“How many college buildings have a reception? All of them, in my experience.”
Huh? I would have said none of them! The only university that came close that we visited was JHU, and we visited 15 schools.
It wasn’t uncommon for dorms and the admissions building to have a reception desk but I haven’t seen one in an academic building.
Guards could be volunteers or only paid minimum wage. If there isn’t enough existing staff members then more could be recruited. They don’t even need a desk, just a chair to rest on and a box of the PPE.
I feel like I am stating the obvious. It’s a simple task for a college to organise a system where every building has somebody at the entrance handing out masks.
I think you might underestimate the power of peer pressure. So of course there are going to be kids not following rules. No one or no school is going to be perfect. But seniors as an example are not going to want the schools closed. Don’t think many would risk not graduating and not having a commencement again this year. Maybe schools will have peers who’s job is to remind people to wear masks etc on campus. Of course the school police can’t do it alone. At my kids school last semester, my son stayed on campus till the end. I visited a few times. Never once did I see any student not wearing a face covering masks outside or inside at the local stores. This was before the state shut down. No one was looking for them. Since the campus was bare per se it would of been much easier to not wear a mask to go get your boxed food of the day. Once I saw this, I was the one that had to be reminded to put on my mask.
Since hopefully it is second nature for our kids now to put on a mask when going indoors, why wouldn’t this just carry over to school. No one wants to be “that” kid and called out. Sure kids /adults will make mistakes. I went into Home Depot last week and I honestly forgot to put on my mask. The second I was entering someone from the store reminded me I needed a mask. So I embarrassedly walked back to my car and got a mask. At colleges, for the first week or so, I am sure that same person might be handing out masks. It’s learned culture. Kids really do know what’s at stake this year. Very few want to be “that” kid. You will see some kids sent home. This will be reinforced harder then what we assume. I bet every professor will have their rules that coinside with the states policies. The students will be reminded of this over and over. They will be sent text messages, emails, Facebook groups etc about this. My son is very clear on his schools policy. I am sure your kids are as well (rhetorical). Also my kids school is part of their community
In Ann Arbor. Trust me, those stores don’t want to close. There honestly is a mutual respect between the city and student communities. If kids break the rules it’s not because they don’t know the rules. If certain kids can’t get it they will be sent home or asked to leave school. All RAs will have extra training. Again, mistakes will happen and those people will be reminded.
Kids off campus honestly I see it as the same. Businesses don’t want to close because Johnny doesn’t want to wear a mask. Johnny will be asked to leave the store /business.
Also I am thinking of my kids campus. Not sure the culture of other campuses but would think something similar applies.
Anyone’s kids not wearing masks when their supposed to, on here?
Kids that can’t follow the rules to keep others and their self safe are not mature enough to be on campus anyway. I really think this is a very unique year evidently. Can’t believe kids won’t make an attempt. It’s not like they don’t know what’s expected of them.
Harvard and MIT file lawsuit regarding ICE policy.
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/7/8/harvard-mit-sue-immigration-authorities/
@Knowsstuff I want to believe that peer pressure will keep kids masks ON but I think it’s the opposite. Kids will want to hang out and masks will be off and those who want a break from this madness will take their masks off. It’s so hard to stay vigilant.
As for “anyone’s kids not wearing masks when they are supposed to?” ---- my kids are hardly wearing masks. Most days they don’t wear one at all. They only have to do so if they go in a store. If either of them were going back to a school where masks are mandatory everywhere except in your room or when you are eating, they would have a very hard time doing that 100%. I’m just being realistic. Most teenagers right now across the country are not wearing masks all day except for at home. D21 will deal if she gets to go back to high school and if that means wearing a mask for six hours but, when she’s done with class, she won’t need a mask for the rest of the day. Some of these college kids are supposed to wear masks practically all day. It’s going to be hard to be compliant all of the time.
FWIW, that rule has always been in place. I’m assuming they’re just pointing it out now since it may be an issue for a lot of students.
This is exactly what D20’s college is doing. For any college upperclassmen that don’t have on campus housing, they are utilizing an off campus apartment owned by the university and the Washington Duke hotel. I’m sure the same restrictions will be enforced for these students just like the ones on campus in the dorms. Is it fullproof, no, but I think the goal is to control the spread of the virus the best they can.
That’s looking like pretty much what my son will be doing at UMN. They’ve changed nearly all his classes save for one lab to online.
Parents are hiding under a blanket if they think the in-person class plans are going to be any decent percentage of class time. I really think kids will be in their rooms taking remote class at every school 95% of the time. I hope I’m wrong.
@homerdog wrote:
Sounds like Bowdoin did the right thing.
LOL. Well, let’s see how the other NESCACs do with their kids wearing masks! In our Bowdoin town meeting, they were realistic. They were saying that they know everyone (faculty, staff, students) can’t be perfect 100% of the time and that’s why they are testing twice a week.
