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

Parents Forum
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I don’t think the choices for analyzing college reopenings are limited to being either pessimistic or optimistic. In between the two extremes there’s plenty of space for realism.

There are schools that are small enough and remote enough that they can probably make it through the fall without having to change to all remote classes. There are some that are so large and in such heavily populated areas that they’re going to face challenges that remote schools won’t, but there are also many that fall between the two extremes. They’re not huge or in densely populated areas, but they aren’t what I call remote either. What happens at any of them will depend on a lot of factors.

I watched the devastation unfold in NYC a on a daily basis. High population density + inadequate testing is not a good combination. Toss in unsafe behavior and you have a recipe for a terrible situation. But you don’t have to engage in unsafe activities to contract Covid. A study conducted in NY in the spring reported that many people were getting it at home. They weren’t working or shopping or traveling on the subway every day. But they had family members who were.

I think the same will be true of college students. Asymptomatic people may bring it in and pass it along before anyone realizes they have it, so I expect there will be outbreaks. I think the key to containing them is to do adequate amounts of testing and contact tracing and to have enough space to isolate/quarantine as needed. I don’t think all colleges have that. They’re going to need to be extra vigilant.

College students started returning to our state over a week ago so I’m keeping an eye on the numbers on our state dashboard. So far, they look good. I hope that continues to be the case.

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More good news. I have one at Elon, which opened yesterday. About 10% of their classes went online, rest are hybrid or in person. My D reports her classes are great, everyone is mask wearing and distanced, and she is so happy to be back on campus. Rumor has it school already suspended some athletes who exceeded the group size limitations. So far, so good.

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I guess my concern with the “positive” accounts here is that many of those schools are not testing asymptomatic students. Isn’t that the same as looking the other way? Sure, those kids are hopefully following the rules and eating outside and masked when expected but how many of them have the virus? I’m not trying to be negative. Just trying to understand.

Are some families and colleges ok with not really knowing who might be spreading the virus because, hopefully, the faculty and staff are safe with distancing and mask measures? And are families ok with not having their kids tested regularly and just tested if they feel sick? Again, no judgement. Just trying to understand. I mean, our kids have been out and about this summer with their friends and we haven’t been testing them on a regular basis and they could have contracted the virus at any point so is that the same? We only had S19 tested last week because he was leaving for Maine.

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30000 tests done at Purdue. Only 231 positive students, who are not permitted to come to campus and move in.

The vast majority of students are back to campus and have been since Monday. Reports are overwhelming positive about compliance.

An Orientation group witnessed a crowded off campus pool deck. Photos were taken and sent to the dean of students. Based on yesterday’s letter, those students and that complex will face harsh repercussions.

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IMO, going away to college right now is the preferable option for those who have the option…except for that danged, pesky COVID thing. I’ve stated a number of times that the chances of this virus causing death or hospitalization to the college age crowd is small. Smaller than the influenzas that hit each year. We take greater risks all of the time for severe consequences. The question that looms is that of long term consequences. I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that those who go off to college right now, especially into dorms and communal eating, are highly likely to catch COVID. I do not believe that the majority of college students are going to adhere to behavior to keep those numbers in check.

So given the consequences for that crowd right now, statistically, and long term issues still unknown, I am not one bit surprised that many parents and kids are chomping at the bit to get to college. Just as I understand why many businesses, especially the smaller ones, are anxious to get moving full swing. The consequences of being closed down hurt.

Where I am surprised is when I see high risk folks taking direct contact risks. I’m seeing it a lot, and if that many folks, and the folks I know, who have decided waiting another year or even half year before socializing closely Is not worth it, this virus has ample fodder to spread like wildfire. My head is still spinning over the family I know, posing with family members for photos, maskless at a funeral, with clearly no regard for safety. Some of those there are from Florida and their small kids are in school. They’ve full decided it isn’t worth it to socially distance

Which means, to me, that attitude is going to be present at the colleges , and it doesn’t take many like that to spread this virus.

I’m apprehensive about NYC schools opening, but there were other severe factors weighing against keeping these schools closed. In many school districts where performance and learning are not where they should be, the online and assignment packet approach was a disaster. These kids lost a year of school, are looking to not only lose another, but also a thread to connect them to a whole different world than unsafe home environments and attitudes. Still, I’m concerned and looking to see if there will be another surge. Will large number of kids die and get seriously ill? What about the general population when these kids get infected, and bring it back to families who then spread it into the neighborhoods and city at large? I’m worried, yes.

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I think the thread feels negative sometimes because (1) we have some pretty vocal posters who lived through the worst of this virus in the NE and some of us in areas that were less affected have a hard time understanding what they’ve gone through and (2) we have faculty here who see the parties on campuses and are honestly worried about getting sick from students who don’t follow the rules.

I, for one, completely understand wanting to go back to school. For us, S19 is taking a break because we weren’t ready to pull the trigger on full pay remote learning for fall. Luckily, he’s found something very productive to do that would have never happened if he took class this fall. He would have never searched it out so would not have found it and his internship could turn into something long term if all goes well. We are seriously considering spring remote classes for him. He’s living with students taking class so he will have a good idea of how that works out. I doubt Bowdoin will discount tuition in the spring since that would negate their decision for no discount this fall but we will have him go back to school if that’s what he chooses. We are hoping that remote learning 2.0 for this school year irons out any kinks by spring.

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Good to hear. We dropped D19 off on Monday and she was thrilled to be back on campus. She has 4 classes - 1 on-line, 1 in-person, and 2 hybrids (one being a lab).

