Some Boulder residents are doubtful the University of Colorado Boulder’s resumption of some in-person campus activity for the fall semester, and the associated flood of students back into the city over coming weeks, can be done safely as the coronavirus continues surging across the planet, particularly in the U.S.
Others are plain fearful.
While CU Boulder leaders have put forward a plan to have all students who will live in dormitories tested for the virus before they arrive on campus and to limit close interaction at its facilities, with the goal to host only 45% of prepandemic human density on campus, a cohort of locals are incredulous that anything, even the long list of precautions and consequences for violations the university has or is set to put in place, will work to prevent outbreaks from spreading among the community.
“It looks like the kind of reason is economic. The only reason to come back to school under the conditions they’re proposing is to take these people’s tuition, not for public safety or the safety of the students, because that’s impossible,” Ed Dwulet, a 67-year-old resident of the University Hill neighborhood, said. “It’s almost Trumpian. People are accusing (President Donald) Trump of downplaying the pandemic to get the economy going at the expense of people’s lives.”
In an email to Boulder City Council, he encouraged the local government to open a legal challenge to CU’s contention it can reopen safely.
CU Boulder Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke pushed back through a spokesperson against the assertion the university’s motivations are financial.
“The imperative driving the university’s plan for fall 2020 is to fulfill our public mission of teaching and research while staying in alignment with state public health guidelines,” he stated. “While we were able to complete instruction remotely in the spring and will be able to offer many classes remotely in the fall, there are many students who will benefit from in-person instruction, and we need to be able to return students and faculty to research that can only be conducted on campus.
“Returning to campus safely is an important part of our ability to enable students to advance toward their degrees, and we are not elevating financial considerations over either educational or safety concerns.”
Older people have proven much more vulnerable to developing severe symptoms of the COVID-19 illness caused by the novel virus than 20- to 29-year-olds, despite that the global pandemic has been fueled by the young, many of whom remain asymptomatic while carrying the disease. Statewide, 20- to 29-year-olds account for a larger percentage of cases than any other age group, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment data showed as of Saturday. In Boulder County, the 20- to 29-year-old range accounted for 533 cases as of Saturday afternoon, with no other 10-year range close to that mark, as 40- to 49-year-olds made up the next-most cases with 211.
Problematic student behavior, such as holding large parties, is a source of angst among year-round residents. Those residents say they have already been rattled by loud gatherings and far more instances of fireworks being shot off in the city this summer than in recent years. They pointed out there are very few young people in town currently compared to the influx set to take hold of Boulder in August under CU’s current plan. An outbreak in the area was already tied to parties on the Hill this summer.
“I can’t recall in 38 years living on the Hill when there’s been the level and number of parties on a regular basis, and the loud music that goes along with it, that combined with the incredible number of fireworks that started early in the summer and continue,” said Eric Malmborg, a Boulder resident in his late 60s. “I appreciate the dilemma the university is in financially, and I understand the steps that they have taken preparing for this fall, but I don’t think what either CU or the police or whomever can appreciate is there is not a lot of confidence in whatever plans are being proposed because this summer has been out of control, and it hasn’t gotten any better.”
Malmborg urged the city and CU Boulder to step up their enforcement around nuisance gatherings and public health order violations against big parties, noting doing so could be effective if an example were made out of someone caught breaking the school’s and local government’s rules to slow the pandemic by suspension or expulsion without reimbursing tuition.
Shirley Berg, a longtime Boulder resident and executive director of The Academy senior living community, agreed with Malborg’s assessment of the summer party scene and the need for more punitive measures for rulebreakers.
“I know we have to be careful, because I’m a big believer in people’s freedoms, but not at the expense of others,” Berg said. “When we’re talking about not just the potential of COVID transmission, but also being good neighbors, the rules of that are I can’t enjoy my home in a way that prevents you from enjoying your home.”
South Boulder resident Karen Brown has little faith students will follow the guidelines meant to slow the virus when they appear in the city.
“Please consider that opening CU to many thousands of college students this fall semester will imperil our entire Boulder community as the students spread themselves throughout the city, patronizing grocery stores, restaurants, pharmacies and many other businesses, making it difficult for many of us to continue going out to obtain the basics,” Brown wrote in an email to City Council. “We just can’t allow the university to pretend either that the coronavirus is not as deadly as we fear or that these young students will simply do the right thing. They won’t.”
Brown pointed to a Washington Post editorial board column published last week that focused on a Missouri summer camp that posted a 31-point program of safeguards meant to prevent an outbreak of the virus.
“None of it worked,” the editorial said. The camp was still struck by more than 80 campers, counselors and staff testing positive before shutting down earlier this month.
