I guess I don’t see the problem,@homerdog. Most American adults work outside the home, and will be returning to work soon, with masks on for 8 hours a day, including all the staff working to support our students at college. College students have far more access to outdoors than most working adults, and in many campuses masks aren’t needed outdoors if distancing. Those on gap years working or volunteering will likely also spend their days in masks. I don’t expect that to change in Sept 2021 either.
The building which houses my campus office (actually an amalgam of 3 buildings) has at least 6 entrances, some of them with airlock entryways. None have anything resembling a “building” receptionist, and likely the department receptionists would object to working in the airlocks. Once inside, you are in a hallway. This is common in a lot of the campus buildings. Just saying it might be tougher than it looks on paper.
The administration has admitted that they are trying to force the colleges to open with in-person classes.
I was just going to post the same thing as @roycroftmom.
My D’s been working since May - daily temp checks, masks on all day, hand washing, social distancing, etc… 40+ hours/week. Me too (albeit only 30 hours/week).
There have been lots of essential businesses open this entire time.
My sense from this thread is that the majority of posters have been able to WFH. That’s not the case for the majority of the population.
The message from universities are pretty clear - come back to campus and follow the rules. If you can’t or don’t want to, don’t come. If you come and don’t follow the rules, you are going home.
@homerdog the types of classes my D is enrolled in will not have 20 people. Her spring classes had 8, 10, 12, 16. And some measure of even the low enrollment will be kids who are doing the courses remotely. These are not classes most kids want to take just to take, I think/hope. We’ve been told that Haverford is only expecting 50% of students to choose to return to campus. I’m not sure what happens if they’ve completely underestimated that.
@injparent every college and every town and every city is at the mercy of the virus.
I agree it makes it easier for the spread to happen but it was gonna happen anyway.
Congrats on being lucky poster 10,000
@roycroftmom ok. Here would be an average day for S19.
Wake up and go eat breakfast (guess it would be to go now)
8-9:30 class (mask on)
9:30-11:30 study in a classroom or library or other college building (mask on)
11:30 lunch
12:30-2:00 class (mask on)
2:00-3:00 study somewhere on campus (mask on)
3:00-4:30 class (mask on)
4:30-7:00 practice (ok so no sports now but what would he be doing instead during this time? maybe socializing and that requires a mask unless outside or he’d likely just study more so mask on unless he went to his room. Maybe have a small meeting for a club and then mask on)
7:00 dinner
8:00- 12:00 combo study and hang out in friends’ rooms (well, that’s mask on unless he’s in his room)
As you can see, there would be some serious mask wearing going on between 4:30 and midnight unless he just stays in his room. (This is just hypothetical since he’s not invited back to campus but I’m just trying to make a point.)
I don’t know where kids are going to hang out without masks. It’s not like adults who go to work in masks and then come home for the rest of the day and don’t wear a mask. The rules for most schools are masks on even when outside. I know there are a few exceptions. I read that BC is allowing kids to take off masks outside I think. They would be huge but then, of course, it starts getting cold in Boston so not ideal after November.
Wow that is super interesting about Haverford having only 50% of the kids coming to campus. I wonder if other schools who have left it up to the kids will find similar numbers.
Purdue is not requiring masks outside when you can socially distance as per the CDC guidelines.
The thing that’s hard is each school is so different with its layout. My son has no issue studying in his room and video conferencing on projects with others. He’s done that anyway. Sure he gets together “live” with study groups but some of those were online prior to all this mess.
Kids will have to use other means if wearing masks is an issue . Initially, maybe more outside locations when feasible to study. Maybe meet up at a restaurant where you can do homework over some fries. Don’t have to wear a mask then. Maybe being a senior his attitude is different. My daughter graduated last semester and hung /lived with 6 peer friends. They took it seriously and more so then I would think. She was the one I wasn’t sure about 100%. I see it when at home now. They are both taking it more seriously since they know what’s at stake. No, I don’t think they or I will be perfect but they will at least make an attempt.
