That’s why I do not understand why students were crying when sent home and I heard parents of these students were complaining to the school about it . For heavens sake!!! They all knew the expectations this fall! Students and parents are expected to sign (students) the commitment. In my opinion, if they think kids could not adhere to the guidelines, then don’t send them to school. Period. I hate for the school to shutdown because of the selfishness of the few. A lot had been done to make sure the campus can safely open. What president Casey said, why not teach the kids to think not of themselves but the public good.
As of 11:59pm of Sept 9, Colgate’s active case is down to 13. I think the school does a rolling average of positive cases.
Looking into the future?
I guess I don’t consider 6 ft spacing “far away from each other.” I have been practicing that social distancing all summer long and have had no trouble carrying on conversations with my friends.
I don’t think this spacing would hinder student interactions at all, either - it’s not like the kids would need to shout at each other in order to be heard. Yes, it would be optimal to have the professor in the room as well, but this setup is better than everyone being on zoom, imo.
6-ft spacing is only for the students who sit adjacent to each other. Other students are much further away. Adjacent students are presumably discouraged to form their own smaller discussion groups, especially in a zoom class (with many microphones turned on).
Curious NJ. How do you know? Do you teach classes? How do you know the Professor isn’t asking students to form little group to have discussion and then report out? Like the zoom breakout room.
6 ft is hardly far away at all! I’ve had great conversations with people waiting on line in the store etc, each standing even a little further than markings on the ground.
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It’s a simple mental exercise. Perhaps you never ask critical questions? I’m sure there will be classes where a professor ask students to form smaller discussion groups. But would they be common in a COVID world, where classes are already small (larger classes are almost universally remote)? Majority of classes in most colleges are lecture-based anyway, pre-COVID.
Lol!!! I meant to put Sept 5.
LOL, yes, critical questions vs critical thinking vs being critical… not all the same!
I can see a lot of benefits of this. My own kids’ school is totally remote, without this possibility, but I wish they had this going on. It seems like a good happy medium; allowing the professor and any of those in very high risk categories to be separate, but allowing the benefits of (safe) interaction to those who are comfortable with it. I think there are so many beneficial little interactions that could take place among/between the students, even with everyone masked and 6 feet away. Whether they be small conversations that occur before class starts, or little conversations after it ends—connections can be made, plans to study together, jokes, flirtations, serious efforts to partner on projects, mentoring, small talk, big talk, everything! So many more chances for important human connection in person. Plans to partner on projects, plans established to grab coffee (distanced!) after class. Recognizing someone from another class or something, and being able to chat a little and turn that into a friendship. Yes, depending on how the professor structures things, there may be better opportunity for side conversations even during the class. Being in person allows for the personal interactions like the eye roll, the knowing smile, the look of support, etc that make human interaction better. Zoom misses all of those opportunities. I also agree that 6 feet is a manageable distance to still have decent conversations (although I long for the days this wasn’t necessary).
As for the cleaning, I think that’s a minor concern, but no doubt if all of the buildings remain completely unused, unfortunately there would be a lot of custodial staff furloughed. I’m sure there is no problem with maintenance/custodial staff taking on the necessary tasks to prepare classrooms, and keep jobs. I do not know what kind of procedures for entering/existing is being referred to, but I think we all enter and exit many places without finding it too difficult to manage, with spacing between people. Overall, this sounds like a good option to me; significantly preferable to everyone being holed up in their childhood bedrooms or dorm rooms or apartment rooms by themselves on zoom. I love hearing about the range of creative ideas different schools are employing to balance safety with needed connection.
At LACs (more precisely at those discussed here, such as Colgate Bowdoin Amherst…), a large class would be 30-35 students. A typical class would be 16-18. Large lectures would be very very uncommon.
My son’s a freshman at Colgate. We just spoke with him and he says in his observation the kids in his dorm (Andrews) have been complying with the quarantine rules. He spoke with President Casey during one of their outdoor times today and was told things are looking positive for getting out of quarantine on Tuesday and moving to “Gate 1”
I don’t know about that, but I wouldn’t ask my students to go to a place that I didn’t feel like I could go myself. But that’s just me. Apparently I’m not Norm.
JMU has over 700 COVID cases and is sending students home. Dining halls were open and students took their meals indoors. Testing was not provided to all students on a regular basis. The variation among schools in terms of COVID management is significant. Seems as though more could have been done to avoid the spread of the virus.
A comment on what someone said upthread, that students who are violating rules on gatherings are acting “privileged.”
S19 is in on on-campus apartment at a hot spot school. He says there are numerous gatherings/parties on and off campus. (Yes, the campus and city police are shutting them down when they find them.) His observation is that the people involved are not necessarily privileged; rather he knows many people whose parents are anti-mask and espouse the “we’re all going to get this anyway and it’s not so bad” theory. These kids brought the attitudes from home.
The reason I asked the question about the benefits of attending a zoom class in person in the absence of the professor is that my own thoughts have evolved. I used to think it’s a good compromise, but the more I thought about it, the less convinced I am that it’s still a good idea. I understand the frustrations students and their parents feel about college-age kids stuck in their childhood bedrooms, dorm rooms, or apartments. These students all want to be with their fellow students. I’m just not convinced that classrooms during zoom classes are the best venues for social interactions. Instead of all the efforts put by colleges into modifying classrooms to conform physical distancing requirement, scheduling classes around more limited classroom spaces that resulted, and keeping the classrooms cleaned/disinfected between classes, wouldn’t the resources be better spent on creating special venues (other than classrooms) for students to “meet” in a safe environment?
In my opinion, no. Any investment on improving the academic (in person) experience is the best focus. The reason kids are in college is to learn, and learning (at least for my kids) most effective in person, so I’m glad their schools are invested in making the in person experience the best it can be in this Covid environment.
Some colleges doing okay: Hamilton College 9590 tests 0.0% positive, Bates 4987 tests .04% positive (2 positive cumulative), Trinity 4313 tests (1) positive, Babson 7645 tests .05% positive. Not all are remote, some are urban and some suburban. All participate with Broad Institute for robust testing including pre campus, arrival 24 hrs and repeated twice per week asymptomatic of all students faculty staff and vendors.
More and more I feel as though you have to look at the soup these colleges exist in.
You can list Oberlin among the handful of elite colleges without a covid-19 dashboard. I looked for it while replying to an Obie alum and found the Ohio state dashboard (county by county) instead.