This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/13/opinion/letters/coronavirus-college-reopening.html
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| The Risks When Colleges Reopen | The Risks When Colleges Reopen |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| To the Editor: | To the Editor: |
| Re “How Colleges Can Keep the Coronavirus Off Campus,” by David Wippman, president of Hamilton College, and Glenn Altschuler, a professor at Cornell (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, June 1): | Re “How Colleges Can Keep the Coronavirus Off Campus,” by David Wippman, president of Hamilton College, and Glenn Altschuler, a professor at Cornell (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, June 1): |
| The authors write of the measures that might be taken to allow students to return to residential colleges. For these two men to propose contractual commitments and face mask messaging as some of the means to enable a return to campus is beyond naïve. Social distancing is the antithesis of the mind-set of college students, and runs contrary to every hormone being triggered in their systems. | The authors write of the measures that might be taken to allow students to return to residential colleges. For these two men to propose contractual commitments and face mask messaging as some of the means to enable a return to campus is beyond naïve. Social distancing is the antithesis of the mind-set of college students, and runs contrary to every hormone being triggered in their systems. |
| They also propose initial and ongoing testing, but concede that the implementation of such a regimen is problematic. And athletics, they don’t venture into that quicksand. | They also propose initial and ongoing testing, but concede that the implementation of such a regimen is problematic. And athletics, they don’t venture into that quicksand. |
| If we are to deal with the ravage of this virus, let us at least be realistic and honest about the trade-offs for enabling people to congregate in groups. If there are lives that might be lost, even among this less vulnerable population, maybe we should be asking our students for a commitment to online learning, yes, even from a basement if need be, or a semester of national service, rather than expect them to honor impossible standards of behavior. | If we are to deal with the ravage of this virus, let us at least be realistic and honest about the trade-offs for enabling people to congregate in groups. If there are lives that might be lost, even among this less vulnerable population, maybe we should be asking our students for a commitment to online learning, yes, even from a basement if need be, or a semester of national service, rather than expect them to honor impossible standards of behavior. |
| Derek WittnerKennebunkport, Me.The writer is a former deputy vice president of development and assistant dean of students at Columbia, and vice president of alumni affairs and development at Cooper Union. | Derek WittnerKennebunkport, Me.The writer is a former deputy vice president of development and assistant dean of students at Columbia, and vice president of alumni affairs and development at Cooper Union. |
| To the Editor: | To the Editor: |
| Any plan for reopening colleges that does not consider campus employees is only partially formed and unrealistic. The authors do not mention the cleaners, engineers, faculty members, food-service workers, librarians, maintenance, tech and administrative support employees, transit drivers and many others who keep college campuses running. | Any plan for reopening colleges that does not consider campus employees is only partially formed and unrealistic. The authors do not mention the cleaners, engineers, faculty members, food-service workers, librarians, maintenance, tech and administrative support employees, transit drivers and many others who keep college campuses running. |
| Students can get “grab and go” sandwiches, but do kitchen workers have enough space to protect themselves while making those sandwiches? Students may form “pods” in their dorms; what is the plan to keep the people who clean those dorms safe? | Students can get “grab and go” sandwiches, but do kitchen workers have enough space to protect themselves while making those sandwiches? Students may form “pods” in their dorms; what is the plan to keep the people who clean those dorms safe? |
| If a university does not have humane answers to these — and many more — questions, then it is not ready to open. | If a university does not have humane answers to these — and many more — questions, then it is not ready to open. |
| Clara BurkePittsburghThe writer is an assistant teaching professor of business management communication at Carnegie Mellon University. | Clara BurkePittsburghThe writer is an assistant teaching professor of business management communication at Carnegie Mellon University. |
| To the Editor: | To the Editor: |
| The authors are right that it is critical to involve students in developing the protocols of physical distancing and that all students should sign a social contract promising to protect their classmates and college employees by adhering to agreed-upon safety measures. | The authors are right that it is critical to involve students in developing the protocols of physical distancing and that all students should sign a social contract promising to protect their classmates and college employees by adhering to agreed-upon safety measures. |
