Northwestern Goes Remote 1st 2 Weeks of Jan. Any others?

[Anonymous]

Oberlin’s calendar is off this year, because they modified 2020-2021 for COVID and it lead to a late start. So, they go back in early January to two weeks of classes, finals, then Winter Term for three weeks, when many kids are off campus for projects.

They is going “remote accessible” for the last two weeks of classes this semester and finals. Kids can decide whether to dial in remotely, or move back to campus and attend class in person.

I think it’s a good compromise. My kid hopes to return, but we are watching hospitalization rates and waiting to make a decision. Cleveland is deep in the weeds right now.

[Anonymous]

GW just announced they will be remote for the first week, perhaps longer.

[Anonymous]

Syracuse is postponing the spring semester for a week

[Anonymous]

Columbia too

[Anonymous]

I think it makes sense. International students may be delayed getting back due to flight cancellations or if they test positive before boarding. Other students may test positive when they get back to campus and will need to isolate. Omicron will still be around in January

[Anonymous]

Northeastern actually put out a statement that they are going back as scheduled/normal, that we all have to learn to live with Covid. I thought it was a good statement.

https://news.northeastern.edu/coronavirus/university-messages/spring-term-planning/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Columbia too

Yep.

[Anonymous]

UChicago. Delaying the start of classes one week. Then 2 weeks of online classes. Dorms will not open before Jan 20.
Two days before making this announcement, UChicago said it would make all efforts t maintain in person classes. The delay/online information was released on Dec 23, and then UChicago closed until Jan 3, making it impossible to contact the administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of this? So coming back two weeks later will do what, exactly? So stupid.

Omicron will have burnt thru the bulk of vulnerable people.

You should pay more attention to what is going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea is that students would be back on campus and be isolating for two weeks.

No one is going to be "isolating" on a college campus.

But the lack of in-person classes/extracurriculars will definitely help curb the spread. Socializing in dorms (hallways, etc) are much less dangerous than lecture halls, classrooms, etc.

Says who?
Classes are a far more controlled environment.
I agree that no one is isolating on college campuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why my DD applied to colleges in the south

Why?

Because the virus only attacks in states that aren't in the south? Wow, all those reports about hospitals closing in some southern states due to covid-caused overcrowding must have been false!

Or because you assume colleges in the south are...not very good at taking a pandemic seriously? So you can be assured your kid will go to class in person even if a virus is tearing through campus?

Either way, you're pretty ignorant and allowed your child to continue that tradition. Congrats.

DP. Also glad my DC is only applying in the South.

Because the schools in the South actually believed in and followed science. Interesting that you’re not citing data about Covid hospitalizations and severe illness (or lack thereof) on college campuses in the South. That would be because the schools did just fine, and avoided the epidemic of depression on northern campuses that locked students in their rooms. Not to mention that they actually educated their students. The students were better off on campus, socializing with kids their own age, who were all at low risk for Covid, rather than hanging out at home, spreading the virus to their elders.

Interesting how, now that Covid is rampant in the NE and DC, Covid spread is no longer caused by moral failure (And don’t say “but Omicron!” — Delta is still around in the North, and that is the cause of most of the hospitalizations).

[Anonymous]

Emory announced it will be remote until 1/31. It seems many more colleges have postponed the start of second semester or are starting with remote classes.

[Anonymous]

Rice. In the South!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The students were better off on campus, socializing with kids their own age, who were all at low risk for Covid, rather than hanging out at home, spreading the virus to their elders.

I love how people think that there are no “elders” on college campuses. Forget professors. Who do you suppose is working in the dining halls making sure your kid has food three times a day or cleaning your kid’s dorm bathroom? Plenty of universities just threw their frontline staff under the bus during this pandemic and you won’t see that on any of their Covid dashboards.

I don’t disagree with you about the importance of in-person education, especially given the dire state of mental health among college students right now. But you’re deceiving yourself if you think that it’s actually reducing overall risk instead of just offloading it onto people you never think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why my DD applied to colleges in the south

Why?

Because the virus only attacks in states that aren't in the south? Wow, all those reports about hospitals closing in some southern states due to covid-caused overcrowding must have been false!

Or because you assume colleges in the south are...not very good at taking a pandemic seriously? So you can be assured your kid will go to class in person even if a virus is tearing through campus?

Either way, you're pretty ignorant and allowed your child to continue that tradition. Congrats.

DP. Also glad my DC is only applying in the South.

Because the schools in the South actually believed in and followed science. Interesting that you’re not citing data about Covid hospitalizations and severe illness (or lack thereof) on college campuses in the South. That would be because the schools did just fine, and avoided the epidemic of depression on northern campuses that locked students in their rooms. Not to mention that they actually educated their students. The students were better off on campus, socializing with kids their own age, who were all at low risk for Covid, rather than hanging out at home, spreading the virus to their elders.

Interesting how, now that Covid is rampant in the NE and DC, Covid spread is no longer caused by moral failure (And don’t say “but Omicron!” — Delta is still around in the North, and that is the cause of most of the hospitalizations).

NP. What vast generalizations you make about regions.

My DC is at a SLAC in the Northeast. In person and on campus entirely except for the very start of the pandemic in spring of 2020. The college "believed in and followed science" rigorously, has a 99 percent vaccination rate among students AND among staff and faculty, and is requiring boosters before return. Very, very low rates of infection despite a spike just before Christmas probably due to omicron brought back from Thanksgiving. Masking everywhere including inside dorms other than in your own room. (Yes, they actually do it; we visit at times other than "parents' days" and always see kids masking in the hallways of their own dorms.)

DC has friends at various other colleges in the NE and mid-Atlantic who did the same sorts of rigorous protocols, with students buying in and keeping each other safe as much as possible.

DC's close friend at a large university in the South begged to come home because that university didn't even bother to test when the pandemic started. The attitude was "Let it rip." Had to go to all-virtual pretty quickly.

But I"m not here making gross generalizations about every school in the South based on that one school being crappy and ignorant. Yet you feel fine about claiming that schools in the North "locked students in their rooms" and had a epidemic of depression that Southern schools, one assumes based on your post, avoided entirely. Wow. If you have the stats on every single school in every single region to back up your assumptions, please do share. Some of us know that there have been colleges that handled this well in all parts of the country, and colleges that handled it badly in all parts of the country.

Interesting how you're so invested in defending a whole region and bashing another one. BTW, I'm from the South myself. I just don't feel a knee-jerk need to pretend it's perfect.