It's time to end the consensual hallucination of fall in-person classes

[apl68]

Staff member's daughter at the local college will be spending the rest of the semester after Thanksgiving online-only, as they have planned since the start of the semester.  Good plan or not, at least they're able to stick with the plan they had.

[FishProf]

Our Provost has called a meeting with the chairs for TOMORROW (2 days into registration) about whether we should pivot now and/or change the Spring schedule.

Nice timing.

[spork]

University of Missouri has announced it will be online-only for the remainder of the fall semester after Thanksgiving.

[Puget]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

[apl68]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

Congratulations on having been able to keep your campus safe.

[Hibush]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

[pgher]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

[spork]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

We have been informed that all courses will be delivered online after Thanksgiving break, but that the campus will remain open -- dorms, library, dining halls, fitness center, etc. This makes no sense epidemiologically, since we know from contact tracing that students are getting infected from off-campus socializing and close contact in residence halls, not from being in classrooms. Looks like the university is trying to avoid refunding dorm and meal plan charges for the last few weeks of the semester.

[apl68]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

We have been informed that all courses will be delivered online after Thanksgiving break, but that the campus will remain open -- dorms, library, dining halls, fitness center, etc. This makes no sense epidemiologically, since we know from contact tracing that students are getting infected from off-campus socializing and close contact in residence halls, not from being in classrooms. Looks like the university is trying to avoid refunding dorm and meal plan charges for the last few weeks of the semester.

Well, at least it should be reassuring to faculty members, especially older ones, who are afraid to continue teaching face-to-face.  The assumption may be the that it doesn't matter so much whether the young students get infected.

[Hibush]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

We made it. The students have left as planned, and their infection rate stayed low. We are dispersing uninfected students. The infection rate locally continues to rise. The positives on campus are still low, and mostly staff who live in the community that is experiencing higher infections.

[dr_codex]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

We have been informed that all courses will be delivered online after Thanksgiving break, but that the campus will remain open -- dorms, library, dining halls, fitness center, etc. This makes no sense epidemiologically, since we know from contact tracing that students are getting infected from off-campus socializing and close contact in residence halls, not from being in classrooms. Looks like the university is trying to avoid refunding dorm and meal plan charges for the last few weeks of the semester.

I'm part of a committee that oversees some of those budget items, and the temptation to keep things open was there. In the end, we closed almost all the buildings, and will be paying the refunds.

However, students could petition to stay. There are lots of reasons why they might. International students have few options, for instance. Getting last-minute flights at Thanksgiving is no picnic, international or domestic. And lots of students don't have the greatest "home" life at the best of times, let alone when many people are sheltering in place, and when they might have immune compromised relatives. We learned some of these lessons when we closed dorms over Thanksgiving and Spring Break pre-Covid, and the potential problems are far more acute now.

I'm not denying the financial motives that may be operative, but there could be other legitimate concerns as well.

[Caracal]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

We have been informed that all courses will be delivered online after Thanksgiving break, but that the campus will remain open -- dorms, library, dining halls, fitness center, etc. This makes no sense epidemiologically, since we know from contact tracing that students are getting infected from off-campus socializing and close contact in residence halls, not from being in classrooms. Looks like the university is trying to avoid refunding dorm and meal plan charges for the last few weeks of the semester.

I'm part of a committee that oversees some of those budget items, and the temptation to keep things open was there. In the end, we closed almost all the buildings, and will be paying the refunds.

However, students could petition to stay. There are lots of reasons why they might. International students have few options, for instance. Getting last-minute flights at Thanksgiving is no picnic, international or domestic. And lots of students don't have the greatest "home" life at the best of times, let alone when many people are sheltering in place, and when they might have immune compromised relatives. We learned some of these lessons when we closed dorms over Thanksgiving and Spring Break pre-Covid, and the potential problems are far more acute now.

I'm not denying the financial motives that may be operative, but there could be other legitimate concerns as well.

Plus, I'm guessing that many-probably most-students will leave after Thanksgiving and not return. That would be especially true if most students aren't from the immediate local area.

[dr_codex]

We've made it to the last week of in person classes with few cases and no evidence of transmission in classes. Students must move out of the dorms by Sunday and won't be back until the beginning of Feb.

As I teach my last in person classes this week, I feel like I should be giving them the line (I think Southwest?) flight attendants used to use upon landing: remember, the more dangerous part of your journey starts now (followed by reminding people to drive safely). Campus has objectively been way safer than nearly anyplace else this semester.

I'm also at* a campus that has had most of the student body on site and escaped any outbreaks. The numbers are rising in the area, so it could go either way: We disperse uninfected or highly contagious freshly infected students to the rest of the country. Fingers crossed.

*at=employed at, but not physically on campus.

We have mostly had low case-counts until last week. Nearly all of the transmission is unrelated to campus proper (classes, on-campus events), but rather to students living here and doing what they normally do (e.g. parties). I figure all heck will break loose after Thanksgiving.

We have been informed that all courses will be delivered online after Thanksgiving break, but that the campus will remain open -- dorms, library, dining halls, fitness center, etc. This makes no sense epidemiologically, since we know from contact tracing that students are getting infected from off-campus socializing and close contact in residence halls, not from being in classrooms. Looks like the university is trying to avoid refunding dorm and meal plan charges for the last few weeks of the semester.

I'm part of a committee that oversees some of those budget items, and the temptation to keep things open was there. In the end, we closed almost all the buildings, and will be paying the refunds.

However, students could petition to stay. There are lots of reasons why they might. International students have few options, for instance. Getting last-minute flights at Thanksgiving is no picnic, international or domestic. And lots of students don't have the greatest "home" life at the best of times, let alone when many people are sheltering in place, and when they might have immune compromised relatives. We learned some of these lessons when we closed dorms over Thanksgiving and Spring Break pre-Covid, and the potential problems are far more acute now.

I'm not denying the financial motives that may be operative, but there could be other legitimate concerns as well.

Plus, I'm guessing that many-probably most-students will leave after Thanksgiving and not return. That would be especially true if most students aren't from the immediate local area.

That was always the plan: stop in-class teaching early and come back late. But closing the dorms & stopping food service was not.

[spork]

I don't want to create a new thread with "spring" instead of "fall" in the title. . .

Parsing a few emails, looks like we might have a Covid-19 outbreak on campus. Rumor is circulating that in-person instruction will be suspended. Don't know for how long the suspension might last. But it's certain that the dorms will continue to house students because the university desperately needs the money.

In other words, stop doing what doesn't contribute to transmission and continue doing what does contribute to transmission.

[euro_trash]

We're online until at least April. I'm growing a beard and writing like mad.

I blame the UK, and specifically Boris Johnson, but I'm petty like that.