Colleges Respond to Covid
Amanda Silver '21 Staff Writer
Since the coronavirus pandemic, colleges have been changing to adapt to quarantine and to keep students safe. These new guidelines are being shared with students through emails, posters around the campuses and social media posts.
Colleges are having to make weekly changes due to the effects of the pandemic. Most colleges' first thoughts are to have the students come back on campus; they want to make an attempt at having online and in-person classes. However, after the first couple of weeks of the latter, many colleges started seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. This outbreak is attributed to many of the students coming from high COVID-19 areas. Since outbreaks on campuses affect many people, a lot of colleges have decided to switch all classes to be either online or in person with an online option.
Moreover, many colleges have set many protocols to keep students safe while they are on campus. According to Janie Kressman, a sophomore at Towson University, “You either had to stay on campus and agree that you weren’t going to go home, or you had to pack up your stuff and leave and agree that you weren’t going to come back.” She added, “They gave everyone packets with thermometers. Everyday, you were supposed to test your thermometer and self report if you had any symptoms.” This was the protocol until recently, when many universities such as James Madison, Towson and North Carolina State closed their campuses and forced most of their students to go back home.
Since many states have experienced a decrease in coronavirus cases, some colleges have made the decision to slowly bring students back on campus. At JMU, students were initially sent home for a short period of time when COVID-19 cases started spiking on campus, but with new protocols and stricter guidelines, students were eventually allowed back on campus. “We were allowed on campus for the first two weeks of school and then told we had to go home because of the amount of possible covid cases on campus… now we are back on campus and are having in-person and online classes,” stated Alysa Wood, a sophomore at JMU. The colleges were told that they would have to make sure students are always wearing masks when leaving their dorms and practicing social distancing.
Apart from wondering if students will be staying on college campuses, many people are curious as to what the colleges are doing for students who contract the infectious virus. A lot of the schools have designated sections on campus for students who have COVID-19 or its symptoms: “They have isolation dorms that you go into for ten days or until you test negative, where they will bring you food,” said Julia Hagen, a freshman at JMU. “If you have a roommate [who tested positive], they will have you quarantine in your room… if you have a connecting bathroom with someone who tested positive, then you have to quarantine for fourteen days.” This is to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 to anyone else on campus, as well as family and friends at home.
Colleges are having to make weekly changes due to the effects of the pandemic. Most colleges' first thoughts are to have the students come back on campus; they want to make an attempt at having online and in-person classes. However, after the first couple of weeks of the latter, many colleges started seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. This outbreak is attributed to many of the students coming from high COVID-19 areas. Since outbreaks on campuses affect many people, a lot of colleges have decided to switch all classes to be either online or in person with an online option.
Moreover, many colleges have set many protocols to keep students safe while they are on campus. According to Janie Kressman, a sophomore at Towson University, “You either had to stay on campus and agree that you weren’t going to go home, or you had to pack up your stuff and leave and agree that you weren’t going to come back.” She added, “They gave everyone packets with thermometers. Everyday, you were supposed to test your thermometer and self report if you had any symptoms.” This was the protocol until recently, when many universities such as James Madison, Towson and North Carolina State closed their campuses and forced most of their students to go back home.
Since many states have experienced a decrease in coronavirus cases, some colleges have made the decision to slowly bring students back on campus. At JMU, students were initially sent home for a short period of time when COVID-19 cases started spiking on campus, but with new protocols and stricter guidelines, students were eventually allowed back on campus. “We were allowed on campus for the first two weeks of school and then told we had to go home because of the amount of possible covid cases on campus… now we are back on campus and are having in-person and online classes,” stated Alysa Wood, a sophomore at JMU. The colleges were told that they would have to make sure students are always wearing masks when leaving their dorms and practicing social distancing.
Apart from wondering if students will be staying on college campuses, many people are curious as to what the colleges are doing for students who contract the infectious virus. A lot of the schools have designated sections on campus for students who have COVID-19 or its symptoms: “They have isolation dorms that you go into for ten days or until you test negative, where they will bring you food,” said Julia Hagen, a freshman at JMU. “If you have a roommate [who tested positive], they will have you quarantine in your room… if you have a connecting bathroom with someone who tested positive, then you have to quarantine for fourteen days.” This is to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 to anyone else on campus, as well as family and friends at home.