Visit Back2BU for the latest updates and information on BU's response to COVID-19. Yes I’m scared of Covid, but I’m also scared for the people that depend on me to teach classes for thier jobs as well. I study at night for “my own” sometimes even research papers, do not expect to be paid for that. Resuming offline teaching and research also means forcing people to commute. There are two irrational approaches to the issue today: 1. one takes the pandemic too seriously and does so occasionally (no problem when there is protest) 2. one does not take the pandemic seriously enough. Thank you Catherine for providing the “facts” to combat the fear mongering and speculation presented in this article. Like Chua, they make a number of excellent and well-reasoned points, and quickly assume the moral high ground. Web filters. As a health provider who is part of the BU Community, the plan for in-person classes being held doesn’t make me feel any safer about going to work. Some of the classrooms which we are assigned to (as noted in comments above) would allow only 3-5 students to be in the room with an instructor at one time–and those rooms are also not well-ventilated or safe for students or instructors. Fall 2020. If you are unhappy with your situation so much that you have to attack PhD students, change it. Important Announcement . The oceanfront campus is minutes from downtown Boston and nationally recognized as a student-centered urban public research university. Updated May 22, 2020; Posted May 22, 2020 In this Wednesday, May 20, 2020 photo a passer-by skates past an entrance to the Tsai Performance Center on the campus of Boston University, in Boston. So the conclusion from the paragraph about false positive in tests has to be adjusted. No one wants to be the person left out. But somehow its OK for me to mag your groceries. Flattening the curve is not a green light to reopen. Doesn’t it add a pressure to students to put their health at risk? My assessment is that through this crisis, BU being able to do what other universities cannot will pull ahead of the other universities in rankings. I work. This is a great idea, but is not what BU is proposing. The Patient Treatment Centers will be operating at 30 percent capacity overall (although exact capacity will vary from department to department) in this first phase of a planned four-phase reopening. Some sort of a package to sustain people should be forthcoming from our government. The next generation of scientists, engineers, occupational therapists and physicians need to be trained. But unfortunately there is an error with the following information: Also – LIFE and wellbeing matter more than degrees and timelines and visas, at the end of the day. Furthermore, imagine the first irrational group win and BU does not open. Consider the age of most students. The following is a hypothetical narrative by a fictional character named Izzy, going through her day at “Corona College” in what could well be a non-fictional scenario. So before you go attacking BU professors for “not adjusting to new reality” and “not realizing or accepting” the situation, keep up with the facts. In order to allow these folks to keep doing their jobs the rest of us should limit our interactions as far as possible- and having thousands of people commute to and from campus every day and mingle while there- that is not a way to keep a community safe. No matter what happens this year you will get your free education while people of less privilege lose their jobs. It would appear that only those who teach in the humanities can get away with arguing that they should be allowed to work from home indefinitely while the rest of the world returns to work. Fall 2020 Update The concern, of course, is that if BU does decide to go fully online, then as per the new ICE and SEVP ruling, a lot of international students would lose their visa status. As an international student myself, I thoroughly understand your concerns. Elinor Aspegren and Samuel Zwickel. I commend the BU administration for developing the LfA approach. The views expressed are solely those of the author and are not intended to represent the views of Boston University. Why not? 18 December, 2020 at 8:58 AM. These pay rates mean that PhD students are paid the same as, if not less, than most of the other employees atBU. As a comment above said those working at grocery stores are managing to go to work why can’t teachers? They rarely, however, tackle the problem in full. There is always a middle way. Because there are too many others who didn’t get that break. Listen to your concerned staff with families and elders. Please let BU go fully online.to safe student and faculty. Is it mandatory for all faculty members to show solidarity with all students showing up for in-person classes? I find it difficult read this. Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts.The university is nonsectarian but maintains its historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. Policies include the option of both online and in-person courses for undergraduates, which will incorporate social distancing. https://gettinggenz.com/2020/07/07/a-day-in-the-life-at-corona-college-fall-2020/. The higher number cited in this article includes a broader swath of tests being performed right now. Taking a gap year, as some have suggested, is for the privileged and not feasible for everyone; plus, the situation might be worse when you return. And please don’t take any solace in the university asking anyone who can successfully do their jobs from home while students are on campus to do so. Also it’s easy to assume the moral high ground if you believe human lives are worth more than money. I am a graduate student, and before I go anywhere that might increase my risk of infection, I think about the grocery store workers, the hospital workers, and every other person who my infection would put in danger. You make more as tfs and rfs on an hourly basis than adjuncts and lecturers, and more than the service workers that keep this institution running. Also, many PhD students engage in decidedly NOT CUSHY fieldwork during their careers. