I have to say I’m pretty proud of how Bowdoin is handling this. Kids left last Friday for spring break with no idea colleges would close. Five days later, we were told to be out by March 18th which would give families about a week to get back to Maine to move out.
They are giving a lot of support. One, they’ve asked families who can drive back to campus to help as many kids as they can. Those families have really stepped up. For those students who can’t get back, they can each have a friend or a roommate pack one box (provided by Bowdoin) and have it shipped home for free so they can get some stuff home for summer. If you don’t have someone you can ask, the professors and other Bowdoin employees will get you on Facetime and help you choose what you want to have sent home. (And they will officially look the other way if they see something you aren’t supposed to have in your room.)
As for the rest of your stuff? If friends or roommates can pack you up, they can leave the boxes/suitcases in your room and Bowdoin is going to keep them until they let students know when they could come back to take them and put them in private storage or take them home. Right now, they are guessing that would be in May but, if things go south and the college has to completely close, they will keep everyone’s stuff through the summer.
This has made it way less stressful. We don’t have to spend thousands to get me or my H and our S19 back to Portland (from Chicago), get a hotel, rent a car, find a storage space in the next seven days. S19 has been very very lucky and likely he will have one of his friends actually take all of his stuff back to his house for the summer but, even if that doesn’t work out, S19 will get what he needs for the next five months sent home and the rest of his stuff is safe at school.
The college is also letting some kids (very few) stay if they absolutely have to. Some internationals cannot return home and, if they don’t have friends they can live with, they will be able to stay.
We now move on to seeing how online classes will work. S19 has heard from all of his professors already even though class won’t start again until March 25th. He feels pretty good about how it will go even though it, of course, will not be the same.
We think we are almost over the shock of these changes. Obviously, deeply unhappy about it but we are all in the same boat.
My son’s school started their regular break today, but informed them earlier in the week that they were adding a second week of spring break. They have chosen not to close or move to online teaching yet, even though virtually every university within a 100 mile radius has done so. They did advise the kids to take with them when they leave for break anything they might need for class, in case they decide to move to online teaching while the kids are on break.
I decided to have him cancel his train ticket home, pack up his entire dorm room and drove to his school today to pick him up. We figured even if his school decides to stay open and have the kids come back at some point, at most, he will only have six weeks of school left. If he has to return, he can just take back the bare bones - bedding, clothes, toiletries, textbooks, and laptop. It was much easier moving him out today than it would be at the end of the year (one elevator and small parking lot for his large dorm).
Im hoping they do get to go back and am glad his school didn’t rush to close. It was so sad seeing all the students saying their goodbyes today not knowing if they will see each other again before the fall. My son said all the spring sports kids were crying yesterday when they learned their seasons were over (one team was at the airport with bags loaded on plane for a trip to Florida when they got the call to come back to school).
My daughter’s school decided earlier this week to move to online teaching and had all the students/professors preparing for that this week. Then mid-week they decided to close campus altogether and have all residential students move out. To facilitate that, they canceled online classes next week (they already had spring break) to allow for everyone to get home then will resume online courses after that.
I’ve been pleased with the way both schools handled everything as well as the fact that they have been keeping parents and students informed.
UCLA is moving to online only for the whole of spring quarter (ie through mid June) according to the student body president. I’d be surprised if any colleges resume classes this spring whatever they’ve said to date.
Kansas State extended spring break through next week and then going online only for an undetermined time. Dorms and the Greek houses are closed next week for cleaning (they can go back this weekend and get what they need). At the moment the Frat house will reopen the day they start online classes but are encouraging everyone to go home. That could change. S17 and his gf are getting a condo in Tempe, AZ for a week to just stay away from everyone, study, work on projects and relax then are going back to her family’s home for the first week of online and see what is happening. S is trying to stay away from our house and possibly infecting the premature newborn living here. (Plus it is 10 hours from campus). He is probably safer in Kansas than here!
Freshman D is coming home this weekend, the start of spring break. Colgate is continuously providing update to everyone, students, parents, faculties and staff. They are giving students until March 22 to empty the dorms. Accommodations are being made for students who are unable to go home and are therefore staying on campus. Clear instructions are given in their website and assistance provided for most students especially to those who left campus earlier before the updates where made on how to handle the students’ belongings. Packing supplies, staff assistance, mailing, airport shuttle, car in campus, etc all these areas are being addressed by the school to make it an easier transition for students and parents alike.
The school will switch to online classes beginning March 30 until the end of spring semester. The school is also giving a 50% payment reductions in housing and meal plans for students leaving campus until the deadline given. Those who opted to stay will not received reductions. There is also an outline as how reimbursement/credit will be made for the Raider Block meal plan.
