Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is stressing me out.

My kid is supposed to go to new student orientation in early June and move into the dorms on August 15. Is this even going to happen?

For 30 years, the school I worked at had orientation the first 3 days kids arrived in August. They could do that again.

Was it a large state school with 30K kids. The small schools do it at the beginning of school. The larger schools break it up.

Anonymous wrote:I'm more worried about my HS senior's graduation being canceled. We've been told to prepare our kids for that reality. DC will be going to a UC in California and they are on the quarter system, so late September start. I think they'll be fine with start date.

Best wishes and good health to everyone. I saw this on social media yesterday about the class of 2020:

They came into this world in the days of 9/11 and they are graduating high school during a pandemic. They’ll be our strongest generation yet.

I am not sure how being a newborn in late 2001 shaped our kids personalities. I think the Newtown shooting was a bigger event to them.

Assuming that the virus is still around (it will be) and we are successful in flattening the curve, here's what I could see happening with colleges/incoming freshmen:

Orientation - Make it OPTIONAL! DD is a college freshman. We did not get much at all out of her orientation, other than setting her schedule for the fall semester. We live close-by and she had already been for multiple visit days. So we got very little new information from orientation. The info we did receive could have been delivered via email or video. She could have signed up for classes via zoom or a one-on-one appt rather than an entire day of orientation. She did get info about the on-campus organizations, but she got all that again during orientation events her first week on campus. She could have easily opted out of orientation, but other kids never visited campus before orientation. So make it optional.

Online classes - Let professors decide and/or keep the large lecture classes online. It might be necessary to do more online due to a shortage of faculty. I can imagine that faculty members who are planning to retire in a the next few years will go ahead and decide to retire early so that they aren't exposed. Professors with compromised immune systems might opt for online or leave the teaching field.

bars/restaurants - Keep them open but require them to close early (10 or 11) to deter partiers.

Dorms - Increase cleaning, obviously. Deter elevator use when it is not necessary. Fill rooms that have private bathrooms before communal bathroom by reducing the rates. Dining halls could consider meal delivery. Colleges that require freshmen to live on campus could lift that requirement for the year.

These are strange times, but this country does not have the attention span for a prolonged effort to fight this thing. We will become desensitized eventually. So I think school will go on in the fall, but colleges should take a lot of precautions to prevent the spread on campus as much as possible

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they will go. We are not eradicating this, merely flattening the curve. By summer we will have passed the initial leap and have settled in to a new normal. Yes there will be continued cases but this age group will likely remain minimally affected and likely be the first to move forward.

I wouldn’t be so sure. These diseases always see a resurgence as the weather turns colder and there will almost certainly be a second spike in infections. There have also been a surprisingly significant number of patients in younger age cohorts and the sort of communal living on college campuses is an ideal environment for spreading the disease.

Hopefully, the second wave will involve reduced severity of symptoms, thus less likely to involve campus closures.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they will go. We are not eradicating this, merely flattening the curve. By summer we will have passed the initial leap and have settled in to a new normal. Yes there will be continued cases but this age group will likely remain minimally affected and likely be the first to move forward.

I wouldn’t be so sure. These diseases always see a resurgence as the weather turns colder and there will almost certainly be a second spike in infections. There have also been a surprisingly significant number of patients in younger age cohorts and the sort of communal living on college campuses is an ideal environment for spreading the disease.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they will go. We are not eradicating this, merely flattening the curve. By summer we will have passed the initial leap and have settled in to a new normal. Yes there will be continued cases but this age group will likely remain minimally affected and likely be the first to move forward.

But a lot of the faculty and staff are older and may not be thrilled to be in rooms with dozens or hundreds of kids that live in an institution. Especially since their work can largely be done online, albeit imperfectly (unlike the work of prison guards or nursery home workers).

Anonymous wrote:This is stressing me out.

My kid is supposed to go to new student orientation in early June and move into the dorms on August 15. Is this even going to happen?

For 30 years, the school I worked at had orientation the first 3 days kids arrived in August. They could do that again.

I’ve suggested a GAP year to my DD. She’s not sure. She’s not sure what she’d do. So I suggested a year of CC while everything gets settled. She said she’d lose the scholarships she’s been offered since they are for freshman only (4 year scholarships). I suggested accepting an offer to one of the local schools and live at home (seems a possibility). Honestly, I can only imagine how stressed the seniors feel-they are venturing into adulthood and it’s a crazy time.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they will go. We are not eradicating this, merely flattening the curve. By summer we will have passed the initial leap and have settled in to a new normal. Yes there will be continued cases but this age group will likely remain minimally affected and likely be the first to move forward.

Yes, this is what public health experts seem to be saying (and what makes logical sense): https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/how-we-beat-coronavirus/608389/

Yes, they will go. We are not eradicating this, merely flattening the curve. By summer we will have passed the initial leap and have settled in to a new normal. Yes there will be continued cases but this age group will likely remain minimally affected and likely be the first to move forward.

Hope you don't have vulnerable people in your home.

Your kid will be out with the public all day.

Breathe. It's going to be okay. Young people are going to be okay. They may a delay, but they will get there. My son just applied for a job at a grocery store that is hiring temp workers to meet demand. If he needs to work for a year and then go off to college, it will be fine.

Follow the kid’s lead. If they’re not upset, parents shouldn’t be either. If they are, be empathetic.

But there will be no in-person graduations for the class of 2020.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm more worried about my HS senior's graduation being canceled. We've been told to prepare our kids for that reality. DC will be going to a UC in California and they are on the quarter system, so late September start. I think they'll be fine with start date.

Best wishes and good health to everyone. I saw this on social media yesterday about the class of 2020:

They came into this world in the days of 9/11 and they are graduating high school during a pandemic. They’ll be our strongest generation yet.

That literally brings tears to my eyes. I was six months pregnant on 9/11; he was born in December.

Best wishes to all our seniors.

Same here. Another December 2001 boy. I think I’m more upset than he is.

My Dec 2001 boys doesn’t seem to care much. He’s staying home, but it isn’t fazing him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm more worried about my HS senior's graduation being canceled. We've been told to prepare our kids for that reality. DC will be going to a UC in California and they are on the quarter system, so late September start. I think they'll be fine with start date.

Best wishes and good health to everyone. I saw this on social media yesterday about the class of 2020:

They came into this world in the days of 9/11 and they are graduating high school during a pandemic. They’ll be our strongest generation yet.

That literally brings tears to my eyes. I was six months pregnant on 9/11; he was born in December.

Best wishes to all our seniors.

Same here. Another December 2001 boy. I think I’m more upset than he is.