@vpa2019 agreed. I also think a mistake was not being aggressive enough with those breaking the rules.
They tested and quarantined all students during a staggered arrival, then tested like 800 students the following week. It was never a plan to test all students once a week, let alone twice.
I would be angry for sure but if my child went there I would not be surprised. Anyone that did not see the writing on that wall was not looking. Anyone know if they are getting refunds on housing? How about some of these other schools that kept the students for less than a month then sent them packing? UNC, JMU, Towson, ECU etc., etc., are they getting refunds on housing and meals?
Hard to see how schools with Greek Life can reopen safely without banning the fraternities. Schools like Williams and Bowdoin who banned fraternities long ago and have everyone living on campus all 4 years are better able to manage the logistics of dining services and testing. They can create a bubble like the NBA bubble. Having everyone in single rooms also will make a difference.
So Northeastern is not refunding room fees, but are they also not refunding tuition and meals to those who were dismissed?
Regarding Gettysburg-how many total cases do they have? I thought they had around 50 or so.
RE: Gettysburg – According to the president’s letter, 64 cases in 8 days with 31 this week. 150 students currently in quarantine due to contact tracing. Concerns over outstripping their ability to house and quarantine students as well as ability to contact trace.
My daughter commented at one point while taking classes at home that she felt she was having a breakdown. Her classes are simply too challenging and too stressful to do them while living in the vacuum that is our home. She needs some break, something to look forward to. If she stayed home she would have basically no interaction with friends. Her friends who are staying home this semester are not making good choices and she would be hanging around them.
Meanwhile at school, she reports that all her friends are complying with the rules. The are required to wear masks at all times unless in their rooms with roommates only or eating outside (and distanced while eating). It’s been HOT where she is, like feels like 115 hot, yet they are still hanging around outside with masks. She’s not hearing about parties, she has not visited her off campus friends, etc. She had two friends over the other night (they are allowed to have friends over if they live on the same floor) but they kept on their masks and distanced. She is not “basically going for a party”. She’s getting some needed social interaction but it’s been very safe. Classes have been in progress for 2 weeks and they have had 2 positive student cases in those 2 weeks. Honestly, things are much better on her campus than they are where we live.
Gettysburg is refunding 80% of r&b . The students leaving campus are doing so over the next 3 days. Classes are being postponed for a week.
Folks had an issue with the 3.75% tuition hike. Now it is really an issue.
“College professor battling coronavirus dies after collapsing during virtual class”
Let’s hope we don’t see anything like that here.
In case folks are just reading the headline, this is a professor in Argentina who died while teaching online courses (not a professor at UPenn).
It’s surprising how many parents are driving this weekend to visit towns where kids are at colleges and taking them out for lunch or dinner. I know you miss them and want to take a road trip to avoid pandemic fatigue but is it a good idea during a pandemic?
Probably not. But its happening…I’m trying to avoid it.
UW Madison trying to contain the spread in some Greek houses. A friend of mine got a call from her daughter the other day who lives in a house on campus who have several close friends in the house with symptoms and were going to get tested. Her daughter was going to get tested too even though she was not symptomatic. Her friends had gone to a fraternity party that she had chosen not to go too. They are not from one of the nine houses the University is currently worried about.
Actually, the 7-day average in MA is .9%. It’s been there for the last 3 days. That’s a new low for us. Of course, it will be interesting to see what happens in the next two weeks, after all the students return. Glad to see NEU doing its part to keep our numbers down by dismissing students who break the rules.
In terms of Broad’s testing, they are still going strong. My LAC requires everyone to get tested 2X a week. My latest result was back in 18 hours. The quick turnaround has made me feel a bit better about my decision to teach f2f this fall.
This is great—a wonderful race to zero! In the past two days since that data above, RI has had test positivity of 0.7% and also continuing an encouraging trend. 58 new cases yesterday, but 8870 tests, which was a big test day. I hope both states can continue in that direction, even with schools (college and k-12) returning. Our k-12 doesn’t start until September 14, but many colleges already back. Fingers crossed!
I also agree about Broad. My child got her third test result back from them yesterday, in less than 12 hours—the fastest for her yet. They are killing it! Ramping up capacity while maintaining excellent turnaround ( a few days they did over 60,000 tests). It definitely makes you feel safer knowing everyone around you tested negative in the past 2-3 days at these schools. I wish there were more organizations like Broad around the country—I think these colleges with the giant outbreaks could have potentially nipped at least some of that in the bud if they had access to and chosen to test all students, frequently. $25 per test is a lot and really adds up, but might well have been worth it to avoid the costly fiascos of sending kids home.
It will be interesting to see the impact of first semester results on spring semester decisions. For example, let’s say it becomes clear by the end of the semester that schools which were able to test all students 2-3x per week were able to prevent outbreaks and function well. Will schools that suffered outbreaks and had to send kids home rebound and try it again 2nd semester with a new testing strategy, or will they feel gun-shy and just stay remote? I believe we will learn a lot from all of the examples around the country this fall. But maybe if you are Gettysburg’s administration, you won’t be ready to try again until next year.
People in the Northeast shouldn’t let their guard down and prematurely congratulate themselves for jobs well done. Weather seems to be a significant factor in virus transmissions. In the hot summer months, outbreaks seem to peak in the South and Southwest as people stay indoors for the comfort of air conditioning. As cold weather approaches, similar patterns are likely to emerge, if extra precautions aren’t taken, in the Northeast and Midwest as people there move indoors to stay warm.
I couldn’t agree more about letting guards down! My own state already experienced the beginning of a 2nd curve up and had to tighten things up (for example, outdoor gathering size had worked its way up to 25 after shelter-in-place, and it got reduced to 15, which in combination with a few other things helped reign things in again). It was awful watching our numbers start to climb again—I don’t recommend it! And watching Spain, France, and so many other places—it’s clear that every place should be on its guard for resurgence. Without a doubt, the indoors is the enemy; people (and colleges!!) facing cold weather temps should all invest in outdoor patio heaters before they sell out!! I think there are many factors in addition to weather, so even the southern places that are moving toward more pleasant outdoor weather and just finished a big curve should also not get complacent. For colleges, I think this means they should help create comfortable outdoor spaces for whatever their climate demands (tents, heaters, giant fans, Fire pits, whatever). Wrapping on-campus up by Thanksgiving I think helps in a large portion of our country in terms of spending time outdoors, but will be difficult for return in January if we don’t have the virus more under control then.
Cornell has gone to yellow.
Hope after this stern warning from the administration that the students will know they are serious about no parties.
Northeastern is not messing around dismissing NUin students that violated policies with a gathering and no mask wearing. Not refunding tuition in addition to room and board *and * those students are not eligible to take classes online for the semester. Thats a $36,500 hit for those parents…OUCH
So NUIN students had no online option or they are just not allowing violators to not do online?
I think it is great if they actually do this but I think they probably do let them do online.