Faculty Interview: Doctor Scott

At Shawnee State University, there is a wide array of different faculty members and professors that are always working to ensure a brighter future for its students. However, the COVID-19 epidemic has restricted many of these interpersonal relationships between faculty and students, and as a result, has affected both parties respectively. Today, I reached out to one such faculty member and spoke with him regarding the current masking and social distancing protocols that currently are saddled onto Shawnee State University. It should be noted that these opinions are from a faculty viewpoint, and not as a member of the administration. All input here solely comes from the subject themselves.

Introduction

Meet Doctor Marc Scott, Associate Professor and Director of Assessment and Accreditation. Having taught as a Master’s Degree Student in San Marcos, Doctor Scott found himself hooked on the concept of interacting in a college environment. His proficiency and wanting to continue work in this field led to him eventually joining Shawnee State University, where he has been working for nine years. This will be his tenth year of teaching and interaction at Shawnee State University. He was once called “Yuan Yuan,” which may or may not translate to “round and lovely” while teaching in China, and managed to bring a scroll back with the characters that translate to that name. It apparently just means “round.”

Doctor Scott also likes to play video games in his spare time. He last played Red Dead Redemption 2.

Questions

When asked about his favorite part of working as a professor, Doctor Scott went on to state that this is something he claims that every faculty member will tell you when asked this sort of question. “Individuality with students. One of the great things here at Shawnee is that sense of connection. You’re really able to build a foundation with your students and get to know them.” Professor Scott thinks that Shawnee particularly excels in this sort of field.

When asked about anything that Doctor Scott particularly struggles with regarding his college work, he stated that he isn’t the biggest fan of grading specifically. “It feels really ugly when working on grades, but it’s necessary when it comes to some work.” He also has an issue with time allocation. “Sometimes I’ll set aside thirty minutes to work on something, but it’ll never just be thirty minutes. I always seem to branch way past the time I allocate.” Professor Scott also isn’t against the idea of taking a nap in his office, and uses a yoga mat as a pillow every now and then when he feels like catching a few moments of sleep. That sounds like it’d be particularly comfortable, considering how busy the average college student can get.

When asked about his favorite place on or around campus grounds, Doctor Scott mentioned that he really enjoyed the nearby floodwalls. Walking along them allows him to not only have something to look at, but he enjoys the fresh air he’s able to get when walking around. The floodwalls in Portsmouth show multiple different works of art, and stand to keep the town protected from the river on the other side. The walk up the wall offers a decent view of some of the streets down below. It also allows people to get a look at the river, too.

COVID-19 Related Questions

When asked about the ongoing struggle with coronavirus, Professor Scott spoke plenty about the negatives regarding his experiences. “I think it sucks,” he says. “It really shows you the true colors of people and makes me wonder how’d they react to other situations if not wearing a mask is something that gets them so up in arms.” He admires students who wear masks on campus, even if they might not enjoy the prospect of wearing one. Professor Scott went on to ask what people who don’t wear masks would do when asked to do something meaningful. “I learned something about communities from the pandemic, that’s for sure.”

When asked about his thoughts on the current masking mandate established on campus, Doctor Scott has said he thinks it is helpful in reducing the spread of coronavirus. “I’ve only had to say a thing or two here and there. I’ve seen some students not wearing their masks, but I try not to be rude when asking them to put their masks back on. I don’t really understand why people feel like they shouldn’t wear their masks when there’s irrefutable evidence that wearing masks helps to reduce the spread of COVID. Lots of folks out there who catch it could end up getting sick, and that’s not good.”

When asked if he thought things would ever go back to normal, Doctor Scott thinks that the definition of “normal” is going to change considerably. “This is going to stick with us for some time, for sure. There’s a lot of, like, mass trauma going on with this whole pandemic and it affects everyone. I’ve known friends, students, and people across the country that have been affected by this, and I’m pretty sure we all have low-grade health and depression issues.” Doctor Scott then went on to say that students are being saddled with debt, and that the current generation won’t do as well as his.

Doctor Scott also makes use of the Health Pass feature regularly, and takes note that it isn’t used all that much by classes that aren’t too bad. When asked about if there was one thing he could change about the mandate, he said that he would give out N95s to each person. “They’ve been proven to be more effective than the cloth ones. I think that would be my thing.”