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* Here’s something to get you started…
Michigan State University, which was set to reopen Aug 27 to students, announces instead the school will start online, following disastrous reopenings at UNC and Notre Dame. https://t.co/nGI22aCRK8
— Amy Siskind đłď¸âđ (@Amy_Siskind) August 18, 2020
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 3:08 am
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Ilrb will hear the unfair labor practice complaints from UPI against WIU and EIU on Thursday.
Comment by Not a Billionaire Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 3:12 am
I wonder how long it will be before the other universities follow U of I and go online in the spring? If they all make it that long.
Comment by 618er Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 5:10 am
About MSU, UNC-CH, and ND failed openings — What were the brainiacs at these schools thinking? Who on God’s green earth still believes face-to-face openings will work out, most especially on mega-campuses? I mean, other than in the SEC conference where the football gods rule?
Comment by Flapdoodle Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 5:17 am
=== I wonder how long it will be before the other universities follow U of I and go online in the spring? If they all make it that long.===
Cite please.
I saw that after Thanksgiving, for the fall semester, UIUC will not be returning students and online learning for the rest of the fall semester, havenât seen anything in Spring.
Thanks.
Link to fall semester at UIUC
https://bit.ly/3iV1zMB
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 5:29 am
===Cite Please===
Should have been (what one accidentally omitted word means)
I wonder how long it will be before the other universities follow U of I and THEN go online in the spring? If they all make it that long.
Comment by 618er Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 6:01 am
Noter Dame is moving on line for a couple of weeks. I bet ACC football shuts down
Comment by DuPage Saint Louis Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 7:07 am
Like the old saying, it ain’t over til it’s over. And it ain’t over.
Comment by Bobby McGee Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 7:23 am
===I bet ACC football shuts down===
Doubtful. UNC would lose so much money with the new ACC Network not even a year old.
Again, letâs talk Michigan State; cite, The Detroit News
https://rb.gy/g7esde
â’Never-say-never mode’: MSU AD Beekman warns of possible cuts to athletics due to pandemicâ
=== âI think we have to be in a ânever-say-never mode,ââ Beekman said. âI think there’s nothing that we’re going to immediately take off the table. Everything has to be an option as we explore how to close this gap as best we possibly can.â
The gap has grown exponentially with the postponement of fall sports to, possibly, the spring. And there was no bigger part of that equation than football, which at Michigan State in the 2018-19 season generated nearly $80 million in revenue, accounting for almost 58% of the Spartansâ total revenue of just more than $140 million.===
Losing $80 million, in MSUâs case, or have TV revenue from ACC football to save all sports at the university, itâll be tough to shut down football, but Iâm betting against a full season anyway, including BIGXII and SEC football too.
I truly feel for all university students right now. Itâs got to be a worry for all.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 7:44 am
Once again, reality intrudes.
Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 7:47 am
The governor has made a lot of mistakes since April.
Resuming in-person instruction on college campuses is on that list.
Whether it is the governorâs staff or the governor himself who refuses to admit they made a mistake is unclear.
Whatâs clear is that we are on a slow-rolling train wreck.
The Governorâs own reopening plan describes Phase 4 as: âThe rate of infection among those tested and the number of patients admitted to the hospital continues to decline.â
That is clearly not what is happening.
We are currently observing Phase 2 conditions, approaching Phase 1 in regions of the state, and the governorâs office is failing to take serious action.
Ask them what percent of contacts are being traced within 24-48 hours, I will be shocked if itâs above 50 percent.
Heck, it was the end of July before they traced an outbreak to a graduation party. Last time I checked, those were held by mid June.
Change course.
Comment by Mayor Quimby Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:06 am
=== I truly feel for all university students right now. Itâs got to be a worry for all. ===
Privilege.
Itâs. Just. A. Game.
But itâs that kind of thinking that has gotten us into this predicament.
Comment by Thomas Paine Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:10 am
All of em will be closed before the year ends. Dang that world pandemic thing.
Comment by Frumpy White Guy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:16 am
=== Privilege===
… and yet not all students are uber-wealthy or see higher education as a privilege.
The doctors and nurses, as an example, is it a privilege we have students *right now* in nursing as we find shortages in that field.
=== Itâs. Just. A. Game.===
Boosters also donate.
Iâve said I agreed that any and all athletics, including professional sports, they are a symbol of a functioning society, thatâs not us in this country.
I canât help what universities and conferences do…
=== I truly feel for all university students right now. Itâs got to be a worry for all.===
… prolly why I wrote what I wrote, exactly as I wrote it.
