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The outbreak of COVID-19 cases reported by Bradley University last week, which now totals 12 affected students, is likely attributed to an off-campus “social gathering,” the school’s president said in an email on Monday.

The school did contact tracing from an initial positive test, and officials there believe the spread occurred “as a result of a small off-campus social gathering where the use of masks and physical distancing did not occur,” President Stephen Standifird stated in the communique.

“This event highlights the importance of remaining vigilant about engaging in behaviors proven to slow the spread of the virus,” he added. “Face masks, physical distancing and frequent hand washing matter. This case also highlights the importance of an aggressive testing and contact tracing routine.”

Initially the school reported eight students positive on Thursday, then amended that to 10 on Friday before reporting 12 on Monday. Some of the students were involved in the school’s orientation program assisting incoming students, but on Friday Bradley stated that the spread is not believed to be connected to the orientation sessions conducted for incoming students.

* The Question: How confident are you that universities can open and then remain open throughout the fall semester? Make sure to explain your answer. Thanks.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:43 pm

Comments

Not very, but at least some places like UIUC are trying with robust testing, etc. College students will be college students, though, and I expect their air of invincibility will carry over to this.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:50 pm
Not confident at all. While it isn’t true, many people look at this virus as an old person’s disease, and there are plenty of people who don’t believe in it at all. Then you take the feeling of invincibility many young people have and you have strike two. Now you turn a bunch of young people who have been cooped up for a long time loose with no supervision. Strike three.

We are only as good as our weakest link.

Comment by SSL Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:50 pm
I’m not. College kids think that they are made of stainless steel.

Comment by The Way I See It Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:51 pm
Not.

It’s gonna be a disaster.

Comment by Thomas Paine Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:51 pm
They will not stay open. Students couldn’t stay away from each other at ISU and the school has been online since Spring Break.

Comment by The Real Captain Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:52 pm
Not very confident at all. Having 5 teenagers/twenties somethings only 2 of the 5 are engaging in the right behavior no matter how much we talk to them. BTW “small off-campus” is in the end of the beholder, I wouldn’t have considered it small, and I knew several kids there.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:53 pm
No confidence at all.
I suspect that MLB won’t, nor shouldn’t, complete their “season”. How can a university be any safer than players being tested as often as they are?
Instead of opening ANYTHING, everything should be shut down again for at least 3 weeks. See what positivity rates look like then, then make the call of what to open and at what capacity.
Anything else is playing Russian Roulette with students,teachers, and families.

Comment by GregN Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:54 pm
Colleges and K-12 will be a Covid nightmare. I feel for the students-their families, educators and support staff. Even with precautions it only takes one person to test positive and spark an outbreak in a community.

Comment by Live Wire Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 2:55 pm
A no confidence vote.

The argument for resuming baseball was that it could be done safely, with the right precautions, and minimized risk. It took the Florida Marlins about 3 days to prove otherwise. We have to stop thinking that things will somehow be “different.” Whether that’s football, school, of family gatherings.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:03 pm
Open and REMAIN open?

I’d put the odds at over five-hundred to one against.

While not every college student is an idiot who thinks he’ll live forever, it only takes a handful to cause an outbreak and a shutdown.

And every university has more than a handful of such idiots.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:04 pm
None whatsoever. As others have said, college age kids aren’t known for making decisions based on how an activity could impact their health.

Comment by Montrose Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:04 pm
Not a chance. There will be an outbreak, rest assured. Probably at every campus that opens. There are already groups of students here in the rental houses around campus having parties. More than 20% of the total cases in the county are in the 20-29 year old group, and that’s before the main body of students are back. The big question is how bad will it have to get before the powers-that-be decide to go full online again?

Comment by MSIX Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:06 pm
low confidence and zero confidence that they can play NCAA football. GregN is right; we need to front load the pain with a complete shutdown for as many weeks as it takes.

Comment by janet Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:06 pm
Not at all. Young people feel “invincible,” & then there is the ultra-confident strain participating in organized activities. Greek Life, athletics, music. Question: will marching bands / choirs /orchestras be possible?

