Through time and change: Students learn in different time zones

Maddie Gehring
Wed, 22 Apr 2020 02:39:47 +0000
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The COVID-19 outbreak caused Ohio State to move all classes online for the remainder of the spring semester, and many students have moved back home and, for some, out of Eastern Standard Time. Credit: Illustration by Kelly Meaden | Managing Editor for Design

There are more than 19,000 Ohio State students who live outside of Ohio, according to the Ohio State statistical summary for the fall 2019 term, which means some may now be completing their online schooling far from campus.

The COVID-19 outbreak caused Ohio State to move all classes online for the remainder of the spring semester, and many students have moved back home and, for some, out of Eastern Standard Time.

Julianna Applestein, a third-year in psychology, lives in California and the three-hour time difference requires her to wake up at 6 a.m. in order to attend her usual 9 a.m. class, she said.

Although this is the earliest she has to wake up, Applestein said she feels anxious about turning assignments in on time and remembering to convert deadlines to her time.

“I’m just really paranoid,” Applestein said.

Abaigeal McCormick, a fourth-year in psychology who also lives in California, shares this paranoia. She said she usually turns in her assignments early because she is nervous that the time zone will make her work show up late in Carmen.

“I have to be more structured and create that structure myself,” McCormick said.

The self-motivation aspect of working from home in a different time zone can also create anxiety, Hannah Bush, a fourth-year in exercise science, said.

Bush lives in Texas, which has a one-hour time difference from Ohio. She said she wakes up at 6:30 a.m. for her 8 a.m. EST exams in order to have 30 minutes to look over her notes.

“It’s hard waking up at 6:30 and being in the right mental space to take an exam,” Bush said.

Bush said it is hard to find a routine while at home, but now there is an extra stressor of having to remind herself that she lives in a different time zone than her professors and classmates.

Tony Kim, a fourth-year in sport industry, said in an email that his professors have been accommodating to students in different time zones.

Kim lives in Seoul, South Korea, which has a 13-hour time difference from Ohio. Kim said his professors have been communicating with him and asking if he’s doing OK.

Kim’s busiest days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 9 p.m. his time and going until 6:15 a.m., he said.

“For some classes, I do stay up and wait to make it to classes, but for some classes, I just can’t make it,” Kim said.

Applestein said her extracurricular activities, including her sorority membership and participation in student organization Dance Connection, are being affected as well. Her sorority still holds meetings online and she constantly adjusts to meet the times the rest of the group sets, she said.

Overall, Bush said she writes in and organizes her planner often to stay on top of her assignments.

For Kim, he is thankful for the accommodations professors have made.

“It’s a hard time period for everyone and I really appreciate how all the professors and the university helps all the students around the world to get the best education,” Kim said.