screens for the instructor to stand behind during class and installing recording equipment in classrooms so that students who are unable to attend due to COVID can still receive instruction. Dr. Evans shares that students “have been cautiously optimistic” about the changes. She mentions that they have been following the set guidelines.

Caitlyn Upthal, a General Business Administration freshman, attends the majority of her physical classes in the BE building this fall. She mentions that her professors enforce specific practices to create a socially distant learning space. She notes that professors leave a vacant seat between each attending student.

Caitlyn states that even though the changes can be “distracting” at times, she feels encouraged that the university is taking “every precaution and action to make sure students are staying safe and doing what they can to stop the spread of any illness.”

Although it might take some time to adjust to the “new normal”, students can rest assured that the combined efforts of LSUS are consistently working to maintain the uplifting, dynamic environment we’ve come to know.