| There are three additional ways in which science could help open campuses safely: testing campus wastewater, batch testing and exploiting the latency period of the virus. | There are three additional ways in which science could help open campuses safely: testing campus wastewater, batch testing and exploiting the latency period of the virus. |
| Because infected people excrete virus in their stool before they become symptomatic, campus wastewater should be closely monitored. As soon as virus is detected in the wastewater, batch testing should be used to test all students and employees. If the batch comes back positive, each person in that group is then tested to find the infected person. Then isolation and contact tracing could be used with surgical precision. | Because infected people excrete virus in their stool before they become symptomatic, campus wastewater should be closely monitored. As soon as virus is detected in the wastewater, batch testing should be used to test all students and employees. If the batch comes back positive, each person in that group is then tested to find the infected person. Then isolation and contact tracing could be used with surgical precision. |
| Finally, we should take advantage of the time between a person being infected with the coronavirus and becoming contagious, typically three days, as explained in your May 11 Op-Ed “10-4: How to Reopen the Economy by Exploiting the Coronavirus’s Weak Spot.” Students and instructors could be divided into groups with in-person instruction for four days, followed by 10 days of self-isolation. | Finally, we should take advantage of the time between a person being infected with the coronavirus and becoming contagious, typically three days, as explained in your May 11 Op-Ed “10-4: How to Reopen the Economy by Exploiting the Coronavirus’s Weak Spot.” Students and instructors could be divided into groups with in-person instruction for four days, followed by 10 days of self-isolation. |
| Kathryn Sack SolomonBronxThe writer is a radiologist. | Kathryn Sack SolomonBronxThe writer is a radiologist. |
| To the Editor: | To the Editor: |
| Re “We’re Reopening Notre Dame. It’s Worth the Risk,” by John I. Jenkins (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, May 26): | Re “We’re Reopening Notre Dame. It’s Worth the Risk,” by John I. Jenkins (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, May 26): |
| Father Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, writes of the risks that we will have to assume as we reopen our country in the coming months. At colleges, these risks fall primarily on the students and staff, not on those making the decision to reopen. | Father Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, writes of the risks that we will have to assume as we reopen our country in the coming months. At colleges, these risks fall primarily on the students and staff, not on those making the decision to reopen. |
| I ask you, Father Jenkins: Would you be willing to live in a dorm room with another student where social distancing is impossible? Share a bathroom and a shower with 20 other students as droplets hang in the air? Serve food shoulder to shoulder with a dozen other cafeteria workers? | I ask you, Father Jenkins: Would you be willing to live in a dorm room with another student where social distancing is impossible? Share a bathroom and a shower with 20 other students as droplets hang in the air? Serve food shoulder to shoulder with a dozen other cafeteria workers? |
| Father Jenkins, if you wouldn’t take these risks, then why should we be forced to? Until we can know that we’ll be safe, let the students stay home. | Father Jenkins, if you wouldn’t take these risks, then why should we be forced to? Until we can know that we’ll be safe, let the students stay home. |
| Cameron CurtisSpringfield, Va.The writer is a student at William & Mary. | Cameron CurtisSpringfield, Va.The writer is a student at William & Mary. |
| To the Editor: | To the Editor: |
| As a professor at Notre Dame since 2001, I read with great interest the Op-Ed by John I. Jenkins justifying the decision to reopen in terms of its morality and its modeling of leadership and courage for the student body. | As a professor at Notre Dame since 2001, I read with great interest the Op-Ed by John I. Jenkins justifying the decision to reopen in terms of its morality and its modeling of leadership and courage for the student body. |
| I have three suggestions for my university to consider: | I have three suggestions for my university to consider: |
| 1. Notre Dame would do a better job of modeling leadership and courage by being willing to listen to the largely critical responses to its decision to reopen in August, before adequate safety measures for students, staff, faculty and the wider community are in place. | 1. Notre Dame would do a better job of modeling leadership and courage by being willing to listen to the largely critical responses to its decision to reopen in August, before adequate safety measures for students, staff, faculty and the wider community are in place. |
| Updated Aug. 14, 2020 | |
| The latest highlights as the first students return to U.S. schools. | The latest highlights as the first students return to U.S. schools. |
