I’m so sorry about the kids who have to go home. I have a feeling that might be happening soon for us as well. D is upset that it is even a possibility.
@RightCoaster I thought if you when I saw the news about Tufts. Our friend is a freshman lacrosse player, just got his first college goal last week and now he is done. At least he has three more years, I feel terrible for the seniors!
My son is at UCLA and it’s a mess, finals next week and he has a lab class in spring. I feel for the students that work on campus and those that live far away.
@momtogkc thanks! it could be worse, he has multiple seasons left, much harder on the seniors for sure. But he was hurt and sick a few weeks during indoor season and was just starting to come into top form again before their trip out west next week. He was looking forward to getting outdoors.
Some of the local schools are letting the kids stay in dorms and study remotely, which I think is a more logical way to go. If it gets worse then send them home. It’s just so rush to judgment for my own tastes, but there are plenty of people who think the opposite and want their kids home asap. It is not inconvenient for me to get the kids as they are so close by. For others that is another big stress.
@RightCoaster - I agree about the rush to judgement thing and I’m sure colleges are worried about liability issues. Vanderbilt didn’t really have the option that some of the other schools do because their spring break was so early but I do like what they are doing currently by keeping the university open and letting students work online. I guess so many other schools are thinking kids will bring the virus back after spring break, but I do really feel for the seniors losing out on so many levels. Even with S19, in the time I spent with him this weekend, he was commenting about how little time he will have at college and as each semester ends that will be 1/8 of his time done.
I really believe that all the schools that are going to a remote class routine and asking students to not come back soon are doing everything they should be doing. I feel bad for the disruption for our kids but I really, really feel badly for these universities especially the public ones who have the potential to suffer financially from all of this. I am grateful for the way UCLA is handling this, I can only imagine what a massive headache this is. If there was another choice for them to keep things status quo and the kids in classes, I know they would. Nobody wants to shut down.
This is what NYU is doing. They are remote from today till a week after spring break (which is next week) and then it’s wait and see. Some kids left after class yesterday but it seems most have kept normal spring break timing. Some kids are staying in dorms all the way because they have no choice, and others are just choosing to do so. I understand they are keeping a limited meal service going.
I also agree with the wait and see position, but of course the kids are anxious and many rumors flying around; i believe some kids are totally packing up their dorm rooms and assuming they’re done for the year. Official advice so far is to take everything they need for remote learning, essentials/valuables/whatever they can’t be without for a potentially extended period of time.
I see 3 TSA workers were diagnosed with COVID19 at San Jose airport. It’s not one we use, but it does make one worry. I hope we don’t see airport closures, in a country this size that’s just a nightmare.
Still no update from Tulane. Someone on the FB page called the local storage company the school uses and were told they will be on campus with boxes and tape starting tomorrow so not looking too great!
Johns Hopkins is going remote learning at least until April 12th. S19 will fly home Saturday as planned for Spring Break and stay home till then. I feel this closure can get extended. It is not feasible to completely pack up and store his dorm stuff in a couple of days, so he is leaving his dorm stuff there but bringing home books, notes, laptop, etc. He can fly out at the end of the year to move out when necessary.
He had a midterm that was postponed so he stayed up till 6AM this morning playing video games. ha!
I think this is probably a good course of action considering how contagious the virus is. I worry about the upcoming strain upon the healthcare system: emergency rooms, intensive care units, doctors, nurses and EMTs. The more we can delay and soften the blow the better.
D19 flies home tonight. Rice is not kicking students off campus and currently state they are using the extra week off without classes to plan for post Spring Break and cleaning efforts, etc. We’ll see how this changes. Vulnerable students were identified and offered special accommodations. Frankly, since I have a 79-year old in my home, I’d rather not have an active teenager here. So be it.
I think the school did a great job of containing the single exposure and subsequent quarantines, so I’m inclined to trust that they are doing their due diligence and taking advantage of the expert resources at their disposal. I selfishly am sad that the kids are going through this, and concerned that if this extends into the summer, D19 may lose her Cali internship. But I concede that in the big scheme of things there are a lot worse scenarios.
S19 found out today that he will not be returning to Penn State this weekend at the end of spring break. As of now, remote classes will go on until the end of the month. Up until today the school was very clear that it was “business as usual.” So a lot of kids, my son included, left for spring break last Friday without their books, computers, etc.
We are only two hours from campus. But I feel for the kids who are unable to go home for various reasons. Or anyone who will suffer hardship.