Comment by Anyone Remember Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:08 pm
I’m not very confident at all. As was stated above and I’ve read it so many times. Coronavirus to so many is an old person’s disease and the young rarely get it and if they do it’s no more than the common cold or flu. So when you deal with that mindset it’s hard to control what these college age people do when they aren’t in class. I can still remember 30 plus years ago being in the bars all night and coming home just in time to catch a few hours sleep before going to work in the morning. I didn’t go to college, but I’m sure it’s not much different today.

You can take temperatures and ask questions at the entrance until you are blue in the face. Someone is always going to get in without getting checked. That will be the one carrying COVID-19. We see it happening right here in our own City.

Comment by Just Wondering Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:09 pm
Not confident at all. As soon as students arrive back on campus the parties will start. You’re going to have hundreds of people congregating at once and there is no doubt in my mind you’ll have outbreaks like wildfire on campuses.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:10 pm
For the Universities that open, they will stay open till thanksgiving.

Comment by Donnie Elgin Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:10 pm
Big fat zero confidence. They will get COVID when the Resident Advisors get there prior to the students. And do you think there will be virtual fraternity/sorority rushes?

Comment by bogey golfer Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:10 pm
My senses is most campuses are looking at hybrid/fully online contingencies and those will end up being put in place for most or all of the fall.

The challenge are the programs that need in person labs. Not so much chemistry or such, but nursing, welding, trades, etc. Hopefully the online will be better with some faculty working their tails off to make it better, but it still won’t be ideal.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:13 pm
No confidence. I work at a university in a college town. We are already seeing lots of cases in the area among college-age students, and increasing positivity rates. That’s really all the evidence we need. Universities need to make the decision to do remote teaching ASAP, so they can make that transition in a more orderly way than was does this spring. People cut us slack for that mess because it hit all at once. Anyone with eyes could see this crack-up coming months or at least weeks ago. The will rightly hold us responsible if we don’t get the fall right.

The IFT coalition of unions is absolutely right about this:

https://www.ift-aft.org/post/illinois-higher-education-union-members-demand-remote-learning-to-start-this-fall

University leaders right now lack the courage to do the right thing. They fear they will lose money if they shut down before everyone else does. They are going to end up losing both money and any shred of respect. I’m not sure whether it’s a huge game of chicken or the proverbial lemmings going over the cliff, but it ain’t pretty.

Comment by Doc Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:13 pm
We had better support them and do what we can to help them open. Many are seeing lower numbers for fall and there is going to be a huge economic impact on faculty positions, student options and access for years to come.

Comment by Rural Stuff Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:14 pm
great read by NYU professor Gallagher. Many colleges will shutter with or without on campus classes. The economic impact from covid 19 will haunt us for a long time.

Comment by Blue Dog Dem Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:16 pm
Not confident. With thousands of students in a dorm building if/when one person gets it good luck.

If there was every a time to do a GAP year or start at community college this would be the year

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:18 pm
==We had better support them and do what we can to help them open. ==

Tell that to the anti-mask crowd.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:18 pm
College kids think they’re invulnerable, and a lot of them haven’t gotten to that developmental state where they’re thinking about others yet.

So I think they’ll gather without masks, and I think we’ll see a lot of them become infected and spread it through college communities.

I don’t think in-person classes will work. Distance learning seems like a safer, albeit financially fraught option.

Comment by Stuff Happens Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:21 pm
=We had better support them and do what we can to help them open.=

Such as? Wearing masks and social distancing would have helped them open and we couldn’t get enough folks to do that. We’re suddenly going to get our act together because this time it matters? Doubtful. As a country we blew this in the spring. This is just part of the continued fallout.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:21 pm
Reality?

THE Ohio State University, as an example, today discussed 20% capacity for Buckeyes Football season ticket holders… while concerned at the monies generated by college football while trying to meet NCAA guidelines to stay open and have athletics for revenues.

