College towns fear super-spreader semester as students descend

[mahatmakanejeeves]

EDUCATION

College towns fear super-spreader semester as students descend
Local officials are bracing for a virus explosion triggered by young people living in tight quarters who disregard social distancing rules.

By BIANCA QUILANTAN

08/11/2020 07:55 PM EDT

Updated: 08/11/2020 11:55 PM EDT

Earlier this summer, students at the University of Virginia packed bars, rental houses, apartments and fraternity houses as part of Midsummers, a party and reunion tradition of students.

Watching the surge in large gatherings on social media and hearing from concerned residents prompted Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker to call UVA’s plan to bring students back to campus a “recipe for disaster.” At a virtual press conference, Walker said local officials had little power to control student behavior and that their only option would be to work with the university president and Gov. Ralph Northam.

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Across the country, it’s move-in season for colleges, and while universities are desperately trying to save their academic year and preserve the finances of struggling schools, local officials are bracing for a virus explosion among young people who live in tight quarters, don’t follow social distancing rules and often behave as though they are young and invincible.

In Chapel Hill, N.C., the county health director wants classes at the University of North Carolina to be fully online for the first five weeks of the semester. In Athens, Ga., the mayor is warning that University of Georgia students could put his residents in danger if the city can't enforce mask mandates and a 10 p.m. last call. In West Lafayette, Ind., home of Purdue University, the mayor is banking on the “Protect Purdue pledge” that pushes masks and hand washing to keep students and his city safe.

If students begin to move back on campus next week, we could quickly become a hot spot for new cases as thousands of students from all across the country [and] world merge onto the UNC campus and begin to interact in a manner very normal for college students,” Orange County’s Health Director Quintana Stewart said last month.

Early data suggests young, healthy college-aged people can become infected by the virus but are likely to have mild or no symptoms. But, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has said college shared living spaces, including dorms, are like nursing or assisted living homes and could have a similar pattern of person-to-person transmission of the virus. That means students could spread the virus off campus and all the way back to their hometowns.

Colleges and universities have long struggled to wrap their arms around the party culture off campus that has resulted in deaths from binge drinking, Greek life hazing and more. If getting students to abide by public health and safety rules when it comes to partying is difficult, getting them to abide by strict social distancing guidelines could prove to be an impossible challenge.

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[SWBTATTReg]

1. Haven't these kids already been at super spreader events all summer long, at the Lake of the ...

Ozarks, at other on the water events, at other crowded venues all summer long, ignoring common sense guidelines to socially distance, to wear masks, etc.? So, they're already probably massively infected anyways.

A good reason to stay away, retire early, choose another job/career and get out of teaching temporarily (protect you and your family first, and screw those that don't seem to care about others who continue to party like nothing is happening).

I know that this may be pretty hard for others to do (talk vs. doing is cheap, seniority rules/tenor rules, etc.), but there are some of my friends in teaching that are in fact, seriously looking at moving on or taking a temporary break (not be a substitute teacher, or go to trade school and teach, etc.).

Just watch...as super spreader event number 1 happens, then number 2 happens, then etc., etc., etc., super spreader event 1,000 and more. And these kids will go back to their homes, jobs, etc. too, spreading the CV even more so. All in conjunction w/ what they say will occur when the weather gets colder, the CV will get worse as more and more are forced into closer quarters w/ others.