A few notes on what we’ve learned about the coronavirus, the mystery of reopening campuses, the behavior of students, and what lies ahead.
Students Will Not Social Distance
No homecoming, no parties, no sporting events means that campus will be a constant ‘let out’ atmosphere, as first-year students at North Carolina A&T State University recently proved. And that means the Internet will have no shortage of campus photojournalists capturing the lack of social distancing, the threat of mass coronavirus spread, and the implied embarrassment of how campuses can’t control adults enough to save their own lives.
Campuses Must Be Unafraid to Look Bad
Less than two weeks after announcing mandatory COVID-19 testing for all students, faculty, and staff returning for a planned hybrid learning format, Morgan State University officials suddenly announced plans to shift exclusive online learning. Morgan was among the first HBCUs to formally commit to a hybrid model of on-campus and distance instruction, and one of the last at the dawn of the academic year to convert to fully online delivery.
That’s what this virus, its symptoms and its infection pattern can do to an institution. Appearing prepared, favoring financial stability and concern for students is simply not enough, and the loftiest intentions can be burned to ashes in a matter of days depending on a town or city’s density and geography of infection.
Changing course has traditionally been a sign of a lack of preparation or foresight. This is not the case with COVID-19. Following trends will save lives and money.
Cities and States Won’t Bail Out Our Campuses
Governors across the south have committed to reopening economies and K-12 schools, even at the risk of widespread infections among students. There will be no policies that will offer cover to public HBCUs to mandate mask-wearing, social gatherings, or capacity in facilities. Explaining this reality as a foundation of returning to campus could make the difference in the case for a full return or justifying online offerings.
Safety is in the Eyes of Students
Southern University made headlines recently for placing cloth dividers between beds in shared dorm rooms. This measure is in addition to mandatory midnight curfews and no visitation for first-year students, but the implication is clear; these dividers ain’t enough.
What one student determines as insufficient could be defined by another student as more than suitable for mitigating COVID-19 infection. The question is which of these students is more likely to get the attention of the media with their story, and what impact will it have on the attitudes of other students, parents, and stakeholders?
We’ve Only Just Begun
Most institutions are less than two weeks into the semester; well before students have grown fully comfortable with congregating on campus, finding new off-campus hangout spots and ahead of the first news of multiple cases being detected on campus. What does contact tracing look like with thousands of people moving around a concentrated area of campus? And for the campuses which avoid hotspots within their gates, how do they react if surrounding communities emerge with high infection rates in the fall?
Welcome back and good luck.