The legal question, @sylvan8798 , is whether the ICE determination was made according to the notice and publication requirements. That ICE has the authority to make the determination is not seriously questioned,nor do courts substitute their judgment for the agency’s. Regardless of the motivations for the decision, it only needed to serve any rational relationship to a state interest ( not necessarily the real interest, but any legitimate interest). That standard is almost universally met. That is how judicial review works.
@knowstuff Yeah. S19 never studied in his room. Always found cool little nooks in different buildings throughout campus to study with friends. He would hate being in his room so much.
Very true. I would say a very large majority of the adults in our town WFH with the exception of those working in the medical field. All of our kids’ friends’ parents are working from home now or have always worked from home. Each of us is looking at this college situation through our own reality. A student who has already been wearing a mask for 40 hours a week will be ready to go for fall!
100% agree. The sad thing is kids will take a gap year (which is great for some, no question), maybe get a job and have to wear masks more there then at school.
Maybe it’s a Big Ten thing but I just don’t see where the main issues are? Trust me, I get what the issues are… Lol but if your not mature enough to follow the rules then staying home is a positive thing. My kid has only one class that is not live at this point. His organization meets weekly. He knows the schools /states rules and will follow them for the group. They will make it work and move on and not dwell on it. They will adjust or they shouldn’t be there.
Agree 100%. There are maybe a handful of days when I think, “eh, could have used some AC” but it’s not most of the summer - though I know that’s a thing people tease New Englanders for saying. Also, Boston is a tiny bit cooler than RI. But agree that the summer is gorgeous and perfect weather in general.
I’m from Illinois and when I went back for part of a summer that I’d been in Boston, I was shocked at how hot/humid it was; I had totally forgotten what “normal” summer was like.
At Florida Tech, 1/3 of students are international. They are opening and students back on campus, including internationals, if they can get there. About half the students live ‘on campus’ but that includes students in university housing that is 2 miles away (Greek Village) and a few dorms that aren’t on campus. Multiple entrances onto campus, student parking lots, faculty parking lots.
One of the things I like most about MIT’s plan is that it seems to have covered so many eventualities. I wouldn’t be surprised if those programs are addressed. (Is it called MITES or is that something else?) I’m glad that MIT took a chance on you and that you and they made it work.
They are only expecting 50% back. They’ve invited 100% back and I think their plans are going to be shot to heck tomorrow when students have to submit their decisions. We were ready to pull the trigger on an apartment for D, but she can’t find a single student who’s parents are willing to go off campus- it’s either people forcing their kids home or forcing them online. This is gonna be interesting and I don’t even know what my D will choose.
in talking to my Senior D17 who will graduate in Dec , she is now thinking that going back to DC, even if classes will be F2F will be very limiting and she is better off staying at home where she will have a car and more flexibility. On the other hand, she left in March and likely would not have "closure " on her college experience, even if limited. We have not signed any leases; even if in person, she would need to find a job/internship in the spring that would need to be DC based. This was her original plan pre-covid (and before she and her BF broke up). so we are looking at leases that would be short term and pay more, but at least get her graduated if she decides to go back. But I get her point. In a city , no car, and no real social life , and what if classes go back to online. Who knows if the library would be open. living in a small apartment . She actually has had a hard time finding friends to live with, so alone, versus living at home (a city suburb). This is a lot to think about. Still waiting for GW though to make their formal announcement.
@milgymfam ugh all so stressful. I just want the decision making part to be over. S19 has until noon on Sunday to decide if he deferring or taking class. The easy thing to do is to just take class. Finding something else to do won’t be easy but we really think there will be remote internship opportunities and he’s already found a few to look into. None of that will be decided by Sunday, though, so deferring and planning on having something else to do is a risk. He’s so done with all of this uncertainty but we are trying to make sure he keeps a longer view of things and doesn’t make a rash decision.