At this point in America’s battle against COVID-19, all 50 states have now begun to partially reopen. There are plans to return to full operation, but a lot of speculation has been made about what colleges will do in the fall. It’s amazing we are even having these discussions. When school closed back in March, some people even assumed they would be back on campus before the end of their school year! Now we are here discussing what will happen with on campus classes for the fall. I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’ve been trying to follow the news closely because I desperately want to be back at my college in the fall. The risks for the virus spreading on college campuses is very high since everyone lives in such close quarters.
Overall, the news is definitely looking up for college students. The most immediate return to campus will be that of Division 1 athletes. Football and basketball athletes will be able to return to campus June 1st for training. This is positive news because if sports team are planning to resume, the entire college would have to be there as well. Also, this is an extremely good news for sports fans as well.
Some big notable universities have made plans for their return to campus in the fall. Notre Dame and University of South Carolina have announced they will begin classes earlier, with no breaks during the semester to end by Thanksgiving. This will help limit travel on and off campus to reduce the chance of a spread. Other schools, like Syracuse, have announced they will end by Thanksgiving but not start earlier. They will accomplish this by classes on the weekends and later during the day. None of these solutions are perfect, but they hold out hope for other schools that we will be able to continue on campus in the fall.
The downside is that some schools have taken the opposite stance. They warn students to prepare for the very real chance that classes will be held online in the fall. Some schools like Ithaca college have announced a return back in October. This leaves some questions if they will start online, and what time of year they will end. A lot of schools are holding out until later in the summer to make decisions. This makes sense because then they can see which direction the country is moving in to returning to normal. No matter what any school says, it’s impossible to know what the future will actually hold for college campuses. It seems that there are no perfect answers since schools have a lot of different plans for reopening. The fact that the country is beginning to reopen, and testing is becoming much more available are posting signs for returning to college campuses in the fall. At this point all we can do is wait it out and hope for the best. In the meantime, College On Tap will keep you updated with the latest Corona news regarding colleges.
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