Students return to campus in Amherst, Mass., for the Wall Street Journal
November 1, 2021

AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Abram Brown, a Junior majoring in Management, lays on the grass between classes on the campus of University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that most of the student body have been in person since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Brown said he took a gap semester last year rather than participate in remote learning at the school. "It reminds me of the first day being here my Freshman year," Brown says of returning to campus, "I have the same nervous trepidation as my first year." CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Tariq Jaffer, Associate Professor of Religion, teaches the course "The Qur'an and Its Controversies" in an outdoor classroom tent in the Valentine Quad at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. Jaffer said the class had a room reserved in nearby Chapin Hall but opted to hold the class outside. "We're just really happy to be back teaching in person...," Jaffer said, "I thought we should be outside for as long as we could so that we could be unmasked." The school said they will provide outdoor heaters to continue outdoor classes as weather turns colder. The school has an indoor mask mandate and other precautions due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that almost all students have been in-person since the start of the pandemic. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN

For a Wall Street Journal story about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small college towns, I photographed the first week of in-person attendance since the start of the pandemic at Amherst College and UMass-Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts. There were temporary outdoor classes and lunchrooms and mask and vaccine mandates, but through it all was a general sense of relief and excitement for everyone to be back together again after so long apart. Local businesses in downtown Amherst depend on the tens of thousands of students returning each year, and not having them around made it difficult for the restaurants and school supply stores to make it through the previous two years. AJ Hastings, a store with school apparel and general office and school supplies, opened in 1914 so General Manager Sharon Povinelli said this is the second pandemic they've had to deal with. "It's tough keeping shelves stocked," Povinelli said, referring to both the demand with an increase in business and global supply chain issues.

Thanks to Ariel at the WSJ for calling me for the great assignment!

AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Students gather before the start of Professor Nicola M. Courtright's first year seminar course "Encounters with Nature" on the steps of Fayerweather Hall at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. Courtright is the William McCall Vickery 1957 Professor of the History of Art and Chair of Art and the History of Art at Amherst College. The course includes a substantial outdoor portion including walks around the Amherst College campus and nearby nature areas. The school has an indoor mask mandate and other precautions due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that almost all students have been in-person since the start of the pandemic. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Professor Nicola M. Courtright (center) leads students in a discussion during a first year seminar course "Encounters with Nature" at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. Courtright is the William McCall Vickery 1957 Professor of the History of Art and Chair of Art and the History of Art at Amherst College. The course includes a substantial outdoor portion including walks around the Amherst College campus and nearby nature areas. The school has an indoor mask mandate and other precautions due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that almost all students have been in-person since the start of the pandemic. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. James Knowlton, a Freshman at Umass Amherst, looks for a pencil sharpener to buy at AJ Hastings, Inc., a general store selling office supplies and school apparel, in downtown Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. The two largest schools in the area, Amherst College and UMass Amherst, are at almost full capacity with students returning to campus for the first time since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Many downtown Amherst businesses struggled during the pandemic without the student population in town. AJ Hastings opened in 1914 so General Manager Sharon Povinelli says this is the second pandemic they've had to deal with. "It's tough keeping shelves stocked," Povinelli said, referring to both the demand with an increase in business and global supply chain issues. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Soo Oak Yoo (left, PhD student, Communications) and Kwang Won Park (PhD student, Chemistry) and others gather on steps outside the Campus Center at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. Campus Center holds one of the school's largest dining facilities. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that most of the student body have been in person since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. An Aug. 31 report from the school's Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy said that the vaccination rate among students is 96.7% and 94.5% among faculty and staff so far. The school requires all faculty, staff, and students, to be vaccinated, with some medical and religious exemptions. The school requires masks indoors, though allows indoor dining. "I'm honesty nervous," Yoo said about returning to campus after a year of remote learning, "I easily get scared by virus stuff, but also nervous in a good way." Yoo says that she taught two semesters remotely but this is the first time teaching in person. "It's totally different," Yoo said. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Lisa Zheutlin (left; Senior, Studio Art and Sexuality, Women's, and Gender Studies), Jenna Wyman (center foreground; Senior, Psychology and French), and Lena Lamer (right; Senior, Film and Media Studies) sit together for lunch while other students eat under outdoor tents in the Valentine Quad outside Amherst College's Valentine Hall in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. Valentine Hall is the dining hall at Amherst College. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that almost all students have been in-person since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Indoor dining is still forbidden on the campus as a public safety precaution. "Jenna and I took a year off," Lisa Zheutlin said, "We didn't want to do a year remote. We were abroad in Paris. I couldn't imagine an Amherst work load with remote [learning]." CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Signs indicate a COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at the Campus Center at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that most of the student body have been in person since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. An Aug. 31 report from the school's Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy said that the vaccination rate among students is 96.7% and 94.5% among faculty and staff so far. The school requires all faculty, staff, and students, to be vaccinated, with some medical and religious exemptions. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Customers Maleigh Tittel (18, orange sweater) and father Gary Tittel, of St. Louis, look at Amherst College apparel for sale at AJ Hastings, Inc., a general store selling office supplies and school apparel, in downtown Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. The two largest schools in the area, Amherst College and UMass Amherst, are at almost full capacity with students returning to campus for the first time since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Many downtown Amherst businesses struggled during the pandemic without the student population in town. AJ Hastings opened in 1914 so General Manager Sharon Povinelli says this is the second pandemic they've had to deal with. "It's tough keeping shelves stocked," Povinelli said, referring to both the demand with an increase in business and global supply chain issues. The Tittels were in Amherst to visit colleges in the area that Maleigh, a high school senior, might attend. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. People walk past shops in downtown Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. The two largest schools in the area, Amherst College and UMass Amherst, are at almost full capacity with students returning to campus for the first time since the start of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. Many downtown Amherst businesses struggled during the pandemic without the student population in town. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS - SEP 2, 2021. Students take part in Professor Nicola M. Courtright's first year seminar course "Encounters with Nature" at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, on Thu., Sept. 2, 2021. Courtright is the William McCall Vickery 1957 Professor of the History of Art and Chair of Art and the History of Art at Amherst College. The course includes a substantial outdoor portion including walks around the Amherst College campus and nearby nature areas. The school has an indoor mask mandate and other precautions due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. This is the first week of classes at the school and the first time that almost all students have been in-person since the start of the pandemic. CREDIT: M. Scott Brauer for the Wall Street Journal SCHOOLSOPEN
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