Overall, I am impressed with how the school is being transparent, straightforward, helpful and supportive to students. Although its not something that the school nor us parents want to have our kids finish the semester in the form of remote courses, the school is coordinating with local and state health officials as well as constantly getting updates on recommendations and guidelines provided by WHO to keep everyone safe. I know my daughter is sad that this happening. She really is enjoying her freshman year at Colgate. I hope and pray that every government will find a way to really slow down and control this pandemic. Let us all be safe. And I hope no one is hoarding bathroom tissue paper. LOL. Sorry I still don’t understand why the panic buying for this is happening.
University of Michigan is asking students that can leave to do so. Graduation is canceled. Remote classes start this Monday. They will pay up to 80 hours time paid time off and/or some prorated amount to staff and even part time help and students working. They are looking into prorating housing /meal plan etc.
I was initially upset about my son’s school closing for an extended spring break. I thought the school was overreacting given that the youth really aren’t affected by CV.
As I learned more about social distancing I now understand that it is vital we do this and it is really our only chance. We must slow the spread of this virus to stay ahead of it and on top of it. I don’t believe schools will be opening back up to in-person classes this semester (at least not the larger ones in the heavier populated areas).
I think our society hasn’t wrapped their heads around what is hitting us. Public K-12 schools in my area are closing for a week. That will do nothing. This is just the beginning.
Today I drive north to pack up and pick up my son. So disappointing and so sad to have to take him away from a semester of college.
I also am functioning on little sleep because I am spending hours creating a month of daily online lessons for all the elementary school students in my district, just in case we have to close. (I do fervently hope, though, that we will remain open and all this work will have been for nothing.)
I have several colleagues whose spouses or adult children have lost their jobs in the past week due to the impact on the economy caused by mass closures.
I am furious about the amount of societal disruption caused by this mass panic. So far at least, this disease itself does not seem to be of the order of magnitude of the disease in Stephen King’s “The Stand.” Some people will die— from the same groups who are vulnerable to the flu. Most people will live. But the panic-induced societal and economic disruptions are very serious and may have some long-lasting impacts.
@TheGreyKing. Very well said. We as well are making plans for our son maybe next weekend. He wanted to wait till they start the online classes to make a decision, which is Monday. We just want him to be in a place that he can study better since he has an apartment but through the university.
Per Wikipedia “The Stand is a postapocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It…presents a detailed vision of the total breakdown of society after the accidental release of a strain of influenza that had been modified for biological warfare causes an apocalyptic pandemic, killing off over 99% of the world’s population.”
Really? It’s only worth “mass panic” if over 99% of the world’s population is going to die? We shouldn’t care if 10% of seniors are going to die?
Current estimates are that uncontrolled spread will have a comparable number of US deaths to the number of fatalities in WW2 (420,000). Think for a moment about the utter transformation of the economy needed to address the challenges of WW2. That level of change and disruption is far from implausible at this point in time. It’s not “panic”, it’s entirely rational to consider very dramatic changes to our daily lives at this point.
1)Some people will die— from the same groups who are vulnerable to the flu.
Nice of you to be so cavalier about the death of vulnerable populations. My parents and in-laws are in that vulnerable population as is potentially my husband. I’m not prepared to loose them yet. In addition results coming out of countries like China, South Korea, and Italy who are at the forefront of the curve show that it’s not just those vulnerable to the flu who are impacted. Being otherwise healthy is no guarantee that if you get the virus you will get a mild case. Add to that if the healthcare system is burdened with caring for those with serious cases of the virus there will be no capacity to deal with other health issues, like if you get injured in an accident or have a heart attack.
2)So far at least, this disease itself does not seem to be of the order of magnitude of the disease in Stephen King’s “The Stand.”
Surely that’s not the benchmark for acting? The caveat in your statement is “so far”. The whole point of all this is is to try and stop it from becoming "of the order of magnitude of the disease in Stephen King’s “The Stand.”
They just closed for spring break one day early. Spring break has been extended one week.
The UT President is self quarantining because his wife tested positive after they visited NYC. My dad knows them because Dad and the President were engineering profs at the same time.
@TheGreyKing – The typical annual death rate from the flu is 1 out of 1000. We don’t know the COVID19 mortality rate yet, but it’s somewhere between 1 and 3 out of 100. That’s a huge magnitude of difference and a lot of real, actual loved ones, vulnerable or not.
Plus, the faster it spreads the higher the death rate b/c our hospitals won’t be able to treat those who need it (ICU beds and ventilators).
And yes, some young, healthy people are dying too. Much less likely, but it’s happening in Italy right now.
“Everything you do before a pandemic seems alarmist. Everything you do afters seems inadequate.”
It is going to be interesting to see the reactions (especially here) if colleges spend much of next year being forced to teach remotely, if the virus can’t be contained and things remain locked down until a vaccine is available.
That really will completely change the current model of college, and make the full pay experience untenable for most, because students will have been forced to learn online for a year or more. Why pay $50K+ year for tuition then?
OTOH you could see the tippy top brand colleges massively expanding online enrollment, and dominating the market along with state universities. Interesting to contemplate as we spend the next few months at home.