School in the 2020-2021 Academic Year & Coronavirus (Part 1)

[EmptyNestSoon2]

My kiddo’s school just upped their testing from a stated twice-a-week to thrice-a-week ;-).

Also, upon arrival, you are expected to show a negative test from your home state from within 72 hours (good luck to us, getting that done!!). Then, you check in and take Test #1, go to your room to quarantine for probably 7 days. Then if you get a negative result (expected within 24 hours, but Broad Institute is right down the street so it’s feasible), you take Test #2 on Day 4. Then if you get a negative test again, you still stay quarantined in your room and then take Test #3 on Day 7. After those 4 negative tests, I guess you are free!! One comical note, the green near these dorms is call the Yard. The kids are totally quarantined except they are allowed 30 minutes of outdoor exercise daily. We are amused comparing it to prison (OK, I know Ellen Degeneres got in a lot of trouble comparing SIP to prison given her lovely circumstances, I apologize for doing something similar). What seems especially funny to us is that she is stuck in her room except 30 daily minutes to exercise in The Yard. Very prison-like.

I am hopeful, though, that after such a stringent starting protocol, they can really feel (moderately, carefully, skeptically) confident that they are dealing with a largely covid-free population. The 3x per week testing will continue throughout the semester. So hopefully they can loosen things up to an extent that the kids are getting some benefit of being together. I still envision plenty of outdoor gatherings, going for outdoor walks, hikes, meanderings in small groups, the benefit of meeting your classmates over (mostly outdoor, or spaced) meals, ultimately smallish groups (10-20?) meeting together in spacious (high-ceilinged and well-ventilated) common rooms with masks, etc. I do believe young people will figure out how to have fun even under these crazy circumstances!! And they will have stories to tell the grandchildren!! It is nothing any of us would dream about, but I still think it’s better than not meeting with each other. I sure hope so. The more moderate successes we have this fall, the better for everyone!!

PS Although I think it’s more desirable for freshmen to attend in residence than stay at home doing remote classes solo, I still would definitely prefer my child could take a gap year and just skip this awful year of college!! Alas, it doesn’t make sense for her. But for almost 400 of her incoming classmates (of 1600), it did make sense to take a gap year, so she will have an unusually small class this year.

[homerdog]

@EmptyNestSoon2

My kiddo’s school just upped their testing from a stated twice-a-week to thrice-a-week ;-).

Also, upon arrival, you are expected to show a negative test from your home state from within 72 hours (good luck to us, getting that done!!). Then, you check in and take Test #1, go to your room to quarantine for probably 7 days. Then if you get a negative result (expected within 24 hours, but Broad Institute is right down the street so it’s feasible), you take Test #2 on Day 4. Then if you get a negative test again, you still stay quarantined in your room and then take Test #3 on Day 7. After those 4 negative tests, I guess you are free!! One comical note, the green near these dorms is call the Yard. The kids are totally quarantined except they are allowed 30 minutes of outdoor exercise daily. We are amused comparing it to prison (OK, I know Ellen Degeneres got in a lot of trouble comparing SIP to prison given her lovely circumstances, I apologize for doing something similar). What seems especially funny to us is that she is stuck in her room except 30 daily minutes to exercise in The Yard. Very prison-like.

I am hopeful, though, that after such a stringent starting protocol, they can really feel (moderately, carefully, skeptically) confident that they are dealing with a largely covid-free population. The 3x per week testing will continue throughout the semester. So hopefully they can loosen things up to an extent that the kids are getting some benefit of being together. I still envision plenty of outdoor gatherings, going for outdoor walks, hikes, meanderings in small groups, the benefit of meeting your classmates over (mostly outdoor, or spaced) meals, ultimately smallish groups (10-20?) meeting together in spacious (high-ceilinged and well-ventilated) common rooms with masks, etc. I do believe young people will figure out how to have fun even under these crazy circumstances!! And they will have stories to tell the grandchildren!! It is nothing any of us would dream about, but I still think it’s better than not meeting with each other. I sure hope so. The more moderate successes we have this fall, the better for everyone!!

