Harvard closing for rest of semester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Young people are minimally at risk from this virus. Why are colleges so aggressive about measures compared to other institutions like K-12 schools and workplaces? No snark intended. An honest question.

Professors.

Cleaning staff, cafeteria staff, and all the other employees that need to be there to operate a working campus with lots of students around. Their health and safety matter too and they're not in their early 20's and low risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Force move-out of dorms by Sunday, that is insane, in light of the circumstances (or lack thereof). There is no reason not to allow more time, like by the end of spring break.

Dear Harvard: just because you are among the first colleges to do this doesn't make it an example of leadership.

You can't figure out how to move out by Sunday?

My daughter’s roommate is an international student from Myanmar. Yes, let me just suggest that she visit a Home Depot in her hometown, “get some boxes, rent a van, and drive to Massachusetts.”

God, some of you are so stupid.

This is a huge inconvenience and no doubt stressful. She will have to leave her stuff. She will have to decide wether to ride it out in the US or fly home, depending on her parents' financial situation. But would you rather they had waited for a COVID-19 outbreak on campus to then disperse students? Would you rather they give people more time, increasing the opportunity for the virus to reach the campus and spread like wildfire before they can return home? This is virus is an epic phenomenon, and will end up affecting most people FAR WORSE than than it affects these college students. Of course more notice would have been fantastic, but you don't always have that luxury when there is a global emergency.

There are risks in life. If parents send their halfway around the world to college than the student and parents have to figure out away to get the student home or conversely have the student rent a room in town.

Another example of a PP who makes giant assumptions. Do you think that rooms for rent will magically be available just when students need them, at a price they can afford? In every place where students might be in need of housing? Students who already live off campus won't have to vacate so their rooms won't necessarily be available to those who have nowhere to go. I'm sure you think local residents will gladly make extra cash by renting rooms to students who can't go home if schools close, right? But what makes you think locals are going to want a stranger college kid in their homes, cash or no cash?

[jsteele]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/863766.page