| 2. Notre Dame could use its power and clout in the N.C.A.A. to push for a deferred football season, perhaps to begin in the spring of 2021, with no spectators but some sort of pay-per-view or streaming-season-pass policy for alumni and other fans. | 2. Notre Dame could use its power and clout in the N.C.A.A. to push for a deferred football season, perhaps to begin in the spring of 2021, with no spectators but some sort of pay-per-view or streaming-season-pass policy for alumni and other fans. |
| 3. If Notre Dame opens in August, then it must make it easy for students (including student-athletes), faculty and staff members to elect to work, study or train from home if they feel that their lives or health would be endangered. | 3. If Notre Dame opens in August, then it must make it easy for students (including student-athletes), faculty and staff members to elect to work, study or train from home if they feel that their lives or health would be endangered. |
| Father Jenkins, whom I have admired for his balanced judgment in the past, spoke of moral questions and courage in his Op-Ed. I dare him to have the courage to reconsider his judgment to reopen campus precisely because it is a moral question. The lives of members of the community are at stake. | Father Jenkins, whom I have admired for his balanced judgment in the past, spoke of moral questions and courage in his Op-Ed. I dare him to have the courage to reconsider his judgment to reopen campus precisely because it is a moral question. The lives of members of the community are at stake. |
| What do we lose by working from home for one more semester? Nothing but some money. What do we gain by waiting to reopen until it’s safe? The moral certainty that we did the right thing for our community. | What do we lose by working from home for one more semester? Nothing but some money. What do we gain by waiting to reopen until it’s safe? The moral certainty that we did the right thing for our community. |
| Eileen Hunt BottingNotre Dame, Ind.The writer is a professor of political science at Notre Dame. | Eileen Hunt BottingNotre Dame, Ind.The writer is a professor of political science at Notre Dame. |
| To the Editor: | To the Editor: |
| Re “The Future of College Is Online,” by Hans Taparia (Op-Ed, May 26): | Re “The Future of College Is Online,” by Hans Taparia (Op-Ed, May 26): |
| Professor Taparia argues that the current crisis creates an opportunity for colleges to expand online education. “Students may not mind” this paradigm shift, he writes, particularly if tuition decreases. Once marginalized in academia, online degrees could become mainstream. | Professor Taparia argues that the current crisis creates an opportunity for colleges to expand online education. “Students may not mind” this paradigm shift, he writes, particularly if tuition decreases. Once marginalized in academia, online degrees could become mainstream. |
| Expanding college access is surely a good thing. And I agree with Professor Taparia that teaching quality will improve dramatically with greater faculty training and investment. But before using the pandemic to justify a digital future, we should remember the critical importance of extracurricular life to college education. | Expanding college access is surely a good thing. And I agree with Professor Taparia that teaching quality will improve dramatically with greater faculty training and investment. But before using the pandemic to justify a digital future, we should remember the critical importance of extracurricular life to college education. |
| Late nights in the student newspaper office. Athletic competitions against rivals. Live performing arts before an audience. Fights (and reconciliations) with roommates. Through these experiences, students develop their emotional intelligence, resilience and leadership capacity. For alumni, it’s precisely those shared bonds that sow the fertile emotional ground for lifelong friendships, networking and hiring. | Late nights in the student newspaper office. Athletic competitions against rivals. Live performing arts before an audience. Fights (and reconciliations) with roommates. Through these experiences, students develop their emotional intelligence, resilience and leadership capacity. For alumni, it’s precisely those shared bonds that sow the fertile emotional ground for lifelong friendships, networking and hiring. |
| Conversations around online education tend to focus exclusively on academics — but that’s only one aspect of the college experience. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve gotten very good at Zoom teaching. I’ve mastered breakout rooms, live quizzes and whimsical backgrounds. I can screen-share with the best of them. But what happens when the screen turns off? | Conversations around online education tend to focus exclusively on academics — but that’s only one aspect of the college experience. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve gotten very good at Zoom teaching. I’ve mastered breakout rooms, live quizzes and whimsical backgrounds. I can screen-share with the best of them. But what happens when the screen turns off? |
| Brian FarkasNew YorkThe writer, a lawyer, is an adjunct professor at the City University of New York and serves on the alumni association board of Vassar College. | Brian FarkasNew YorkThe writer, a lawyer, is an adjunct professor at the City University of New York and serves on the alumni association board of Vassar College. |