Eric Barron's statement on August return

[mn78psu83]

Dear Penn State Community:

Following a three-month comprehensive planning process, I'm pleased to share with you the University's announcement regarding our Back to State plan to resume campus-based residential instruction, work and other activities this fall in a limited fashion.

The health and well-being of the Penn State community is the University's first priority as we look forward to welcoming the community back to our campuses. Penn State will begin to have students and employees return to campuses in phases, beginning this summer, and will have a number of prevention and public health procedures and strategies in place to protect the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and local communities.

I know you will have many questions. We will be hosting two town halls in the coming weeks about the fall semester with as much information as is currently available. We also will continue to share updates throughout the summer as information is available. I encourage you to read more about our fall plans and continue to track our Back to State updates on virusinfo.psu.edu.

Also, we know there are other issues on your mind as it has been a challenging time for our nation beyond COVID-19. I want you to know Penn State is deeply committed to focusing on addressing hate and racism. If you haven't, please read my message, as these initiatives, along with diversity and inclusion, will be a priority for our entire community as we look ahead to the fall semester. A website will soon be launched to track progress on these initiatives.

I look forward to seeing you back on campus in August.

Eric J. Barron
President, Penn State

 

[Cletus11]

no classes bigger than 250, in person ends Friday before thanksgiving and then on-line after, masks and social distancing in place at all times, students appear to have to sign some document saying they will do those both on and off campus if i read it correctly.

 

[BobPSU92]

We’re screwed.

barren’s got this.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

We must be clairvoyant, @mn78psu83

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

no classes bigger than 250, in person ends Friday before thanksgiving and then on-line after, masks and social distancing in place at all times, students appear to have to sign some document saying they will do those both on and off campus if i read it correctly.

I was told that there is a move to make non-compliance both a student conduct and an HR issue (for staff).

 

[Dunkindonuts]

In other news, Ohio State players must wear masks when pretending to attend classes.

 

[not so fast my friend]

In other news, Ohio State players must wear masks when pretending to attend classes.

They have to wear masks for their online classes? Weird.

 

[BudatPSU]

no classes bigger than 250, in person ends Friday before thanksgiving and then on-line after, masks and social distancing in place at all times, students appear to have to sign some document saying they will do those both on and off campus if i read it correctly.

Will everyone have to supply their own tongs and will the onion dip be in individual containers?

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

IMO, Barron and leadership are handling this all very well.

 

[ericstratton-rushchairman]

Going to be tough to pick up girls at the fraternity parties

 

[interrobang]

IMO, Barron and leadership are handling this all very well.

They just waited and copied what many other universities are doing.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

They just waited and copied what many other universities are doing.

Not necessarily, and waiting to see how it all develops isn’t a bad thing either.

 

[BobPSU92]

Going to be tough to pick up girls at the fraternity parties

Or the dean’s daughter.

 

[bdgan]

Not necessarily, and waiting to see how it all develops isn’t a bad thing either.

It's interesting that they're finishing the semester and doing exams online in order to minimize the impact of a fall resurgence. What if there is no resurgence and the virus settles down by then?

 

[Sproul]

It's interesting that they're finishing the semester and doing exams online in order to minimize the impact of a fall resurgence. What if there is no resurgence and the virus settles down by then?

they don’t want kids going home for break, meeting up with the infected then bringing it back

 

[lionscott]

no classes bigger than 250, in person ends Friday before thanksgiving and then on-line after, masks and social distancing in place at all times, students appear to have to sign some document saying they will do those both on and off campus if i read it correctly.

mask wearing during classes is not a good idea in my opinion. Very hard to communicate for both teacher and student.

I have spoken to several doctors and have been told masks don’t to much unless they are the ones the medical personnel wear.

 

[MacNit07]

they don’t want kids going home for break, meeting up with the infected then bringing it back

Great theory...if everyone just stayed in a bubble on campus. In reality - not so much.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

mask wearing during classes is not a good idea in my opinion. Very hard to communicate for both teacher and student.

I have spoken to several doctors and have been told masks don’t to much unless they are the ones the medical personnel wear.

No, not really, and Dr. Oz doesn’t count.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

Great theory...if everyone just stayed in a bubble on campus. In reality - not so much.

Sproul is right. Same reason why there will be class on Labor Day. It’s about taking steps to minimize the chances—the university knows it won’t stop everyone.

 

[phillybillyreprise]

One party away from becoming a “hot Spot”!

 

[LionJim]

No, not really, and Dr. Oz doesn’t count.

I can’t believe people are making an issue of face coverings when the school announces it’s going to be open for in-person classes.

 

[MacNit07]

Sproul is right. Same reason why there will be class on Labor Day. It’s about taking steps to minimize the chances—the university knows it won’t stop everyone.

You mean like in New York - where 2/3 of transmissions were from people in total lock down? That may be the reason, but it does appear to be a sound one.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I can’t believe people are making an issue of face coverings when the school announces it’s going to be open for in-person classes.

I can. It’s BWI.

