California Lutheran University began offering its first indoor in-person classes in over a year on March 29, with the option for students to continue learning remotely on Zoom.

Senior psychology major Katie Statema said in a phone interview that while it is nice to be in the classroom again, it feels strange.

“I would say [my classes] have been going over all well, it’s a little weird because there are pretty small numbers… less people are showing up than I expected,” Statema said. “For the people who have gone it’s been a really positive experience to get in-person instruction.”

Statema said she does not attend all classes in person because of her schedule, but she tries to make all the classes that she can.

Emily Jabourian, senior biology major, also said she attends her classes in person when she can.

“I don’t go to too many of them just because I already have a system down and it’s really hard to switch that now,” Jabourian said in a phone interview.

There are also some drawbacks of having in-person classes so soon, including that some people are online while others are in person, said Jabourian.

“It’s hard because I just think when it’s like half in person and like half are online because you can’t hear as well as the online kids talking, but it’s nice to be in front of the professor’s face,” Jabourian said.

On April 8, Ryan Van Ommeren, associate vice president of Operations and Planning, announced in an email to staff, faculty and students that Ventura County entered the Orange Tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. This means classrooms can have “up to 50% room capacity or with six foot physical distancing (whichever is less).”

All students and faculty who attend in-person classes are required to wear masks and maintain six feet of social distancing, according to the April 8 announcement.

Questions regarding upcoming changes can either be addressed to [email protected] or to Van Ommeren at [email protected].