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. This article clearly belongs to the first group and it is not difficult to find out: “until we have a vaccine or cure for COVID-19, that day [returning to school] cannot come.” There is no guarantee that that day will come at all as we still don’t have vaccine for other viruses. But How Good Are They? Teaching faculty (including grad students who teach) have constant contact not only with students but with colleagues on committees, in working groups, in seminars, in mentorships, and on other teams within and across departments and programs. That alone will go a long way toward reduce the pressure on student and minimizing the risk to faculty and staff. Does he get sent home? (As the writer of this article suggests, the traditional classroom–an enclosed space where people sit breathing and talking for extended periods of time– is a very problematic place post-Covid, and some of these classrooms are not workable at all, even with distancing and masks.). And should we go 100% online what happens to all the service workers and staff at BU who will no longer be needed? If a student gets sick then what? Flatten the fear and raise the rationality. Specially, when politics is involved: for instance, look at this article that says “NYC’s contact tracers have been told not to ask people if they’ve attended a protest” (https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-contact-tracers-not-asking-people-attend-george-floyd-protest-2020-6). This was well documented in a working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, for one: https://www.nber.org/papers/w27408.pdf. Inside gatherings—even with masks and hand sanitizing stations galore—are a real concern due to poor ventilation. No one wants to university to close, but the vast majority of classes can be done equally well online. Fact: We are expecting a second possibly more severe hit in the fall according to most epidemiologists including Dr.Fauci and WHO. The one thing we do not want to teach them is to turn run in fear. BU and its community keep saying that international students are important part of the community. I’m immunocompromised myself and don’t want this at all, but I want my degree too. For example, one study examined how a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in an air-conditioned restaurant in January 2020. When BU’s leadership announced the LfA approach for opening up the university in Fall, I applaud the genius of this decision. We Want to Hear from You. Second, let’s give you the benefit of the doubt: let’s assume protests did not cause spike in COVID-19. Go join Harvard and MIT. I’m not saying the protests were unjust; I’m saying where were the authors and other concerned people during that time to lecture us about ethics and safety? This article is naive, at best, and selfish, at worst. I think the hybrid mode is the best solution. Not all shine and care about being socially responsible as much as I love this age. As immunologist Erin Bromage explains, a COVID-19 infection occurs when you are exposed to enough viral particles. TT professors are not the people leading the resistance to this program–it is being led by graduate students, who have virtually no protection, no unionization, and very little pay already. Update on Fall 2020 Reopening Plans. If there is any difference how BU is planning to fill-up the gap? We want the same things they want – dignified and safe working conditions. Until ICE amends their policies and allows international students to study from home and abroad with no penalty on their visa status, I would say that minimal in-person operations should be in place. Well then it sounds to me like you are privileged because you could pay for your doctorate, eh? Remind me how many hours a week you actually teach? This crisis may be the defining moment. Why isn’t he stepping up to the plate, admitting there’s a problem and taking action on behalf of the citizens of the United States in a time of crisis? Dean Hutter has established a GSDM COVID-19 Compliance Working Group to evaluate and provide recommendations for progression from one phase to the next phase of capacity. Please don’t let BU go fully online. There has been very interesting comments in the article and subsequent comments. No one can move around the classroom or even drink water, which would require removing one’s mask. Besides what have been outlined by BU, UV rays and better filters can be installed in the air conditioning systems of all buildings to ensure clean air; cleaning and sanitizing schedules can be increased; and temperature scanners and safe entry codes can be installed at all entrances to buildings. Paying PhD students means that those of us who are immigrants, low income and working class, and disabled can pursue higher education. Students may not be in the age group most likely to die from the virus, but new data is emerging about the potential for long-term continuing health consequences after even mild cases of the virus (respiratory, pulmonary, neurological). Fully online and fully offline models will not work. Elinor Aspegren and