On Higher Education: Policies, Provisions, and Us in the Time of COVID-19

What is the University of Minnesota’s plan for COVID-19, and how will it be received?

By Mitchell Levesque

Since the advent of the coronavirus, college life for students has changed significantly. For University of Minnesota students, this fact is also true. Students still remain on the East Bank mall, playing frisbee, participating in lively conversations, or just relaxing. What’s different now is the lack of passing time: the busy moments when the campus buzzes with hurried students ready to get to their next class. This shift is, of course, a result of the University’s new hybrid model, which prescribes most classes to be online, with some being allowed in-person segments. However, the largest change, and perhaps biggest challenge for the University, comes with how college students socialize. It is well known that much of the college experience is based on life outside of the classroom, so much so that the right to socialize freely can seem constitutional when discussing the privileges of a student. The fact is, however, that this fall there is an amendment to said constitution, one that comes in the form of social distancing, required masks, and limited contact with individuals. The question remains: How will we respond to these requests?  

This amendment, speaking more specifically, is the University’s Gold and Maroon plan, the basics of which rely on limited exposure and enforced rules. Step one states that “students will live and learn almost exclusively within the residence halls for ten days,” which includes a 9 p.m. curfew. The following steps outline similar provisions, only with more and more access to campus facilities and later to no curfews. While a specific timeline has been set for these steps, the University can also move steps backwards or forwards based on available data concerning the spread of the virus on campus. Understandably however, students not included in this plan are those living off campus. Despite this, the University supplies much of the same help to these students, even providing a dedicated webpage to find places to get food, ideas for safer housing, and resources to find low-cost community clinics.  

Another part of the University’s plan comes with testing. At the time of writing this, only symptomatic individuals are being tested. According to the school, this decision was guided by their own public health team and Minnesota’s Department of Health. Similar to testing sites in many other places, the University is conducting tests in tents just outside the Boynton Health building. Those who test positive will be informed by a clinician within two to four days. Those who test negative will have their results delivered via the MyBoynton Patient Portal within  three to seven days, according to Boynton Health. 

Provisions and testing secured, one factor still remains pertinent to a successful fall plan: providing students and staff with the necessary information. So far the University has done a good job, sending regular emails that often contain links to resources that students may find helpful. Moreover, on the University’s website there is a COVID-19 tab that contains the details of their plan, as well as statistics on the virus within the school. The issue of this, however, is how much of this the students will pay attention to.

In terms of a response, by many standards the University has done a good job with the cards they have been dealt. The crux of this issue, however, lies with us, the students. It may seem unprecedented for such requests to be made of us, but those are the times we're living in. Many around campus will likely agree with these provisions and will chide at the generalizations often given when discussing college students. However, speaking this generally is not done out of laziness, but rather necessity: In the context of a pandemic, the actions of a few affect just about everyone. If we are to imagine a community in which we support one another and respect one another, we owe it to ourselves to be serious about those ideals together, both in words and action.