MWednesday, May 3, 3 p.m., one week before the start of the partials. The forecourt of Bordeaux-Montaigne University is depopulated. The walls are covered with tags and the benches of the amphitheaters are almost empty. Two or three students trickle out of the library to take a break in the sun. At the student house, some revise together. “We participated in the 12 days of mobilization. We got a little behind in the revisions, but it was our choice!…
MWednesday, May 3, 3 p.m., one week before the start of the partials. The forecourt of Bordeaux-Montaigne University is depopulated. The walls are covered with tags and the benches of the amphitheaters are almost empty. Two or three students trickle out of the library to take a break in the sun. At the student house, some revise together. “We participated in the 12 days of mobilization. We got a little behind on the revisions, but it was our choice! assumes Léa (1), a theater student.
During this month of blockage, many students who did not participate in the mobilizations returned to their parents and suffered from the absence of lessons. “The uncertainty caused by the successive blockages has fueled a lot of stress,” explains Quentin, a student in M2 English, revising the Capes competition. “The undergraduate students were left in the dark for several weeks, without knowing the progress of their partials and the terms of the end-of-year exams. »
A special end of the year
Lionel Larré, president of the Bordeaux-Montaigne University, certifies it: all the courses that have not been provided will not be made up. And the partials will only relate to the knowledge taught before March 15. It is difficult for some students to accept having an unsuccessful program: “There are practical projects that we have not been able to complete. It’s very frustrating,” sums up Lilou, a design student. Refreshers could be provided by teachers at the beginning of next year, but nothing is yet defined.
“There are practical projects that we have not been able to complete. It is very frustrating “
However, the low number of marks for the second semester prevents students who needed it from being able to catch up. “Initially, we were to have three exams on the table during this second semester,” says Zoé, a student in applied foreign languages. “In the end, we only had one online exam at home. This note was the only one to count for the semester. This significantly hampers our progress and opportunities to improve. »
After a month without classes in Bordeaux-Montaigne: a courtyard deserted by students and the walls covered with tags.
C. V.
For some master’s students, the blockage had little impact, compared to undergraduate students. “There was no impact on the rendering of our memoirs or year-end files. The only downside is that we did not have access to documentary resources”, explains a student in cultural studies. “More autonomous, master’s students are assessed on the basis of continuous assessment or often have a single mark, with the rendering of a dissertation that has been worked on since the beginning of the year. On the other hand, the courses are more important for undergraduate students,” says Lionel Larré.
“Avoid distance learning”
According to the president of the university, the management has chosen not to set up distance learning courses to guarantee equity between students: “at home, students are not equipped in the same way. Some professors, however, decided to set up distance learning courses, but these were not made compulsory.
“The anxiety of students about exams has me very worried”
This is precisely why “we unblocked the university on April 12 to ensure that the partials take place face-to-face”, claims Lionel Larré. “I have always positioned myself against blocking. It was important to continue college while mobilizing. My solution was to trivialize the courses during demonstration days only. The anxiety of the students about the exams worried me a lot. Today, I am no longer worried about the immediate and future consequences. Everything will be in order. »
(1) The first name has been changed.
Confinement effect
The closure of the college plunged some students back into a context of isolation, as during confinement: “this blockage was scary. We are afraid of reliving the situation of the Covid years. It is sometimes difficult to motivate yourself to revise alone, far from your friends. We don’t realize how much college is a means of socialization, ”explains Quentin, an English master’s student. For Alex, a geography student, the closure of the university created a social rupture: “we lost contact with people and our teachers. The risk was also that of dropping out. But according to the president of the University, Lionel Larré, it did not affect many students.