Are you hoping for students to get sick or worse… thatâll show âem and their privilege?
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:17 am
Bringing students back to campus from all over the country was a colossal blunder. Had they just announced they would be online from the start, most of these students could have stayed at home instead of turning South Bend, Lansing and Chapel Hill into new, fraternity party fueled COVID hot spots. The schools that have opened dorms will see a rise in new cases.
The only difference between a college dormitory and a nursing home is the average age of the resident. Both are highly efficient transmission vectors.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:18 am
They will send the students home, but keep the student athletes on campus because #Football. Student-athlete safety is a joke. The fecklesss NCAA should do something, but here we are.
I’m quickly reaching let it burn mode for the SEC.
You want to ignore best practices? Reap the whirlwind then.
Illinois is going to give it their best with the additional testing capabilities, but man, its a house of cards built on the hope that young adults can behave themselves.
Comment by Dee Lay Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:22 am
If you jump off the top of an 80-story building, for 79 floors you can think youâre flying. Itâs the sudden stop at the end that tells you youâre not.
Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:27 am
Illinois has a state snack (popcorn), but not a state appetizer like Rhode Island.
What should Illinois’ state appetizer be?
Comment by ChicagoVinny Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:28 am
Frankly, there’s no better time to take a gap year than now, which is what I’d be doing if I were that age.
Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:29 am
@publicservant ok? to do what exactly? Can’t travel, can’t even go to the lakefront, work? good luck finding a job, visit the grandparents? so I guess it’s video games in the parents basement?
Comment by 10th Ward Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:38 am
Those of us living in college towns are dreading the return of students and the inevitable rise in cases. Sadly, I think UI will return because they have turned it into an academic exercise, and they need to run the experiment to see if their modeling was right. It is hard for professors to back down from their theories.
Comment by Simple Simon Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:40 am
=== to do what exactly?===
Save, roughly $9-20K in higher education costs?
Equivalent is not the Same
Sometimes economics is a factor, hot pockets and video games notwithstanding.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:43 am
Former HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt’s comment in Politico rings true, “In advance of a pandemic, anything you say sounds alarmist. After a pandemic starts, everything you’ve done is inadequate.” Looks like we still haven’t learned anything about a pandemic.
Comment by RetiredStateEmployee Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:47 am
to do what exactly?
Plan for the next 60 or so years of your life. Like all things this to shall pass. The goal is to get through this in the short term so we can focus on living the rest of our lives without the consequences of this disease. Foregoing travel or a trip to the lakefront for a year is about the smallest price you can pay.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:51 am
10th ward —
Read. Write. Take walks. Paint. Learn a craft. Help your folks.
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 8:56 am
Our niece (or Patient Zero, as we like to call her) spent a week or so partying in Cabo before she heads down to U of I for her freshman year. I believe she is planning to go through sorority rush. What could go wrong?
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:00 am
It is imperative that they get the at home test that you put out in your blog a couple weeks ago on the market. It appears that it will catch most of the positive cases when then you are passing it on long before you are sick and at your most infectious period. If you don’t know that you are sick(most infectious during asymptomatic period) you have already done the damage of passing it along long before you get the results from the testing sites around the country. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-harvard-crappy-covid-.html
Comment by Arock Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:02 am
can’t wait to hear from the parents who will protest at the Big Ten HQ on Friday. give our sons football. I’m sure they will be clamoring for academics, not.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:18 am
I am glad i am not dropping $50k for the out of state experience.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:20 am
Poll question: Should SEC go by “Some expendable children?”
https://twitter.com/lebatardshow/status/1293921654339510274
Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:30 am
Try as i might, i cant find fall enrollment numbers for EII,WIU or siu. Help
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:33 am
as a father of six adult kids between 22-30, my experience tells me differently. GAP year? nope. attend college on line and move on with your life. Reading, painting, walking all great but eventually they must leave the nest. Covid and the new norm will be here longer than anyone thought. Get you education from your parents basement, stay healthy. Gap year, nope, get to work
Comment by 10th Ward Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:35 am
=== as a father of six adult kids between 22-30, my experience tells me differently.===
For your six kids, I donât doubt.
The British gap year is how their society treats things during normal times, Harvard this year has 20% (one in five) of their freshmen taking the year off too.
Also, itâs not normal times, how students will adapt mentally is part and parcel too.
===Get you education from your parents basement, stay healthy. Gap year, nope, get to work===
Gen Ed classes, yep. Also, junior college online makes 1,000% sense. You wanna pay or take loans for $9-20K in classes for a whole academic year… alone… online?