To the question, and how my answer pertains to universities;

The goal is to get to Thanksgiving. North Carolina at Chapel Hill very early on set the pace with a fall school year based on an end date of Thanksgiving, no “breaks”, just pushing through.

Do I think the UNC model, others universities are now using it too, will allow universities to stay open?

My vote is “not confident”

It’s too much to ask. It’s too far. When sports realize the impossibilities but pretend they can overcome, you know it’s too much.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:21 pm
Not confident at all. We were all young once. Part of college is socializing. It is impossible to social distance and wear a mask at bars and parties.

Comment by pool boy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:23 pm
Not confident. After fall break, infections will spread, and at least some will close down.

Comment by up2now Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:23 pm
Healthy college kids and students will get this virus and they’ll be okay - just like 99.9999% of the kids who got it before the fall. We need these kids to get the virus and recover - so we can all move on.

Look at Australia, Israel, Europe - this virus, like all viruses, will always find a way to work itself through a society eventually. No amount of masks or lockdowns will stop it.

Comment by DuPage Moderate Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:24 pm
“Many colleges will shutter with or without on campus classes”

Some of this is bringing forward the inevitable for some schools. I also don’t shed many tears given the run up in tuition prices and student loans with wages not supporting the ability to pay-off for a lot of the degrees. It’s been a long-time coming for some colleges/universities to innovate and better compete. There are also more options than a traditional 4 year university route

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:25 pm
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

I work on campus at the U of I.

I have no doubts that staff will comply with random testing requirements.

I have absolutely no reason to believe students will, and that’s from what I have witnessed this summer. I don’t see how behavior will improve with even more students on campus.

Colleges, universities and schools might open.

But they’ll all be closed again, sooner rather than later. I don’t see the U of I making it past October 15.

Comment by Lynn S. Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:26 pm
Not at all.

Comment by Northsider Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:27 pm
=== Healthy college kids and students will get this virus and they’ll be okay - just like 99.9999% of the kids who got it before the fall.===

Cite “99.9999%”

Thanks.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:28 pm
This could maybe work if we were back down at the base level of cases and if we were are able to test, trace, and isolate in real time, but we’re not, so………no.
This cannot and will not work

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:32 pm
==We need these kids to get the virus and recover - so we can all move on.==

So you’re a herd immunity proponent. Sorry you got sick and might die but I’d like to get on with my life is basically your argument. You’re a heckuva guy.

==No amount of masks or lockdowns will stop it.==

Tell that to New Zealand.

Science tells us how we can mitigate the impacts of the virus. You just choose to ignore that science.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:34 pm
I’m not confident at all. Here at ISU, we’ll be closed and teaching 100% online within a month of opening. We have no testing plan. We are requiring masks and social distancing, on campus. We cannot control what the students do off campus. There will no doubt be parties where the virus will spread (they’re already being planned). These parties will be attended by students living in the residence halls…and that will “fuel the fire…”

Comment by Higher? Ed Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:34 pm
Not optimistic for ISU or Wesleyan staying open when B-N is dealing with a surge in cases and approx. 10 restaurant COVID closures even before students get back and with State Farm still primarily in work-from-home mode.

With online classes changing the normal schedules I fear the students that do come to campus will just see their schedules as having more time to party (and thus spread COVID).

Comment by hisgirlfriday Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:35 pm
Complete 100 percent confidence.
We are talking about the higher education community known for its nimbleness and flexibility when faced with challenges, always able to change when needed and not adhere to bygone traditions for the sake of bygone traditions. I tell you, if you can’t trust higher education to see this through, who can you trust?

Comment by Leigh John-Ella Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:35 pm
===No amount of masks or lockdowns will stop it.===

The NBA in Orlando seem to have things better than most leagues… with a “bubble life” for teams.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:36 pm
“Tell that to New Zealand.”

New Zealand is not a good comparison given it’s an island with 4.8MM people. Much easier to control who comes in and out. It makes more sense for Hawaii to look at New Zealand not the lower 48. Lower 48 needs to look at Europe.

