Yes—everyone (students/faculty/staff) living near the school (and anyone not living near the school but needing to come to campus for any reason) is tested. You cannot enter any campus building without a recent negative test.
@ProfSD I have tried to bring the conversations around to what the policy is and what the students should be doing to abide by the policy (staying on campus). While most are on board there are some that just keep pushing back and don’t seem to get how lucky we are right now and how quickly that can change. I was very happy to see the video that went out today from the school, clearly laying out the stay on campus policy. My D was very frustrated with having to leave campus last year and is torn by seeing some of her friends not following the guidelines so that they can stay on campus this semester. I will be very curious to see how this weekend goes with everyone free from quarantine and some students getting “bored” with the restrictions. Sadly, someone is liable to be made an example of.
@circuitrider I have no idea, nor do I really care. There has been enough finger pointing to groups as it is. It’s the freshmen, its the upperclassmen, it’s the full pay. The school either works together as a community or it doesn’t. We don’t need to use generalizations to play the blame game. We simply need all to row in one direction. Blame only falls to the individuals who are too selfish to pull together.
@AsMother Ahhh if only we were doing waste water testing! This idea could work wonders…
@HamSBDad Agree with you. The small schools have some of the most restrictive plans and the hope is if things go well some of those can be loosened. BUT- people have to realize that the schools need some time to assess what is working and what rules can possibly be lifted. One week in is not enough time. If things go well for a month well then maybe it could be time to reassess. I do worry about weekends and think the schools need to offer some activities. It’s not just parties that kids are missing. Weekends had been filled with attending games and playing club or varsity sports, play practice or a capella group meetings, outdoor club experiences etc. Now all that is gone. Schools do need to help create some options to fill those voids.
I am currently in the vicinity of UT Austin, which just opened up for the term recently. Drove around the campus, nearby area and where the Greek houses are. More than half the students maskless, and lots of large clusters, restaurant patrons sitting packed together. We did not get out of the car. Looked no different than last year when I visited here.
Are they going to be posting COViD19 testing results? Are they tracking?
The problem with lack of activities is occurring at larger schools as well. I hear it from both my son and my parents Facebook group. Kids are bored. There are no sports and no activities. You can only watch tv and play video games for so long. My son reports that since classes are online for now, the only time he and his friends leave their apartment is to go to the gym and occasionally grocery shop. They have found a public basketball court in town and have gone there to play a couple times. Kids are out roaming looking for things to do. If the schools don’t come up with something parties are inevitable.
Many, if not most, of out of state students had to quarantine for two weeks prior to moving to campus. And NY state’s overall numbers have been fantastic for quite a while.
D is reporting staying very busy at Purdue. Here’s the link to this weekend’s activities: https://boilerlink.purdue.edu/events
While most are being held virtually, there are outdoor events happening as well… I know both of my D’s clubs are having “call outs” this weekend - one virtually and the other hosting a socially distanced ice cream social. She’s also involved in diversity training both today and tomorrow from 9:30 - 2.
The boiler link above doesn’t include seminars, workshops, or lectures which are also being held daily.
Certainly it’s not the same as going to games and concerts but students (and parents) knew that before going back this semester.
It is updated daily.
Ohio State now updating dashboard daily. Also now report student cumulative, 7 day average and 24 hour cases and positivity percentages.
https://safeandhealthy.osu.edu/
Also suspending all in person organization events through September 9. I believe they have more than 1,000 student organizations.
So far, Purdue seems to be the poster child for how to do this right. Let’s hope it continues to work for them and other schools can learn from what they are doing.
My son brought Spike Ball to campus and has made a lot of friends this way. Outdoor games are a great solution to boredom. Can Jam, Corn Hole, football, frisbee, etc. They have to wear masks outside, but it’s still better than sitting inside on a computer and a better solution to partying. Also, I’m sure every campus across the country has some hiking trails nearby.
Several of my son’s friends (all engineering majors) would disagree. One only left his room to get food and go to class over 4 years. Rest of the time was spent playing computer/video games and sleeping. LOL
Ultimately like a lot of things, it depends on the kids. Some are very social. Preferring to spend lots of time with large groups. Often in indoor spaces. Others are not as social and prefer to socialize in small groups. Often with the same small group of people. Often outside.
And a lot of kids will adapt. Something of a if you can’t socialize the way you love, love the socialization you can type of approach.
@taverngirl Good points, but you can’t go hiking on a trail if you’re not allowed to leave campus!
True. I guess you are at Amherst? I’ve not heard of any other schools that aren’t allowing students to leave campus.
One problem with colleges organizing or sanctioning gatherings as an alternative to parties is that it may violate the local county’s health order, even if the gatherings are designed as low risk (outdoors, physical distancing, masks).
In San Diego County, gatherings of ANY size are still banned, which means that four kids not in the same household getting together to play Spikeball is unlawful, though obviously that’s not the kind of thing that’s going to be enforced. UCSD expects to have 14,500 students on campus, not far off the capacity of 17,600. Small groups of kids getting together on their own on the lawns or at the beach should be fine, but I can’t see how the university or student groups can lawfully organize group activities like an ice cream social.
By the way, gyms in San Diego are currently closed for indoor operations, but have been given the green light to reopen (if the county health officer approves), but at only 10 percent capacity. So not much relief there for students looking for healthy outlets to let off steam.
My son is currently deciding whether to accept housing at UC-Davis as a first year. Unlike UCSD, they’ve reduced capacity significantly. I’m not sure by how much, but they normally have doubles and triples but this year will house everyone in a single. The housing department sent out a rather grim email detailing what campus living will look like, including the fact that almost all social gatherings organized by the RAs will be via Zoom, to comply with local gathering rules. There “may” be some very small in-person group activities outside with masks.
@taverngirl – Colgate has everyone confined to campus for the first 14 days. Actually, confined to own room except for a two hour break each morning and afternoon. Yale has students confined to own residential colleges for 14 days, including spacious courtyards with limited outdoor activities–like corn hole and student council events outdoors.
@taverngirl there are schools besides Amherst that are attempting to restrict students to campus.
@wisteria100 Yes, one week or two weeks is most definitely not enough time. The initial test is if schools can get through the first 3-4 weeks without any spread. Then it is constant vigilance to not bring Covid back on campus. One week in and starting up the party machine already is not going to work. Administrations won’t be tolerating that and it won’t go well for some students. I agree that the schools need to put forth some sort of activities to keep students from getting bored but at the same time, the students do need to take some responsibility themselves. Fingers crossed, this all works. Strange, strange times.