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:42 am
I’m with 10th Ward on this one. Unless you are in a field of study that absolutely cannot be done via online courses, take the courses and get it done sooner rather than later.
Comment by Fixer Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:42 am
An alarming paper that came out recently found about 50% of a sample of 100 persons with COVID had serious heart damage. Not all the people were hospitalized. The specific type of heart disease (myocardidis) can lead to sudden death due to electrical disruptions in the heart muscle. Or can lead to permanant restriciton in heart function. An article in the Trib stated that it was worries about this complication that resulted in the (cancellation) postponement of the Big Ten season.
Comment by Groundhog Day Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:42 am
Blue Dog, the national standard for releasing enrollment data is after the 10th day of classes so it should be available in three to four weeks. As for the 19-20 academic year, here is some information from IBHE’s site:
Western Illinois University (-11.7%), Southern Illinois University Carbondale (-8.9%), and Northeastern Illinois University (-6.9%) experienced the largest overall enrollment declines relative to 2018-19. The University of Illinois at Chicago (+5.7%), Eastern Illinois University (+2.6%), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (+2.5%), Chicago State University (+2.3%), and Illinois State University (+1.6%) experienced overall increases relative to 2018-19.
Comment by Cubs Win Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:46 am
I remember when we just needed to bend the curve enough that we didnât overload our healthcare system. I must have missed the pivot to when that meant we will do things like cancel in-person school the moment cases pop up in young healthy people.
Iâm glad I can still go to Binnyâs through it all.
Comment by East Jackson Street LLC Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:54 am
=Save, roughly $9-20K in higher education costs?=
The all in price at the U of I is $30,000 (their number), with $35,000 being the price tag for “premium” programs (Engineering, et. al.)
The point is the same, the savings are simply much higher than $9-$20,000.
Comment by Say It Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:57 am
“Well, that escalated quickly!” -Anchorman.
A massive “F” for so-called “institutions of higher learning” that thought they could just resume normal patterns of education. If they’re not careful they might learn something…
Comment by revvedup Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 9:59 am
=== The point is the same===
The point is the savings, not the amount. (Sigh)
If that was the case, now do Harvard for the 20% taking a gap year.
I donât have the answer to this, the higher education issues, different from K-12 begins and ends with cost and add in necessity, availability, and the âequivalentâ / âsameâ dynamic.
Those looking at a âlazy, frivolousâ way of not going back, the financial hit the student or family might take during this time is real. Higher ed isnât always a privilege either, otherwise getting medical attention (outside insurance and the have and have not issues that digress the thought) can be delivered by high school grads if youâd like.
I truly feel for all university students right now. Itâs got to be a worry for all.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:04 am
=I must have missed the pivot to when that meant we will do things like cancel in-person school the moment cases pop up in young healthy people.=
The goal of flattening the curve was twofold. We needed to avoid overwhelming our health care system AND put the infrastructure in place to adequately test and implement contact tracing. We would have also expected that people would have taken basic steps to protect others like wearing a mask particularly to protect our most vulnerable. Until we are willing and able to take these basic steps this will be our current state.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:07 am
Humanities grad here. I just want to say — if more people had taken their “gen ed” classes seriously (you know, the stuff about critical thinking, etc) we wouldn’t be in this mess. “Gen ed” is central to “ed.”
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:08 am
At least Naperville will now permit recreational cannabis. Miracles never cease. Now if the next miracle could turn Beetle into a toad. . .
Comment by Lt Guv Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:08 am
There is article by Ed Yong in the Atlantic today pointing out that the original mantra of only the elderly and those with certain health conditions die the others with mild and moderate cases recover and go on with their lives with no problem. This is a new virus and we are still learning about it. There is a percentage of cases emerging that have potential long term problems with their hearts, lungs and neuro systems.Original studies were done on hospital patients and only recently is a closer look occuring for those who with mild and/or moderate cases recovered at home. Whether it is damage from the virus or the body’s reaction to the virus what is becoming clear for a certain percentage of mild and moderate cases one does not recover even after the virus has left the body quickly and recovery could be a long term process and could have chronic aspects. The young who are partying and the colleges bringing back the young in person are providing the subjects for this experiment regarding the virus effects. However, there are no forms to sign giving permission to be part of an experiment that can have serious negative effects on one’s health. There are liability waiver forms to sign though. Sad about the lack of understanding of what a pandemic means and what it means to deal with a new virus. Those who are selfishly partying etc. may find there are serious negative consequences.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/08/long-haulers-covid-19-recognition-support-groups-symptoms/615382/
Comment by Almost retired Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:10 am
Cubs win. Thanks. It seems eerily quite down here in Jackson co.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:24 am
BDD â Anecdotal only, but was told last night by an administrator that WIUâs freshman class is large. As in, unexpectedly large. Official numbers usually based on tenth class day enrollment.