There are 12 confirmed cases in PA so far. All in the Philly area. I work out that way but live in the central part of the state. Not sure what to expect moving forward. Never experienced anything like this.
@homerdog - Don’t book your tickets to New Orleans. Tulane finally sent the email. Last in person class this Friday. Kids have to move out for good between the 14th and 22nd and there will be no classes at all that week. Online classes start the 23rd. Spring break will still be April 4-12 then back to online classes. The music fest the school produces, Crawfest, is cancelled, they are not sure about graduation yet.
D is so, so sad. She is not one to express her feelings a ton so at least this shows me she loves her school! What a bad way to end freshman year, but even worse for the seniors. She has already talked to a senior friend and is going to try to see her in the next few nights to say goodbye. Although most of them live off campus so D said many will probably stay. She also said people are already talking about all of the parties they are going to have this week starting tonight… 
Tufts is now testing one kid for coronavirus so I’m hoping to get my son out of there in the morning, I don’t want him to get quarantined like on the cruise ships.
But this is my whole point, they are kicking all of the kids off campuses around the country to just go and spread the stuff everywhere. At this point, unless we shut down everything I just don’t see a way it stops spreading.
My son is in much lower risk town than where we live. But he needs to come home with a risk of getting virus on the airplane. But when I think about Social distancing measures, it would be much safer for those college students if they don’t live in dorm sharing a room / bathroom with 2-4 roommates…
Well Vandy just revised it’s position due to a newly confirmed case of Covid-19 of a VUMC health care worker and now has told undergraduate students they all need to move out of the dorms by this weekend and that classes will be online for the rest of the semester. Not a ton of notice, and unfortunate for those who had already left campus prior to this directive and had not packed up their dorm rooms. I guess they will have to turn around and come back.
Luckily for us, even before today’s email, my D’s plan was to pack up her room anyway prior to her leaving campus–so she is in good shape.
@PurplePlum Yes, quite the difference a few hours can make with this situation. S19 is so sad and so is my daughter, as she is anticipating the same thing at her college. She and I were planning a trip to Nashville this weekend anyway to visit S, and she wanted to see the campus. Now, I guess we’ll mostly just be helping him move out. Just like that his freshman year is over.
DD got the email last night. She is currently on Spring Break, and right now they are saying online for just next week. Campus will be open and they can come back if they want. We will have to decide if we’ll run down and get her textbooks on Sunday. It’s 90 miles one way so it’s doable. I’m sure not everybody’s going to go after their books though so I wonder how classes will go. She’s also considering going back mid-week if certain friends do, and if they are still going to allow it.
I suppose by saying one week they have more time to decide whether to extend it. Like everyone else’s students, she would be SO sad if it were longer or through the whole semester. She’s already sad about one week.
DD’s interview went well yesterday, one silver lining that could come out of being home early is if she got the job she could start earlier. They were wanting it to start in April, but told her they were very flexible. But I could see them hiring someone else with more availability. She’ll find out next week.
@elena13 Yes, I feel bad for the students…it’s a tough situation. Though I just read that those students who had already left campus are not expected to return by this weekend to retrieve their dorm items. Vandy is also supplying boxes, tape and carts for the students to use, which is good. This is what I read on the Vandy web-site:
“If you have already departed campus, you are not expected to return this week/weekend to acquire the rest of your belongings. We will provide information at a later date regarding how you will obtain the items you left behind. We realize some of you might wish to return and retrieve your items and others might prefer to have them shipped or stored.” https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ohare/move-out-instructions-and-information/
So this implies that they will box and ship items for students as desired.
I will be glad when my D gets home though. I feel anxious about her being there, to be honest.
Mississippi State just announced they’re extending spring break into next week.
My D19 is very worried that this is a prelude to moving classes online, which is freaking her out—she does not do well in online classes. (So much for that whole “digital natives” rhetoric, eh?) So yeah, we’re fielding lots of stress texts right now.
S19 is pretty down and said everyone is crying in the dorms. D17 is also depressed and stayed up half the night texting and emailing friends. She’s feeling sad for the seniors and also bummed because she was supposed to direct a show in a few weeks. Her school will re-evaluate and may do in-person classes after April 10th - they are usually later to end their semester than other schools. So, the empty nest will be no more for now and I’ll have two grumpy and sad students to feed. Should be interesting!
And @PurplePlum Thanks for the move-out instructions. I guess that will help if we can’t fit all his stuff in the car this weekend.