 

[Sproul]

mask wearing during classes is not a good idea in my opinion. Very hard to communicate for both teacher and student.

I have spoken to several doctors and have been told masks don’t to much unless they are the ones the medical personnel wear.

just stop

 

[bkmtnittany1]

Or the dean’s daughter.

Mitch Kumstein will give it a shot!

 

[IrishHerb]

they don’t want kids going home for break, meeting up with the infected then bringing it back

Thats what most colleges are thinking. But they seem to forget that a good number of students live off campus, faculty and staff come and go to work daily. So anybody could bring the virus back to campus with them.

 

[Nitt1300]

Beware when bureaucrats start throwing terms like "initiatives" around.

 

[Nitwit]

Thats what most colleges are thinking. But they seem to forget that a good number of students live off campus, faculty and staff come and go to work daily. So anybody could bring the virus back to campus with them.

You think they forgot that? Please...

 

[87 Penn St8]

Deans Wife, Mayors Daughter

 

[Cletus11]

Tangential to this, as we wonder what Beaver Stadium is going to be like this fall, maybe 50% capacity like Texas announced. I wonder about all the indoor winter sports. Seems far away but they start practice and games in late November and if class size is limited to 250 kids, cannot believe they have any fans at Rec Hall or Bryce Jordan for those teams. Gonna be really interesting how this fall/winter plays out.

 

[bdgan]

It will be interesting to see how schools respond to positive cases. They don't panic and shut down when the flu is going around. I know that covid has been worse than he seasonal flu but not for young people. I think the mortality rate for 20 year old kids is less than 1/10th of 1%. So how do universities respond when they get 100 positive cases? If it was the flu they'd let the kids fight through it. In this case the kids will probably be quarantined and asked to do their work online which might be fine, but will they panic and shut down in person classes?

 

[AWS1022]

It will be interesting to see how schools respond to positive cases. They don't panic and shut down when the flu is going around. I know that covid has been worse than he seasonal flu but not for young people. I think the mortality rate for 20 year old kids is less than 1/10th of 1%. So how do universities respond when they get 100 positive cases? If it was the flu they'd let the kids fight through it. In this case the kids will probably be quarantined and asked to do their work online which might be fine, but will they panic and shut down in person classes?

I would be shocked if they didn’t panic. That seems to be the default emotion with this pandemic.

 

[Obliviax]

I think PSU has this about right. if you look at the stats, things are trending very positively (don't read the media!). Kids no longer have to go to class so if you don't want to, don't go. And, as we've seen, social distancing hasn't exactly 'won the day' since May 26th, ~20 days ago. So far, I am not seeing huge outbreaks in Washington, NY and Seattle (et all). Each person has to assess their own risk model and act accordingly. PSU has to put processes in place to assist those in a higher risk category (all classes available via web conferencing).

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I think PSU has this about right. if you look at the stats, things are trending very positively (don't read the media!). Kids no longer have to go to class so if you don't want to, don't go. And, as we've seen, social distancing hasn't exactly 'won the day' since May 26th, ~20 days ago. So far, I am not seeing huge outbreaks in Washington, NY and Seattle (et all). Each person has to assess their own risk model and act accordingly. PSU has to put processes in place to assist those in a higher risk category (all classes available via web conferencing).

Good post. The thing I keep asking myself when I read media reports about Arizona and Texas is.....did they ever have a first wave?

 

[Obliviax]

Good post. The thing I keep asking myself when I read media reports about Arizona and Texas is.....did they ever have a first wave?

One thing is certain: we need better processes to measure these things. There is a lot of speculation about how many cases are double counted. Seems people being counted as positive are often told to get tested again to make sure as the tests are not 100% reliable. You probably have the other way too, people negative but still feeling bad get tested again. Regardless, you have way less percentage of positives even with all of this noise. Net/net things continue to get better even though millions of people did not practice social distancing at all.

 

[Art]

Will be interesting to see how many kids show up for the Fall term. Expect quite a number to take leaves of absence or defer initial enrollment for a year.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Tangential to this, as we wonder what Beaver Stadium is going to be like this fall, maybe 50% capacity like Texas announced. I wonder about all the indoor winter sports. Seems far away but they start practice and games in late November and if class size is limited to 250 kids, cannot believe they have any fans at Rec Hall or Bryce Jordan for those teams. Gonna be really interesting how this fall/winter plays out.

Keep in mind 250 is what is allowed under the Governor’s Green Phase. He hasn't yet announced what happens after that phase is lifted or what parameters have to be met to have the phase lifted. Look at New Zealand after no positive tests for 3 weeks.

 

[bdgan]

I would be shocked if they didn’t panic. That seems to be the default emotion with this pandemic.

Exactly. And if one school shuts down that will put pressure on others to follow suit.

 

[AWS1022]

Exactly. And if one school shuts down that will put pressure on others to follow suit.

Apparently we should have shut some sh!t down in 2010.

 

[bdgan]

Apparently we should have shut some sh!t down in 2010.

and 2011, and 2016