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:40 pm
OW:

https://ourworldindata.org/mortality-risk-covid#case-fatality-rate-of-covid-19-by-age

I can keep going.

They said, I understand mortality is not the only negative outcome, but what is the better alternative? The status quo isn’t a viable alternative in my opinion.

Comment by DuPage Moderate Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:46 pm
Cite for “99.9999%” Who is Donald Trump? Sorry, shouldn’t comment during Jeopardy.

Comment by West Side the Best Side Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:47 pm
The European Union is a good comparison and they are doing far better at keeping this under control by member countries. Wide spread is a result of policy failure and not some inevitable phenomenon. They are also doing better economically because controlling the virus is the key to improving the economy.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:48 pm
Where is the 99.9999%?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:48 pm
Not confident. If we had national leadership and a cooperative population, we’d be in much better shape.

Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:49 pm
==The status quo isn’t a viable alternative in my opinion.

Correct. That is why the virus must be contained. If you want to improve the economy and everything else it starts with improving the response to the virus.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:51 pm
==The status quo isn’t a viable alternative in my opinion.==

The “alternative” you have suggested is getting on with our lives. That’s not a viable alternative either. Things have opened back up. All we are being asked is to not gather in large groups and to wear a mask. I think that’s pretty viable.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:55 pm
DuPage Mod…
Even if you were right, what will those kids bring home to parents and grandparents at Thanksgiving?

Comment by GregN Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 3:57 pm
I had assumed that the principally local colleges and universities within Chicago would be in the most danger and at the most risk of immediately closing. I’m way less sure of that now.

Comment by ZC Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:01 pm
@DuPage Moderate -

Do you not understand that this is not just about whether the students will get sick?

It’s also about the people to whom they will transmit the virus. Teachers and administrators. Maintenance staff and security. Dining hall workers. Secretaries. And the families of all those people.

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:02 pm
=====Even if you were right, what will those kids bring home to parents and grandparents at Thanksgiving?

Good point, but let’s not forget all of the students at commuter campuses who are integrated into their larger community.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:08 pm
OW:

Per the Illinois Department of Public Health, 32 people have died in Illinois under the age of 30 have died of Covid. https://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid19-statistics

173,731 have tested positive for Covid-19 (I think we can all agree that way more have had it). Presuming all of those who died were healthy prior to contracting Covid (a huge assumption) that’s 0.00018419….or .018419 percent chance. So sorry, maybe not 99.999%, but 99.981581%. Just off.

Again, not discounting this as a life is a life, but this is not a population we need to stop society for in my opinion. If someone is at risk in this population, they can stay home and e-learn.

Comment by DuPage Moderate Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:11 pm
It’s ridiculous to even try on-campus classes this semester. I’m sure most of the professors agree. Wait for the vaccine.

Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:12 pm
==If someone is at risk in this population, they can stay home and e-learn.==

I think you’re missing the point. What about the non-teenagers and twenty-somethings on university campuses such as the professors and other workers? You seem to think that the virus can’t pass from the students to them. And those people can’t stay home if campus is open.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:13 pm
===It’s ridiculous to even try on-campus classes this semester. I’m sure most of the professors agree. Wait for the vaccine.

The result of this will be a lot of students who don’t return at all. One of the challenges with students who are, for lack of a better phrase, on the margins is that they get discouraged very easily. Calling off classes for a semester is likely to result in many never coming back.

For professors that answer isn’t that easy either. How do you pay them all with no tuition coming in? It’s pretty obvious there is no major financial package coming to help enough for most colleges and programs in those colleges to be able to survive.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:17 pm
=== So sorry, maybe not 99.999%===

Then stop being a dolt and if you want facts, bring them.

=== 32 people have died in Illinois under the age of 30 have died of Covid===

Tell that to those families… you think they are minuscule, they don’t count.

Sacrificing your “under 30” family members… dunno if that comes off too smart either.

Lemme know how it goes telling those families the lives of their lives ones are “statistically insignificant”

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:18 pm
===Again, not discounting this as a life is a life,

We still don’t know the long term health effects beyond dying.