Comment by Flapdoodle Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:30 am
== AND put the infrastructure in place to adequately test and implement contact tracing==
Thatâs fine if that was a goal. But I do not recall that component ever being cited as a necessary predicate to a return to (more) normal activities.
Were these students a risk to the most vulnerable in East Lansing? Is sending a pool of sick students back home across the country better now? Can anyone articulate with specificity what the standard is/was, the falling short of it justifying drastic changes to the lives of tens of thousands of students and families here? Because it seems like there isnât one, except that the moment we see cases we will do the most extreme thing possible in response.
Comment by East Jackson Street LLC Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:37 am
“What should Illinoisâ state appetizer be?”
Pigs in a blanket.
Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:49 am
=I remember when we just needed to bend the curve enough that we didnât overload our healthcare system. I must have missed the pivot to when that meant we will do things like cancel in-person school the moment cases pop up in young healthy people.
Iâm glad I can still go to Binnyâs through it all. =
A. There’s a reason this is called the *novel* coronavirus. We are continually learning new things about who it affects and how it affects them, how it’s spread, the best containment techniques. Pivoting when necessary is a good thing.
B. If you spend as much time in Binny’s as kids do in school, you’ve got a serious problem.
Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 10:51 am
I’ll bet quite a few communities who rejected cannabis now suffer regret… in the pocket.
Not every community has their own billionaire.
Comment by Dotnonymous Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 11:18 am
The pandemic has revealed basic flaws in our public higher ed system — reduced state financial support, increased reliance on tuition and student fees, dependence on football/basketball related revenue, bloated administrations, parents and students who see university as advanced day care, and mission drift away from instruction and research toward providing entertainment demanded by students, alums, and general public.
When people want to know “with specificity” what standard is being used to determine university responses to the pandemic, they miss the result of all this, namely, that there is no single *standard* but only the collision of multiple demands by multiple constituencies each with differing priorities few of which have much to do with actual education. It’s no surprise that so many schools are floundering in this unprecedented situation because it’s impossible to appease all their constituencies and appeasing one or two inevitably does likely serious harm to the others. And it’s no wonder that there is much confusion and backtracking as administrations try to deal with their multiple constituencies in rapidly changing circumstances in a system singularly unsuited for decisive decision-making.
If and when the pandemic subsides, higher education will need a thorough re-assessment and probably restructuring. Let’s hope it can hold together until then.
Comment by Flapdoodle Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 11:36 am
“Frankly, thereâs no better time to take a gap year than now, which is what Iâd be doing if I were that age.”
As a mom with a freshman and junior at Iowa State - a gap year is not an option. They would both lose $9500/yr in scholarships if they take a year off (btw - that is why they are going out of state, much better financial aid - sorry IL!)
Comment by minnow Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 12:38 pm
I’m not sure that opening residential universities will increase the overall COVID infection #’s or just shift the clustering.
18-22 year olds are going out and socializing whether they are at home or at college. Keeping students in the dorms will lower the rate of spread among families. It is not clear to me if the move to campus towns will increase the overall spread among the students (they have been socializing and spreading COVID all summer at parties and bars); it may be that it will just move the clusters to campus towns instead of having them all around the state.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 12:43 pm
@Vinny: my vote would be chili cheese fries
Comment by Lurker Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 1:42 pm
Pot calling kettle,
I think there are a couple of risks. One is that students who are from small towns without a significant presence of COVID could now be exposed due to the concentration of people from other areas. So you’ve risked making some student’s exposure worse. And 2. as they all go home for breaks, they spread it back to their towns and now every town has a significant COVID exposure.
Of course the other concern would be liability for the university. They, for dorm students, act as housing and are required to provide safe lodgings in addition to that they often act as primary health care givers.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 1:48 pm
Missing the State Fair?
https://tinyurl.com/y2gjrnoy
Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Aug 19, 20 @ 4:05 pm
== small towns without a significant presence of COVID ==
Not sure where those are…if you look around the state, much of the current spread is young people in small towns. If you go into the local dollar store, no masks, no distancing, then off to a backyard party. Those small town students are just as likely to be carriers as anyone, maybe more so. (Not speculation, I live in a very rural area downstate.)
Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Aug 20, 20 @ 12:02 am