Samuel Zwickel. BU wishes to pretend that nothing is wrong. BU’s plan is not perfect and still needs to be improved. I have never seen 2 professors jointly teach a course. If classes are fully online, interactions will be far more natural without the barriers of physical distancing and masks and atmosphere of fear. You want to provide online only education, undergrads who pay tuition don’t. To which rational people can add a third approach: BU’s plan. If Boston become COVID-19 epic center again, who will take care students in the campus. Despite some professors best efforts (or what the university tirelessly regurgitates), the learning experience is not the same; it is degraded and inferior compared to in-person classes. The school made the choice to go hybrid introducing LfA. It’s actually 70,000 but my son’s life and every staff member and student’s life is worth far more. We fight for social justice in our work as researchers and instructors. That is how we can teach our students to thrive in this new post-pandemic world. Boston University has announced that students will be back on campus for the fall semester, but with restrictions. There is a BIG difference between opening the campus to create a home for international students and those who may not have another place to live, and encouraging students to return to school in an attempt to “maintain the residential university experience”. This article mentions the problems with 50 minute classes. Dorm life guidelines are… The professors show up weary, much time is wasted troubleshooting, the entire dynamic shifts entirely, certain students may contribute more but overall contribution is lessened to an extraordinary degree, and many friends confessed to simply logging in for attendance purposes and then going right back to sleep. That compensation is akin to a $120k a year job. Some Deans don’t like people working from home (which I’m sure is easy for them to say from behind the closed door of their personal office and not from the windowless cubefarm everyone else has to work in) and would rather endanger these workers and everyone else on campus by increasing the number of people having to commute to campus every day so that people can be in poorly ventilated buildings, risking their lives needlessly. Thanks again for providing evidence for my arguments. Boston University on Thursday revealed key portions of a plan that would allow students to return to campus in the fall amid the coronavirus.. 3) If international students are forced to return to their countries, they will be in a serious danger: many countries are still struggling to control the virus. Instead of fighting for the right to teach from anywhere, as teachers have been doing for the past month, this summer would be better spent properly developing courses for online delivery. The faux concern in this comment has no place in a discussion of the real stakes of the campus reopening addressed in this article. It certainly is not for performing arts which my daughter is majoring in or a major that includes any type of lab work or international students to name a few examples. Given that a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the fall is “inevitable,” even if we start the semester with LfA, it is probable that we will have to suddenly switch to fully remote anyway. Boston College joins a small list of higher education institutions who plan to hold in-person classes in the fall. Even smile behind my mask. Why are we discussing safety and ethics if protests are allowed? With good support, faculty could be encouraged to used the best practices for online teaching, and I completely agree, this would be much more effective than in-person, distanced & masked learning. More generally, reopening campus this fall is a mistake, both from a public health and a pedagogical standpoint. That’s all there is to it. Don’t want to sound mean, but here is my point: If life has given you a good break (and if you are a professor or PHD you got the greatest break of all), then be thankful. Currently the positive test result is about 1/2 of all test result of all test result in the U.S. (1point3arc), and 1/50 in MA (mass.org, notice Mass recommends testing for mildly symptomatic individuals). Boston University: BU undergraduate students will have the option of taking in-person or online classes this fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic, the … In addition to thinking about the low-wage workers at the university, I urge you to consider what would happen to workers Boston-wide if this virus was spread from the university. Because I need to work. After careful deliberation and informed by extensive input from our community, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced plans to bring up to 40% of our undergraduates to campus, including all first-year students, for the fall semester.Assuming that we maintain 40% density in the spring semester, we would again bring back one class, and our priority at this … July 9, 2020. And it would be criminal to pay brick and mortar salary and perks to faculty and PhD students. It is indeed heartbreaking to see the sacrifices he has to put in just to attend these classes. It looks like when you graduate from your PhD, with this mindset, it is better you remain in academia rather than venture into the corporate world where competition determines the survival of the fittest. Emily Chua (GRS’22) TwitterFacebook. Additionally many students live in abusive households, struggle with mental health, and have learning disabilities which make online learning impossible. 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