The United States failed at controlling the spread of the virus compared to nearly every other developed nation. If you want to ‘reopen’ follow their lead because otherwise, the virus is going to determine how all of this plays out. The US allowed the virus to make our decisions instead of controlling the virus.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:21 pm
Look how the Marlins shut down 2 teams. Just one student will cascade all his classes plus all the classes of his teachers and the all the classes of his fellow s students and his roommate and all the people in his floor at least at WIU because there is not enough testing and one contact tracer.

Comment by Not a Billionaire Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:22 pm
“It’s pretty obvious there is no major financial package coming to help enough for most colleges and programs in those colleges to be able to survive.”

Universities will get something in the next package since money will go to state/local. Strings should be in place for money going to universities i.e. tuition freeze for x number of years. Service based entities shouldn’t get bailed out and at the same time increase prices for something that’s lower in demand and an inferior product (on-line learning).

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:22 pm
“this is not a population we need to stop society for in my opinion”

Your position is now blindingly clear.

– MrJM

Comment by @misterjayem Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:26 pm
Not a snowball’s chance. . .

Comment by Lt Guv Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:26 pm
Not very - some in-person plans might have worked if we had driven cases/r0 lower, but given current state and looser COVID behavior of young adults in general…

Comment by lake county democrat Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:27 pm
I am as confident they can do it as I am confident we can have massive protests and riots without it being a problem.

Comment by the Patriot Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:33 pm
@OW “Sacrificing your “under 30” family members… dunno if that comes off too smart either.”

Not arguing with you but for comparison more people under 30 died of the flu (granted that could change). IMO the long-term damage in young covid survivors worries me more as we don’t fully understand that.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html

https://data.cdc.gov/widgets/9bhg-hcku

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:36 pm
Maybe the queary the colleges might be asking

“Students infected, or worse, is worth it, when you weigh it… the illnesses or worse students are statistically insignificant.”

Then say that exact thing to the families of those students… infected or worse.

How many students’ lives are worth hearing “the fight song” after a touchdown?

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:36 pm
=== IMO the long-term damage in young covid survivors worries me more as we don’t fully understand that.===

Agreed.

The infections don’t mean “easy recoveries” or safe long term recoveries.

This isn’t the flu in any context of full term infection and recoveries.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:39 pm
Where will the infected students be sent? Will they recuperate on campus or required to go home?

Comment by Big Mike Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:56 pm
We have the hope of a vaccine. That is driving our thinking.

Without that hope, we would have to live with the risk of illness. My grandparents would have loved a world with the total mortality and illness risk that we have even with Covid 19.

Colleges that do a good job of creating a bubble and protecting their at risk employees can get through the fall semester. That can be done by Thanksgiving.

I think a few colleges will succeed. Most will fail.

I am watching Purdue. They seem to have a good plan. Hope it works.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 4:58 pm
Only New Jersey sends more students out of state than Illinois, (if I recall that stat correctly), so while Illinois may be better than some states, families might be faced with sending kids to real hot spots, like Florida, California, Texas, just to highlight the hot spots that are “today”

Tough thoughts facing those families, let alone the typical college wackiness that might be high risk now.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:04 pm
Considering I can’t even get students to read the syllabus for the class they are in …. no problem.

Comment by filmmaker prof Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:09 pm
===I am watching Purdue. They seem to have a good plan. Hope it works.===

Hope is not a plan. Good ole PU:

https://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_aaf3e782-cdba-11ea-aacf-0ff4a99cebf2.html

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:20 pm
I said in another thread its a disaster waiting to happen.

They have likely been cooped up at home with parents and rules because of this that normally they wouldn’t have.

Move them back to campus in college town while the school is already giving very reasonable accommodations for coursework and the kids are going to party….hard

Comment by The Dude Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:26 pm
Zero. They are college kids … away from parental control for the first time. Can fully expect some partying. Add in typical teenage hormones and you can be sure they will be “socializing”.

