Tales From America's Covid Campuses

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I see no way to manage a pandemic with dorms and greek housing in play. Community bathrooms and close living quarters, even on campuses where all kids are in singles are petri dishes. My friend's son has been back at LSU for less than 2 weeks and he has tested positive for COVID along with 12 other guys in his fraternity house. He cannot travel home. He has an inhaler and steroids and she's worried sick about him. She didn't want him to go back but he did.

There are several campuses where whole fraternity and sorority houses are on quarantine because of multiple positive cases in the houses. I don't know what the right answer is. How many house associations/corps can pay the mortgage without the students paying rent? Not many, I'm guessing. The response has been mucked up from the beginning and we are far past the possibility of containment.

All of this. And it's just going to keep happening. And then students are potentially missing a week+ of classes. My mom had COVID (and fortunately made a full recovery!), and her whole company was working from home, but she had numerous days where she'd log in, start working, and very quickly realize she felt too miserable to even sit up in bed and type.

And then professors are having to figure out how to have students make up the work. Imagine having to miss two weeks of class when you have a lab, for example. I started my college career in engineering, and I had to take Chemistry, which had both a lecture and lab component. The lab was once a week for three hours. I missed one lab because I was sick, and arranging to make up that class was a pain in the a**! Imagine missing two to three weeks and then having to work with the poor professors who have to help everyone figure all this out.

I also understand it's difficult to teach a class such as that when it's virtual, and it becomes observational rather than hands-on, but isn't that better than dealing with the chaos?

But again, the US could have handled this so much better, and we didn't. And half this country believes in social distancing and wearing masks, and the others don't. So... this is where we're at.

As for the military being an option- my son's buddy in the Marines is quarantined on their base because there are so many positive cases. There is also no way for them to social distance, so that's not a great answer either.

I'm relieved my kids are grown and working in jobs they can work from home.

Exactly. The military isn't necessarily a better option. I wonder what their recruitment practices look like right now? My brother joined the Army years ago, and I went to his basic training graduation and saw the barracks, and let me tell you... it's not any better than college dorms. In fact, they're worse. At least in the dorms there are only two people to a room. Do a Google search on "Fort Jackson barracks" (or any military base, really), and you'll see that this shouldn't be a recommended course of action for avoiding COVID.

If I was 18 and was looking to start college this year, I'd probably put it off entirely if it was possible. Or attend a community college with online courses, save some money, and start my on-campus college career later. The thing is, everyone is in the same boat and struggling in the same ways right now, so the "fear of missing out" isn't really as strong as it would be under normal circumstances. And I wouldn't want my freshman year to be all about sitting in my dorm all the time, wearing masks, not being able to socialize, and taking most of my classes online.

[*winter*]

I actually went to Basic at Ft Jackson.

I didn’t say it’s safer (obviously since people are still getting deployed), but to me, it would be better than sitting in my hometown working a minimum wage job and taking substandard classes.

But maybe I think that way because I always wish I’d have gone on active duty?

I just feel so bad for this generation.

[VioletsAreBlue]

I was in my schools discussions around reopening, and honestly, no matter which way you went, there are no winners. We announced intentions to remain virtual very early on, as soon as we got state approval, and then our tech team worked with each faculty member to develop their programs for online delivery (as opposed to zoom teaching that was the spring). We got a lot of appreciation from our student body for that "at least we know", and our tuition points and enrollment numbers remained really strong, but we took a major revenue hit - in the tune of multi-millions of dollars - in housing. We've had furloughs, massive budget cuts, and I expect that more is coming.
Truth be told, not every school can sustain that kind of loss.

Then you had the schools that were determined to open no matter what and then realized that they couldn't pull it off, pissing off parents and student who in some cases were literally en route to school, or in other cases, had the plug pulled the day or a few days after tuition, room and board were due in full (yes, that was calculated, don't be fooled).

Then you had the schools who opened no matter what, and their biggest fault was not being transparent ENOUGH. I GUARANTEE YOU, every single higher ed professional KNEW dorms are the problem. They knew that within in a matter of weeks, if not days, they were going to be at this point. They knew the measures that would be taken when an outbreak happened and while yes, those measures were communicated, it wasin a slew of welcome back messaging, that had people 1) excited about the return and 2) felt really positive about the safety measures on campus. It was always "if" there was an outbreak, not "when." It was "infected students will be isolated" not "entire dorms may be isolated" making it seems like case-by-case. It was "isolated students will be taken care of" not "isolated students will be cared for and should be prepared to see health staff in extensive PPE to mitigate spread," etc.