Boulder Councilwoman Rachel Friend this week questioned university leaders on why testing for students planning to live off campus this year hasn’t yet been mandated before they arrive. The university is still refining its requirements, and that aspect of its plan could change. Boulder County Public Health has suggested all college and university students coming back to Colorado from out of state, including those who live off their respective campuses, should be tested five days before they arrive at their destination.
“We are pleased with the plan (CU) has in place and understand that a plan to require testing of students who live off-campus may require additional considerations and more time to plan. We look forward to hearing more about the option,” Boulder County Public Health spokesperson Chana Goussetis said.
School officials acknowledged to Council there is no possible way to eliminate the risk of a surge in cases, conceding that contact tracing and isolating students, staff and faculty testing positive will need to be performed comprehensively and efficiently, in addition to cracking down on irresponsible student behavior like hosting large parties on the Hill.
In addition to testing for all dorm residents, CU is providing access to testing options that will be available for all students with symptoms of the virus, those identified through campus contract tracing as potentially exposed and those in higher-risk groups as part of the ongoing monitoring, or surveillance testing, on the campus. The current plan is aligned with the state health department’s guidelines released Tuesday, CU spokesperson Melanie Marquez Parra said.
“Extending the requirement to all students living off campus or to all students coming from outside of Colorado would likely stress testing resources locally and nationally, which is something we need to be conscientious of in our planning,” Marquez Parra said.
Plus, Eduard Heijkoop, an aerospace engineering doctoral candidate, believes mandating testing might not go smoothly with many students.
“I think it’s a tricky situation, forcing people to undergo a medical test with a cotton swab up your nose. I don’t think it will sit well with many people,” he said.
Additionally, CU modified its student code of conduct to potentially discipline those caught in violation of public health orders or the school’s rules, and the city has added a public health order infraction to its nuisance ordinance, while both entities plan to be in touch with landlords housing students on their properties should any issues arise with ignorance of social distancing guidelines.
Heijkoop thinks the changes to the student code will carry some weight.
“I think there is a huge incentive for students to abide by these guidelines. The last thing you want to do is get sent home or barred from in-person stuff because you were at a party or something,” he said.
Fully remote or online learning options are being offered to students who cannot attend in-person courses, but not every class is being offered via remote instruction.
“An in-person experience is ideal for fulfilling the university’s mission as the state’s flagship public research university, which is why we’re working to reopen the campus in a way that will reduce the risk of infections spreading,” Marquez Parra said. “The university’s Road Map to Fall 2020 plan includes being flexible and adjusting operations based on what is happening in Colorado and on guidance from local and state officials.”
Not all students are eager to return to Boulder and go about in-person activities. Jack Strauss, a CU Boulder junior living in Denver who initially planned to live on campus this fall, is trying to remove all in-person courses from his schedule because of the virus and possibly live at home for the semester. Strauss, who grew up in China and lived there during the SARS outbreak, said he has heard from more than a dozen friends who are not coming back because of the CU Boulder administration’s decision to host courses in a hybrid model, featuring some in-person coursework and some online.
“If they’re putting this many requirements and restrictions for continuity of education or on-campus activities, they might as well just switch everything online,” Strauss said. “… It would be a miracle if the school was able to control 33,000-plus students. … I believe they’re only doing this because they’re terrified of losing revenue.”
The junior predicted students would be sent home before the Thanksgiving break, when CU plans to shut down in-person learning for the rest of the semester, with the final weeks of class leading into the winter holidays carried out completely remotely.
Satara Kehn, a senior at CU Boulder from Missouri who is coming back to the city later this month, holds a similar opinion.
“I highly disagree with CU’s decision to attempt to bring thousands of students back to Boulder. I think as a decision it is highly reckless, irresponsible and senseless,” Kehn said. “Obviously, as a senior I would love to have the best in-person year. However, as a public health issue, with a school that has almost a 50% out-of-state rate, the decision to bring thousands of students back to Boulder affects the entire city of Boulder, not just the campus.”
Should the reopening not go as well as CU hopes and virus cases tick too far upward, a change to the semester’s operations, perhaps along the lines of Strauss’s prediction of an earlier-than-scheduled campus closure, may be necessary.
“If there is significant community transmission, the students involved would need to quarantine. If it got bad enough, I would hope the university would reevaluate their plans,” Councilman Aaron Brockett said. “Obviously we’re going to need to be very strict with enforcement of parties and other gatherings.”
He declined to assert whether he thought CU’s plan to bring students back this fall was a good idea or a bad one.
"plan" - Google News
July 19, 2020 at 05:18AM
https://ift.tt/3jhL0LQ
Boulder residents skeptical CU’s fall reopening plan will be safe enough from coronavirus - The Daily Camera
"plan" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2un5VYV
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Boulder residents skeptical CU’s fall reopening plan will be safe enough from coronavirus - The Daily Camera"
Post a Comment