PS Although I think it’s more desirable for freshmen to attend in residence than stay at home doing remote classes solo, I still would definitely prefer my child could take a gap year and just skip this awful year of college!! Alas, it doesn’t make sense for her. But for almost 400 of her incoming classmates (of 1600), it did make sense to take a gap year, so she will have an unusually small class this year.

I agree. I feel better about S19’s deferral every single day.

[RosePetal35]

@circuitrider

^^^Well, Williams already tried bribing them with tuition discounts. There’s nothing left in that quiver. So, now they have to threaten and coerce them or make the scene sound so unattractive that they have to “take another flight”.

@circuitrider Actually, they weren’t “bribed”; all students, off-campus and on-campus, were given the same 15% tuition discount at Williams.

[RosePetal35]

@homerdog

Bowdoin just sent out an email saying they are sticking with the plan for now but, with so many schools starting to change course and not have any kids on campus, they are just warning that nothing can be for sure right now. They are worried that there is “virus fatigue” and it might just be hard to expect everyone to be vigilant 100% of the time. Warned families that there will likely be cases. They seem very worried about Maine in general and don’t want Bowdoin (or the Bowdoin students coming to live off campus in Maine) to be responsible for any spread. Maine has been doing well.

@homerdog That seems excessive when they are only bringing one class to campus and they are all-online (except first-year seminars) anyway.

[User2987456]

@ElonMomMD

Add Johns Hopkins to the list.

BREAKING: Hopkins will be online-only for the fall semester. Students are encouraged to stay home, and University housing will be offered only to students with demonstrated hardship. This is a developing story. Article to come soon.

WOW! I am sure they have studied this from all scenarios. This should cause some schools in that area to pay attention to their decision.

[homerdog]

@RosePetal35

@homerdog

Bowdoin just sent out an email saying they are sticking with the plan for now but, with so many schools starting to change course and not have any kids on campus, they are just warning that nothing can be for sure right now. They are worried that there is “virus fatigue” and it might just be hard to expect everyone to be vigilant 100% of the time. Warned families that there will likely be cases. They seem very worried about Maine in general and don’t want Bowdoin (or the Bowdoin students coming to live off campus in Maine) to be responsible for any spread. Maine has been doing well.

@homerdog That seems excessive when they are only bringing one class to campus and they are all-online (except first-year seminars) anyway.

What seems excessive? Maine’s cases are really low. There’s a lot of pressure to not have a virus breakout. Bringing 500 kids from 50 different states to campus is risky no matter how you cut it. Will they be able to keep breakouts small with their plan? I think so. I hope they will stick with it. I just wonder, at some point, do the pros outweigh the cons if so little of campus life looks the same? Maybe that’s what they are considering.

[zipstermom]

Loyola Chicago has reversed its decision regarding on-campus housing:

August 6, 2020

Dear Loyola Community,

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented all of us with unexpected challenges and many difficult decisions. Like you, we face these circumstances with determination, but recognize the need for our plans to remain flexible as conditions change. The source of our resolve in these times is staying true to our Jesuit, Catholic mission while abiding by our responsibilities inherent in living cura personalis—caring for the whole person. Thank you for your ongoing patience, support, and understanding as we do what is right and in the best interest of the Loyola University Chicago community in facing the challenges of this pandemic together.

From the start, our top priority has been the health, safety, and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and broader community. Evaluating current health conditions, and factoring for uncertainty in the months ahead, has led us to make the very tough decision to suspend plans to host students in on-campus residence halls until conditions are favorable. For those who were eager to reside in on-campus housing, you will receive another email from Residence Life shortly with more details and answers to your immediate questions.