I’m just being honest here. I think some posters envision students complying 100% and don’t we already know that’s not going to happen? We’ve seen enough stories from this summer on campuses. Granted, the rules aren’t in place yet.
You all really think that your kids are going to wear their masks outside, inside, all of the time except for when they are in their rooms? I’m not saying most of them will be flagrant about their non-mask wearing but it will happen here and there. Guess anyone who is dating will just stay six feet away from each other with their masks on…
I think you are 100% correct, and that is why my DD, class of 2024, decided to take a gap year about 2 months ago. The deadline to apply for a gap year at her school was 5/15. We saw the writing on the wall, and encouraged her to figure out something productive to do for the year (because her school would not have approved a gap year that wasn’t productive and we would not have supported staying home and doing nothing anyway). All her friends planned to start college and for about 6 weeks DD was very torn about taking the gap year, feeling like she was the only one not going away to school. Well, fast forward 2 months and now all her friends are wishing they had done what she did.
Class time is about 12-16 hours per week at my kid’s colleges. That allows plenty of time putside the dorm room for other activities.
It’s really going to depend on the class. For example, D20 has to take a writing seminar class as a freshman which I understand is broken out into smaller class discussions (i.e. less than 25 students) so It’s likely they will find space to meet in person for this class. If she takes an Econ 101 class, with 100’s of other freshman, I’m sure that will be remote. I think our expectation is that 1 of 4 semester classes this fall will be taken in-person or some combination of online and in-person with smaller discussion sections.
In addition, the college is saying that they will allow small gatherings for ECs, clubs, activities so that students are not “stuck in their rooms” all day. There is going to be plenty of opportunity to get out and about around campus (weather permitting). This is the new normal for now and the students will likely have to adjust their expectations of what type of college experience they will be in for the next semester or two.
On a side note, my D has already been meeting locally with other rising freshman at her school so when she goes away to college she will know some of the students already, which should help on the social side of things a little bit.
You might be missing my point to make another point. So when your kids go to a store in Illinois they aren’t wearing a mask? Sure they are. No different when on campus. When walking to their class that’s 15 minutes away and social distanced. No they don’t need masks. But once they enter the schools buildings yes they need one. When my kids walk to the “El” train stop 3 blocks away they put on their masks since they know they will be entering the train or building soon. If with their peer group they have been with, they social distance and don’t wear a mask. So not sure why they can’t do that at college when it’s "really expected of them. If yours(don’t take this personally), or anyone’s kids can’t make a better attempt to follow these rules with all that is at stake then maybe it’s the best thing they aren’t allowed on campus. If this is the school’s culture then they actually made a great decision. I know the culture of my kids school. I see kids in my neighborhood in Chicago wearing masks outside in 90 degree heat when in groups. When alone no, but social distanced. But just this morning a few are wearing masks just walking or jogging. Your kids don’t have to wear masks if social distanced and not going indoors.
Maybe your kids and their friends need to take this all more seriously? I work in the Western Suburbs. Yes, the culture is different and more lax then I see in the city first hand. I don’t see kids in friend groups walking around with masks on in Naperville either. In the city, I see it more frequently. Also just because they don’t doesn’t mean they can’t. Get on them… Lol ?
On the topic of kids will wear masks and follow rules - I am amused by the many posts where people write about how their kids will do what they are supposed to but the problem is all these other kids that don’t behave and will cause problems. At least @homerdog is being realistic. This conversation reminds me of the drug conversations where the parent is strongly asserting that “My child will never do drugs” when actually the kid being discussed is the main dealer for the school.
But it’s masks on for studying in any campus location other than your room. Bowdoin estimates nine hours of studying per week per class. Four classes so that’s 36 hours of studying outside of class. And it will be in a mask unless they are in their rooms. If any meetings for clubs happen in person - in masks. At some schools, in your dorm is wearing a mask unless you are in your room. That is a lot of mask time.
I don’t know, 3/4 of my daughter’s fall classes are still scheduled for ftf instruction. Only one went to online. All four are available to online students if they don’t wish to be ftf. The school was asked directly what would trigger a shift to all online learning and they didn’t really have an answer, they just said it would be an administration judgement call. That didn’t sound encouraging to my D.
@knowstuff yes the city of Chicago is different for mask wearing than the suburbs. My kids are hardly ever in stores. They are with friends outside - swimming, golfing, playing tennis, running, just hanging out. Social distanced with no masks all day long. If they walk in town, they will wear a mask outside because they are on a sidewalk and can’t social distance. S19 never goes to town. D21 maybe goes twice a week just to grab a coffee. They get their coffee, walk two blocks away from town and take masks off.
On a campus, the rules are masks all of the time. It is very different.
I hope they meet in person but I don’t even know why schools are bothering at this point. A 20 person class has to meet in a room for 100 kids. Most of the students will be so far away from the professor. All in masks. Professors are saying they won’t be able to pick up facial cues or hear most of their students since they are so far away. This does not make for some discussion based class. Maybe, if the class was 6-7 kids, a professor could pull off a discussion.