@homerdog wrote:
This has been where I have been landing for a long time. Forget about testing for the virus. Schools with a high percentage of SJWs should be laying in a supply of antibody tests.
I agree.
I would bet a large sum of money that my son had this in February at school. However, our hospital system is not providing antibody tests because they don’t believe that they are reliable.
Colleges are going to be scrutinized as their own little communities. Just like a company would if they have their employees report back to work. When a whole county has an increase in cases, there’s not one place to point a finger. The state government has guidelines and community members abide by them or not. There will be cases. It doesn’t mean that a state will be closed down again. Each state has limits on percentages of cases, etc., would have to occur before they would revert back to a different phase.
If there are cases on a campus, the college will be blamed. I don’t know how to get around that but it does seem like they might be held to a different standard. A college campus is not a closed work environment like a meat processing plant. It’s more like it’s own town where there are even more specific rules like when someone should submit to a test and how long someone should have to isolate or quarantine. I hope all colleges realize there will be cases. I’m sure none of us are surprised that some of the AL football players tested positive.
That is specific to each college, @homerdog. College may be a small community at Bowdoin, but at many places the college and the city are integrated as one, like NYU or UT Austin. At many colleges, most students live off campus anyway, and many have a large number of commuter students. Students are not necessarily even on a student health insurance plan everywhere.
@Knowsstuff i don’t want to rush colleges along but kids do need to start making plans if they need off campus housing. Especially for the schools that have gone out there and said they might not be able to provide housing for all of those who expected it, they need to get going on that part and inform students.
Do you think the town of Austin won’t blame UT if there’s a big outbreak and it started with students? If that happens, I have to wonder if opening college campuses for spring will be less likely. Might be pushback from the towns. That’s not really fair, though, because what if there’s an outbreak in Austin that doesn’t begin with students? Would the university be more likely to continue with their new normal? Universities are making all of these plans and they will likely match up with what their state is doing. I hope they won’t be blamed if a bigger outbreak happens. In the end, a college is just like anywhere else. People living in buildings with other people, going to restaurants or stores within the limits of the state, socializing, going to “work” (class). Like you said, many colleges are completely intertwined with their neighborhood. They won’t be able to keep everyone “safe” just like my town can keep us all “safe” from the virus. I hope everyone’s expectations are based in reality. There will be cases. Maybe a lot. But I hope that doesn’t mean shutting down schools again.
@Knowsstuff Sorry if I wasn’t more clear, my point was that healthy students can’t really be contained on campus. If they leave for a coffee, or to pick up bagels, they’ve broken the campus bubble and could be infected out in the wild. My post was about contact from the outside world that could innocently counteract any measures meant to protect the student population on campus.
So testing now might not add comfort with the amount of false negatives out there. Maybe we will have a better test 2 months from now? Also with people starting to go out and about more, to outdoor restaurants etc will see if there is an uptick and what age groups. This might be telling. I have said it before but make sure your kids are wearing masks now when their supposed. It should be a habit and second nature by now. This will make their transition much easier in the fall. For people stating not getting what your paying for. Well, that’s right. Everyone needs to pivot to make this work. Kids can take energy bars, make an extra sandwich to have on hand or the like. We all need to adjust and be somewhat uncomfortable/flexible to make this successful.
My point also is once again this is your kids new normal. If you complain then they will complain. If you embrace it most likely they will have a better time adjusting to it. Going away for lots of kids can be emotional. Don’t need to add another layer to that.
@knowstuff having extra food on hand for S19 means leaving campus to walk to the grocery store or hopping in a friend’s car to go to Target. If colleges don’t want that then they’ll have to get food service going so that kids get what they need.
If colleges are going to test every single returning student as some have indicated they would, the source of initial infection is likely elsewhere. The town can’t blame the college for that. However, the virus may spread faster on campus, triggering a major outbreak if the college isn’t prepared to contain it. If that happens, it will be blamed by everyone.
@1NJParent right and if containing it depends on kids off campus to voluntarily stay inside away from others for two full weeks without any oversight from the university then good luck with that. Honestly, I see very few faculty getting sick via the students if colleges run the way we’ve been thinking they will. Maybe an uptick in student cases shouldn’t be all that worrisome. The numbers that should be analyzed more will be community spread in general or spread among faculty and staff.
"I hope they won’t be blamed if a bigger outbreak happens. In the end, a college is just like anywhere else. "
If a student happens to pass away, the college will get all the blame for prioritizing business over a student’s life, and it will a serious PR hit and be susceptible to lawsuits. An outbreak is different of course, but if there’s a serious number, the county the college in will probably force it to shut down for the quarter or semester. No college will go against the county’s rules, in fact some will be more conservative than the county. I do feel for the colleges, as they’re in a no-win situation.
@homerdog Colleges with significant portion of their students living off-campus are more at risk. They can’t effectively deal with the issue. These colleges are more likely to shut down again if there’s outbreak on their campuses or in nearby communities.
@theloniusmonk students aren’t being forced back to campus so I don’t see why a student death would be blamed on the college. That sounds harsh but it honestly would not be the college’s fault. Now if the health care they get on campus is faulty in some way then, yes, that could be a problem. That’s why some colleges over the summer have made quarantined students check in every day to give their temperature and a list of their symptoms. I assume that’s so they can be taken to a hospital or to see a doc in person if they start to get worse
I wrote:
Actually, since the antibody test requires drawing blood, they’d probably want to contract with the local hospital to set up a day of testing.
Colleges will certainly allow grocery shopping or other trips that deem essential (doctor visit, etc). Students can also use delivery services. Target, for example, will deliver most items free of shipping charges if you get their RedCard.
As a point of logic, not taking a position on the plans colleges have announced, I do not agree. Colleges will be blamed for perceived safety lapses, even though students go back to school voluntarily. Consider this thought experiment: a college stadium collapses, killing five students. The college would be blamed, even though students returned to school voluntarily. This is no different. If colleges are perceived to have acted wrongly for the conditions, and this results in deaths, the colleges will be blamed.
I’m confused as to how k12 teachers and other essential workers have anything whatsoever to do with whether someone else can or cannot work from home?
I think that’s pretty much how I see it. This past week our son’s high school arranged a parade through town (by car) for all the graduates who were wearing their caps and gowns. Everyone drove to the school parking lot about 30 minutes before the parade to get organized. Keep in mind we’re in a county in New York that has over 10,500 positive test results and over 450 deaths (more than 22 states). Yet as soon as people pulled in to the lot kids and parents were outside of their cars, without masks, hugging and taking photos, which they proudly posted on Facebook. My wife and I were dumbfounded that people were so blasé about the situation.
Many of these same people have been hankering for a “social distancing” graduation, which presently is not permitted in New York. While I too would love for my son to have some semblance of a “real” graduation, the parents’ and kids’ actions this past week do not give me much confidence that a social distancing graduation would in fact be that.
Thanks for the correction