The New Normal for Colleges: We Are on Our Own.
Colleges will be reopening in about a month. We need a pandemic plan when our administrators have told us implicitly or explicitly that we are on our own. Welcome to the world of essential workers!
In fall 2020, the situation was clear to students and parents, college administrators and teachers: Meet in person and face a significant risk of contracting the virus. Most colleges used commonsense and told students and teachers an in-class option would be available, expecting that few, if any, will be in classes in person, preferring online classes instead. While colleges differed in if or who or how many would be allowed on campus, most students — even when they were on campus — attended most classes remotely. Here is what I wrote last summer.
Even as it becomes clear that Covid’s Delta variant has increased the danger, the thinking at colleges is cloudy at best for fall 2021. After a year of remote classes, most colleges intend to return most students to campus and hold many classes in person. While some colleges will insist on mandatory vaccination, continued Covid testing, indoor mask wearing and social distancing, many will not require any of those precautions. “On your own” will be the norm this fall, unlike the more unified front we saw last fall.
When you are on our own, it is important to understand where we are in terms of vaccination and what the science has told us so far. Just under 70% of adults in America have received at least one shot the vaccine. While Vermont at 85% tops all states, states at the bottom of the list have under 50% vaccinated. Even as the American government is begging its citizens to get vaccinated, poorer nations are looking to America for its trove of unused vaccines. See this piece on the crisis in Uganda. The irony is inescapable.
At most colleges, whereas most faculty will likely be vaccinated, most students will not be. In my department, nearly every faculty member is fully vaccinated. Even the fully vaccinated are probably at risk for Covid’s Delta variant under significant indoor exposure, such as in a classroom. However, they are less likely to die or require hospitalization on getting sick.
What should faculty and students aim to do in fall 2021 and what can they expect in return? Get fully vaccinated! That second shot could be the difference between merely getting sick and serious illness. Continue to maximize remote work. Ensure offices and classrooms are well ventilated. Minimize indoor exposure when possible. And always wear a mask, even if vaccinated, because it is important not just for us but for others.
Even with vaccination and all precautions, there is perhaps a greater chance of contracting the virus this fall than fall 2020 because of in-person classes and because measures for mitigating virus transmission cannot be or will not be mandated. There is a silver lining. Fewer infections might be serious, making hospitalization and treatment more readily available to those who do become ill. We can hope for the best, but we better not assume the best case scenario on campus. This is the new normal. We are on our own at most colleges.
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