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:30 pm
I’m not very confident at all, this is not a population that will easily follow all the necessary precautions. As for COVID effects, scary study out of Germany pointing to lasting heart damage:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/heart-damage-lingers-covid-19-patients-even-after-recovery-n1235077
Even a Red Sox pitcher is battling myocarditis after having COVID:
https://weei.radio.com/blogs/rob-bradford/eduardo-rodriguez-on-heart-condition-im-still-scared

Comment by MyTwoCents Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:38 pm
One of the challenges with students who are, for lack of a better phrase, on the margins … many never coming back. ==

For some, that may be a good thing if they end up attending a career center (what we used to call trade or vocational school). Not everyone does well in college.

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 5:54 pm
I did not say hope was the plan. The plan is to test, isolate, socially distance when possible, and use protective equipment. There is no guarantee it will work.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:05 pm
The golden age of online-only education will begin around October 1 as schools across the nation revise their plans.

Comment by Rich Hill Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:09 pm
Parents looking ahead are just not going to be willing to pay anything near the same tuition for online college courses as for in- class instruction. There are only so many “gap years” for students to take waiting for Covid to fully recede without many colleges failing financially and closing for good. Many students who want college degrees also want and frankly need the on campus social experience with teachers and interaction with other students as part of the maturing process. We have to find the balance of being as safe as possible while still living life where there is always a degree of risk. I think it can be done.

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:10 pm
Based on 35 years in higher ed, I have no confidence either in administrations or students to maneuver through this pandemic. Totally unrealistic expectations on both sides, though of different types.

Comment by Flapdoodle Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:12 pm
@Responsa Why when the risk is death or permanent injury especially for faculty? Most universities are in rural areas that done have much capacity.
“Gap Years” no Gap year. Its one year when life expectancy projected to be 86 by 2050.

“Many colleges failing financially”

Many were failing prior to covid.

“Many students want college degrees”

For a career not to be a barista. There are no jobs. Why rush graduating? See 08

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:40 pm
====For some, that may be a good thing if they end up attending a career center (what we used to call trade or vocational school). Not everyone does well in college.

No, it’s awful. Again, college is a lot more than a four year residential experience. In fact, most college students don’t experience college that way. You want to be a welder? You go to a community and technical college. You want to be nearly any trade with the exception of those places where unions run their own training? You go to a community and technical college.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:46 pm
@Responsa There is no balance in a life or death situation. One Gap year isn’t going to ruin the students. The colleges failing financially were failing pre-covid.
Students want degrees to get a career. There are no jobs. Why rush graduating in these times especially with student loans. Learn from the last recession.

Comment by 1st Ward Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 6:48 pm
I have a niece attending SIUC. In past few weeks have been texting my brother about her. He claimed that the school had a solid plan to reduce the potential for infection.

However, because all her classes were to be online, my niece is staying home for the fall semester.

To the post - Universities may open but will be considering shutting down before the end of the semester.

Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 7:15 pm
The argument that young people will be fine doesn’t hold water. These people live in communities of vulnerable people. Teachers, administrators, staff, and the community at large. Those that justify sending kids to school because they’ll be ok have no answer for how we protect the individuals who will be infected that aren’t as fortunate. Because there is no answer.

Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 7:48 pm
Somewhat confident they will open, not confident they will remain open. My college student says he and his friends expect to start in-person (and only one of his classes is currently scheduled to be online) then go all on-line in a few weeks. I know that’s just an anecdote, but it’s the best explanation I can give for my answer.

Comment by Cromulent M. Biggens Tuesday, Jul 28, 20 @ 8:03 pm
I am so confident that all colleges will be closed to ftf classes by October that I retired a year earlier than I planned. I did not want to spend the summer moving 4 classes on line juxt to teach them once.

The college’s academic vp knows we won’t make it through the semester, but is hamstrung by a president who, like another president, believes it will magically go away.

Comment by G'Kar Wednesday, Jul 29, 20 @ 12:08 am
free coupons in pubg

Comment by Masako Leszczynski Monday, Aug 10, 20 @ 10:13 pm