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I have been very impressed with how Elon is managing the situation. Their COVID dashboard is the most comprehensive I have seen anywhere, and they really did utilize every available bit of space to move classes around for distancing.

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I hope folks continue to update as students return to school and begin classes. @ProfSD, your point of view as faculty and parent has been valuable to this thread, please keep posting. My students are heading to their very different campuses next week and I will update with news, positive (hopefully) or negative. I am appreciative of those who have kept us updated with news and perspective from March through today. It has been helpful in many ways.

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UGA https://www.ajc.com/education/uga-reports-47-new-covid-19-cases-in-last-week/UISZMTGQBBDWZIS4P3LTICEHK4/

they are testing asymptomatic , and yesterday tested 800 and found 3 positives.

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And this is an excellent decision for your family but it’s not the best decision for everyone. I think in the next few weeks we will see how this all shakes out and the successes and the failures. Hopefully the colleges will learn from each other.

As far as testing not everyone needs to be tested. Yes, in a perfect world every morning every child would be tested. But that’s not going to happen. Just one day without testing is a question mark. So the kids have to do their best and actually make an effort to comply with the rules. Think colleges might be giving out harsher repercussions going forward. No college wants to shut down or go all online so one fraternity can have a bash . Either the students want to be on campus and make it work or they don’t. This situation is solely in their hands. The universities can only do so much. They have to sorta self monitor themselves or this won’t work out at all.

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Dartmouth delays undergrad arrivals.

Dartmouth says it will delay for at least a week giving out undergraduate arrival dates and room assignments for students taking classes on campus this fall, “as it continues to monitor the progression of COVID-19 cases as well as the effect it has on peer institutions where students have returned to campus.”

https://www.concordmonitor.com/covid-coronavirus-nh-new-hampshrie-35826194

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https://onwardstate.com/2020/08/20/videos-surface-appearing-to-show-rowdy-gatherings-outside-east-halls/

And another example at Penn State of kids that just don’t seem to understand…smh.

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Penn State freshman started staggered move in Monday. Multiple videos posted of huge gatherings, maskless, from last night. Dancing, chanting, acting like fools. A very poor look.

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What bothers me is that when an outbreak occurs at a school…all of the students seem to be blamed. We have to remember that many students (even most) are following the rules. One or two gatherings can (and will) spread like wildfire.

I think this is easier to manage in smaller schools.

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MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Might I remind members of the forum rules: “Our forum is expected to be a friendly and welcoming place.”
https://www.collegeconfidential.com/policies/rules

Let’s support each other instead of throwing shade. If a user says something works fir her family but might not work for others, no need to reply that it won’t work for yours.

Additionally, College Confidential is not a debate society, so please don’t create posts simply to refute another opinion point by point

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Hopefully, the virus is not passed through twerking.

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Just for positivity…

In the sprite of Tufts blanket idea, I have though of an idea of how colleges could encourage safe partying. Glowing Hula Hoops! Find an open green space, hire a band, wait until after dark and party! The kids just have the lay the hoop on the ground and stay in it. All the coloured lights will give a psychedelic feel.

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[quote=“2ndthreekids”]

First, I wish you the best, LuckyJade. Stay positive. It is absolutely possible to mitigate a great deal of risk of contracting the virus by consistently following protocol of avoiding large social gatherings, wearing a mask when in the presence of others, washing hands, using sanitizer consistently after touching surfaces, and otherwise being smart. This may mean tough choices when friends want to go to large gatherings or not mask. But it is not impossible.

Statements like this make me want to stop reading this thread all together.

I totally understand that it’s impossible to test enough to catch all cases right away and that different colleges need to have different plans. There will be some luck involved too and, of course, adherence to guidelines is a big help. Will Duke’s plan catch some asymptomatic cases. Sounds like it! Will it catch them all? No. But what college’s plan will? Even Bowdoin with only 600 kids on campus, all but one class remote, testing three times a week for a month and then twice a week will miss cases but will hopefully catch them on the second time they test. In between a negative test and a positive test, people are contagious so there could be spread. The only thing schools can do to help during that time period is hope kids are abiding by the rules. It’s a multi-layered approach at all schools. Some just have more layers than others.

I will be curious how schools like Elon will find all cases once someone is symptomatic and tests positive. I hope their contact tracing kicks in but then what? They test the contacts of the positive student. Some of those are positive and they test their contacts and so on. Tests need to come back quickly to stop that initial case from spreading. And do we know if someone with very mild symptoms will go get a test?

I really do understand that a lot of these kids won’t be too sick and will likely recover just fine. I’m not feeling alarmist. Just pointing out that some schools are trying to keep cases super low and have that expectation while others might be ok with virus spread and will keep kids at school. While ND might send kids home with seemingly only mild cases (we haven’t seen any updates on hospitalization), some big state schools might keep students in dorms and in class even with a lot of cases. Time will tell.

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Wondering how K-12 and colleges might improve the experience even more for their students, I stumbled across this:

https://www.theclearmask.com/

This mask was apparently developed by Deaf people, to improve nonverbal communication and reduce anxiety.

As of now, in my European country, children and college students may take their masks off in the classroom once they are in their (socially distanced) assigned seats, but experts are already warning that with the current surge in cases all over Europe, rules might be tightened.

I haven’t used these masks, just now read about them, but wonder whether new mask technology that enables everyone to see one another’s faces might go a long way in alleviating both social and learning concerns, particularly for elementary school children.

Yeah, I am among the more pessimistic posters, thinking that we are in this for the long haul, but I think we are underestimating human ingenuity and kids’ resilience, and I am thrilled that some schools [and student bodies!) appear to make things work.