And then, I hate to say it, you have the ignorance of those who didn't think this would be an issue. We are in a global pandemic, how anybody couldn't see this coming on college campuses, I truly don't understand. I suppose I can be okay with the students not understanding. But I truly don't understand the older adults in this mess who are complaining about the student experience. To them, I say, what did you expect and how did you think it was going to happen that way? Because this was ALWAYS going to be it and everybody in higher ed knew it.

And the most frustrating thing about it? It didn't have to be this way.

[Sen's Revenge]

It really didn't have to be!

[OldFLDDD]

My 20 y.o. daughter is off campus at South Carolina. She and her roommate stay in their bubble and don't socialize but all of the other kids she knows are partying like crazy and most have gotten COVID. I know I'm not in that age group anymore, but I'm a rule follower by nature. If I had gone to school and my President told me that, in order to have any kind of normal this school year, I needed to stay put and not socialize in large groups, I would have obeyed. As an adult, I have been socializing only on occasion, outdoors, in small, socially-distanced groups. It's fine. I just don't see why so many students NEED to party. And of course when alcohol in thrown in the mix, any distancing is completely out the window.

[ForeverRoses]

Originally Posted by *winter*

Honestly, if I had a kid, I think I’d just suggest going active duty in the military for a few years and just doing college when they’re done. My friend’s daughter was going back and forth about doing AD before college, or joining the Reserves, and she’s pretty much committed to AD since this has all happened.

There’s no way the current college “experience” is worth full tuition...

My oldest looked into this and discovered he isn't able to serve in the military. In fact none of my three can serve based on the current disqualifiers.

[MSKKG]

Found out that Pref at Ole Miss will be virtual. The COVID-19 numbers are low, so I guess they want to keep it that way. Sisterhood Round is Tues., Wed., and Thurs. Friday was supposed to be a rest day, but Pref will be Friday and Saturday. Bid Day is Sunday.

[PersistentDST]

Originally Posted by VioletsAreBlue

I was in my schools discussions around reopening, and honestly, no matter which way you went, there are no winners. We announced intentions to remain virtual very early on, as soon as we got state approval, and then our tech team worked with each faculty member to develop their programs for online delivery (as opposed to zoom teaching that was the spring). We got a lot of appreciation from our student body for that "at least we know", and our tuition points and enrollment numbers remained really strong, but we took a major revenue hit - in the tune of multi-millions of dollars - in housing. We've had furloughs, massive budget cuts, and I expect that more is coming.
Truth be told, not every school can sustain that kind of loss.

Then you had the schools that were determined to open no matter what and then realized that they couldn't pull it off, pissing off parents and student who in some cases were literally en route to school, or in other cases, had the plug pulled the day or a few days after tuition, room and board were due in full (yes, that was calculated, don't be fooled).

Then you had the schools who opened no matter what, and their biggest fault was not being transparent ENOUGH. I GUARANTEE YOU, every single higher ed professional KNEW dorms are the problem. They knew that within in a matter of weeks, if not days, they were going to be at this point. They knew the measures that would be taken when an outbreak happened and while yes, those measures were communicated, it wasin a slew of welcome back messaging, that had people 1) excited about the return and 2) felt really positive about the safety measures on campus. It was always "if" there was an outbreak, not "when." It was "infected students will be isolated" not "entire dorms may be isolated" making it seems like case-by-case. It was "isolated students will be taken care of" not "isolated students will be cared for and should be prepared to see health staff in extensive PPE to mitigate spread," etc.

And then, I hate to say it, you have the ignorance of those who didn't think this would be an issue. We are in a global pandemic, how anybody couldn't see this coming on college campuses, I truly don't understand. I suppose I can be okay with the students not understanding. But I truly don't understand the older adults in this mess who are complaining about the student experience. To them, I say, what did you expect and how did you think it was going to happen that way? Because this was ALWAYS going to be it and everybody in higher ed knew it.

And the most frustrating thing about it? It didn't have to be this way.

This. All of this.

As of today, the campus is slightly less than 50% virtual. We don’t have the testing capacity that I’ve heard about at other schools, so they are only testing those with symptoms, which doesn’t necessarily help the cause. They are trying to be transparent with weekly videos and updates, but the news isn’t going to make everyone happy. Alas, week two is almost complete.