Like you, we hoped that the trajectory of the virus would subside over the summer. In fact, it grew stronger. In July, the City of Chicago enacted a responsible solution to the growing pandemic. In implementing the City’s Emergency Travel Order of July 6, at present 700 of our residents coming from “hot spot” areas would have to begin the semester under a two-week quarantine. Beyond the complex logistics of caring for this many quarantined students, public health experts indicate that the virus spreads faster in residential, high-congregate settings. With predictions of increased outbreaks in the coming months, and early reports of COVID-19 clusters at other higher education institutions, we simply cannot put our on-campus residential students in harm’s way and risk further disruption to them and their families if they needed to move home mid-semester because of an outbreak in one of our residence halls or as a result of the state and city reverting back to Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois reopening plan. This is the most responsible path forward in these uncertain times.

We know that this decision and the timing of this announcement are very difficult, especially for our students and their families looking forward to an on-campus experience. Taking this next step to further de-densify our campus and limit disruptions to academic progress was only made after careful review, scenario planning, and prayerful discernment. Our Chicago-area campuses will be open, with limitations, for the fall 2020 semester according to our Return to Campus guidelines.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to close our residence halls and move to online instruction this past March, the Loyola community has done a remarkable job of adapting and pivoting. As we begin a new academic year and welcome our new Ramblers, we are called more than ever to maintain our sense of excitement for what we will learn, the connections we will make, and the experiences we will have. We remain committed to keeping our community together and creating new opportunities for students and faculty to deepen connections in smaller groups online until we can gather in larger groups in person. We also have taken our learnings from last spring semester and months of summer preparation to continue to deliver a top-quality Jesuit, Catholic education and provide an engaging student experience.

Our faculty and staff have worked tirelessly to prepare our campuses and classes for the fall semester, in spite of the circumstances. More than 1,000 faculty have completed additional workshops to reimagine their courses for online delivery and incorporate strategies that have proven to engage online learners effectively. As a recognized leader in online education—ranked eighth nationally by U.S. News and World Report for our online bachelor’s programs—we can now adopt best practices University-wide. To learn more about our online education and student support services, please join us this Sunday, August 9, at 6:00 p.m. Central time for our Academic Experience webinar. We also remain committed to keeping the Rambler spirit at the heart of our Loyola community active and engaged, starting with virtual Welcome Week events. For more information, please visit our Return to Campus website, continue to watch for our emails, check our websites regularly, and send us your questions at covid-19support@LUC.edu.

We, like you, look forward to returning to on-campus residence and predominantly in-person instruction when conditions allow. The decision made today is a difficult one for many reasons, and not without significant revenue implications for the University. However, we will not jeopardize the health of our students and community, or lessen our commitment to academic quality and student engagement, for financial reasons.

As we face these challenges together, let us remember that Loyola is not merely a campus, but a collective of hearts sharing common values. We are Loyola, bound together by our Jesuit values of compassion, adaptability, excellence, imagination, and social justice. Let us continue onward, together, to follow our 150-year calling and emerge from this moment stronger, closer, and even more united as one Rambler family.

Together in Loyola,

Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD
President

Norberto Grzywacz, PhD
Provost

Wayne Magdziarz
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer

Thomas M. Kelly
Senior Vice President for Administrative Services

Jane F. Neufeld
Vice President for Student Development

James S. Prehn, S.J.,
Vice President and Chief of Staff

Winifred Williams, PhD
Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

[oaktown78]

@calla1

I am so proud of my alma mater right now. Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma WA just announced FREE tuition for the fall for all incoming and continuing students, and one year of free tuition for all grad students. This will allow each student to take a lighter load and make decisions which keep them safe.

Wow, that’s great. My parents met at PLU; my dad graduated from there and played on the football team. Mom dropped out to be a housewife (it was the 1950s) but they always spoke fondly of the school.