Meanwhile, there are videos on Snapchat from students at my alma mater who are advertising parties or who have videos of parties which are in real time. I have family and other loved ones who work there and I worry about their safety, as their numbers slowly creep up.

I miss interacting directly with my students, doing programming and having impromptu group conversations in the office. They bring me a lot of joy and it’s been a rough past two years. I asked to work from home because I can’t afford to be in a high traffic area and put my parents (the only other humans I’ve visited since March) at risk.

I feel bad for everyone in the equation, especially students. This isn’t the optimum experience, but honestly I don’t think there is one during a global pandemic. It’s well above my pay grade anyway. Colleges and universities have been exposed in many ways. But, if people want to get through this, precautions have to be followed. Parties have to be missed. Masks should cover mouths and noses. Interactions should be limited. It’s not fun. Everyone’s not happy. Inconveniences and disappointments are aplenty. This could’ve been avoided, but we are here and it has to be a commitment.

[Pikefest]

I don’t think college kids getting COVID is the worst thing in the world. If the alternative is to stay in some form of lock down status for 2 or 3 years, I’ll take my chances. And these kids who have virtually 0 chance of needing to be hospitalized shouldn’t be asked to shoulder any of the burden.

[chi-o_cat]

Originally Posted by Pikefest

I don’t think college kids getting COVID is the worst thing in the world. If the alternative is to stay in some form of lock down status for 2 or 3 years, I’ll take my chances. And these kids who have virtually 0 chance of needing to be hospitalized shouldn’t be asked to shoulder any of the burden.

I guess all the cafeteria workers and dorm housekeeping staff should just suck it up and not worry about catching the virus (and bringing it it back home to their household) because as long as all the 18-22 year-old students are going to recover quickly and move on, that's the important part.

[Pikefest]

Originally Posted by chi-o_cat

I guess all the cafeteria workers and dorm housekeeping staff should just suck it up and not worry about catching the virus (and bringing it it back home to their household) because as long as all the 18-22 year-old students are going to recover quickly and move on, that's the important part.

They are free to quarantine themselves. Are you ok doing this for another year? How about two? Do you worry about the mental health of these kids? I don’t think what we’re doing is sustainable.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by Pikefest

I don’t think college kids getting COVID is the worst thing in the world. If the alternative is to stay in some form of lock down status for 2 or 3 years, I’ll take my chances. Enjoy your hospitalization, college student. Then enjoy paying taxes for the next 45 years to cover the federally insured medical costs of those you infected.

And these kids who have virtually 0 chance of needing to be hospitalized shouldn’t be asked to shoulder any of the burden. Which kids might those be, Dr. Kildare?

.

[PGD-GRAD]

HANG ONTO YOUR HATS....

IU just recommended that ALL 40 Greek houses close—they are apparently all full of COVID-19...but then it’s not due to big parties either...just the situation I guess.
So now SEVERAL THOUSAND students are going to be hunting for housing in Bloomington, IN...which I think will spread it even quicker into the general community.

This “IU Daily Student” has this on the front page. This is going to leave EVERY housing corporation cash-strapped and scrambling to help their undergraduate brothers and sisters. I expect that IU may have a few rooms open....but nothing like what’s needed.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by PGD-GRAD

HANG ONTO YOUR HATS....

IU just recommended that ALL 40 Greek houses close—they are apparently all full of COVID-19...but then it’s not due to big parties either...just the situation I guess.
So now SEVERAL THOUSAND students are going to be hunting for housing in Bloomington, IN...which I think will spread it even quicker into the general community.

This “IU Daily Student” has this on the front page. This is going to leave EVERY housing corporation cash-strapped and scrambling to help their undergraduate brothers and sisters. I expect that IU may have a few rooms open....but nothing like what’s needed.

Whew, thank goodness IT'S ONLY RECOMMENDED, NOT MANDATORY.

[Sister Havana]

PGD-GRAD, you beat me to it. Here’s the story from the IDS. And here’s the IU website with information on COVID-19 in communal living environments. (Mostly Greek houses, but also includes Evans Scholars and Christian Student Foundation. This does not include any of the unhoused chapters.)

I wouldn’t be surprised if IU goes all virtual sooner rather than later.