[RosePetal35]

My wife is a Smith College alum, and has an interesting take on their decision to move to all online for the semester: she thinks the REAL reason for their decision to close was the maintenance of their long-standing positive community relations, which is extremely important to Smith. For background, they had a Zoom meeting with the members of the Northampton community 2 days on their reopening plans before reversing them, and the community members were NOT HAPPY. My wife says in the email, while she may have bought it if they just said it was due to increasing cases in the country, it seemed they were trying to pass off info that has been known for months as ‘new’ and were just trying to make excuses for not reopening without saying the real reason for closing was to maintain community relations. For example, they said one reason for reversing their decision was recent studies now suggesting that up to 40% of spread was asymptomatic; they have known that much of the spread was asymptomatic for months. Also, they cited failed high school reopenings, which doesn’t seem to have any bearing on a well-prepared college reopening. She said she thinks it would have been much better and she would have respected them a lot more for it if they had just been forthcoming and said they didn’t want to ruin community relations.

[homerdog]

@RosePetal35

My wife is a Smith College alum, and has an interesting take on their decision to move to all online for the semester: she thinks the REAL reason for their decision to close was the maintenance of their long-standing positive community relations, which is extremely important to Smith. For background, they had a Zoom meeting with the members of the Northampton community 2 days on their reopening plans before reversing them, and the community members were NOT HAPPY. My wife says in the email, while she may have bought it if they just said it was due to increasing cases in the country, it seemed they were trying to pass off info that has been known for months as ‘new’ and were just trying to make excuses for not reopening without saying the real reason for closing was to maintain community relations. For example, they said one reason for reversing their decision was recent studies now suggesting that up to 40% of spread was asymptomatic; they have known that much of the spread was asymptomatic for months. Also, they cited failed high school reopenings, which doesn’t seem to have any bearing on a well-prepared college reopening. She said she thinks it would have been much better and she would have respected them a lot more for it if they had just been forthcoming and said they didn’t want to ruin community relations.

I don’t doubt that. It was mentioned yesterday here that the change was made after that Zoom call. States (and the towns inside them) want to stay safe especially if they’ve followed rules and have low virus rates. It’s not the worst reason for a college to change their minds.

[TVBingeWatcher2]

Mississippi State will rent two local hotels to house quarantine students. Gives them 155 beds for those who house on campus only. https://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=82788&fbclid=IwAR0O-jZhrO4c6rElj1JDsismnPhXmNf9To-SLj9MmQUoBUZngqF6YVVvDI8

[RosePetal35]

@homerdog

@RosePetal35

My wife is a Smith College alum, and has an interesting take on their decision to move to all online for the semester: she thinks the REAL reason for their decision to close was the maintenance of their long-standing positive community relations, which is extremely important to Smith. For background, they had a Zoom meeting with the members of the Northampton community 2 days on their reopening plans before reversing them, and the community members were NOT HAPPY. My wife says in the email, while she may have bought it if they just said it was due to increasing cases in the country, it seemed they were trying to pass off info that has been known for months as ‘new’ and were just trying to make excuses for not reopening without saying the real reason for closing was to maintain community relations. For example, they said one reason for reversing their decision was recent studies now suggesting that up to 40% of spread was asymptomatic; they have known that much of the spread was asymptomatic for months. Also, they cited failed high school reopenings, which doesn’t seem to have any bearing on a well-prepared college reopening. She said she thinks it would have been much better and she would have respected them a lot more for it if they had just been forthcoming and said they didn’t want to ruin community relations.

I don’t doubt that. It was mentioned yesterday here that the change was made after that Zoom call. States (and the towns inside them) want to stay safe especially if they’ve followed rules and have low virus rates. It’s not the worst reason for a college to change their minds.

@homerdog Yep; I think, for that reason, it’s good that Amherst College is doing a closed campus where students can’t leave (with limited exceptions that need approval) and outside guests aren’t allowed on-campus (they can’t even order delivery!). The only other college I know of not allowing students to leave campus is Vassar.

[am9799]

@RosePetal35 Interesting. However, all the town’s available apartments are currently rented privately by Smith students. So they ll be around anyway. Also what about students from the other 4 colleges? Will North Hampton stop anyone from visiting the town? I feel what Smith is trying to avoid will happen anyway as there is no coordinated effort from all colleges to stop students from coming.

[homerdog]

@am9799

@RosePetal35 Interesting. However, all the town’s available apartments are currently rented privately by Smith students. So they ll be around anyway. Also what about students from the other 4 colleges? Will North Hampton stop anyone from visiting the town? I feel what Smith is trying to avoid will happen anyway as there is no coordinated effort from all colleges to stop students from coming.

I think it’s just hard for all schools in any given neighborhood to make the same decisions. There are each in their own financial position and have other factors that differentiate them. It would be ideal if colleges near each other do the same thing but not realistic.

[River65]

@EmptyNestSoon2

My kiddo’s school just upped their testing from a stated twice-a-week to thrice-a-week ;-).

Also, upon arrival, you are expected to show a negative test from your home state from within 72 hours (good luck to us, getting that done!!). Then, you check in and take Test #1, go to your room to quarantine for probably 7 days. Then if you get a negative result (expected within 24 hours, but Broad Institute is right down the street so it’s feasible), you take Test #2 on Day 4. Then if you get a negative test again, you still stay quarantined in your room and then take Test #3 on Day 7. After those 4 negative tests, I guess you are free!! One comical note, the green near these dorms is call the Yard. The kids are totally quarantined except they are allowed 30 minutes of outdoor exercise daily. We are amused comparing it to prison (OK, I know Ellen Degeneres got in a lot of trouble comparing SIP to prison given her lovely circumstances, I apologize for doing something similar). What seems especially funny to us is that she is stuck in her room except 30 daily minutes to exercise in The Yard. Very prison-like.

Is your kid going to school in Boston?

[allyphoe]

Parent rumor mill says UMass Amherst has closed their dorms to everyone except students enrolled in “essential face-to-face classes.” They’re discouraging remote students from returning to the Amherst area.

[wisteria100]

I’m sure there are a lot of business owners in Northampton that wish Smith had students coming back though. Some of those stores aren’t going to survive. The same is true in most college towns. As for Amherst the town has concerns with the UMASS off campus rentals, but the book stores surely need Amherst and UMASS and Hampshire kids shopping there this fall.

[xyz123a]

@allyphoe - no longer a rumor. Remote students will not be invited to campus.

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/education/umass-amherst-no-longer-giving-remote-students-option-to-return-to-campus-this-falll/2173372/

[CTCape]

@allyphoe

Parent rumor mill says UMass Amherst has closed their dorms to everyone except students enrolled in “essential face-to-face classes.” They’re discouraging remote students from returning to the Amherst area.

Yesterday was the day students living in the dorms signed up for move-in time slots, and just this morning I was in a parent Zoom call with the Director of Residence Life about the move-in/testing protocols and logistics. Move in starts on 8/15… There was no indication that things were suddenly tentative.

Not saying that they wouldn’t, but why go through these machinations if there’s actually a concrete plan to change course?

9:24 pm—Well, apparently the rumors are correct. DS is devastated, but he’s resilient, so I think he just needs to feel lousy for a bit, and then he will move forward. I told him that while we can’t make being at home anything like it might have been to be away for the first time, we will do whatever we can to make it not horrible. Just sad for him.

[RosePetal35]

@xyz123a

@allyphoe - no longer a rumor. Remote students will not be invited to campus.

UMass Amherst Changes Fall Reopening Plan, Limiting Which Students Can Return to Campus – NBC Boston

@allyphoe @xyz123a Not nearly as big a deal as it sounds for non-first-years. Most of the upperclassmen with all remote classes already had off-campus housing; I believe (but I could be wrong) sophomores and juniors couldn’t even apply to live on-campus this year. The all-remote seniors who were living on-campus will probably just find off-campus housing. Probably done because their plan for containing COVID-19 was woefully inadequate. Also, they are not making any adjustments to their instructional plans anyway. The “encouraging remote students to not live near Amherst” thing is just to try to score community relations points with townspeople; this move will probably actually increase the number of people living off-campus in the town. Bummer for freshmen though.