By Julia Lopez, Community Reporter
As college students across the Chippewa Valley return to campuses now and in September, administrations at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UW-Stout say they are preparing for potential alternatives to in-person classes.
While many students and faculty agree that the UW-System is creating the best plan for in-person classes that it can, they say it’s important to be prepared for unsuccessful outcomes.
“There are myriad hypothetical situations that we may face this academic year,” said Michael Knuth, Associate Director of Integrated Marketing and Communications at UW-EC in an email to the CVPost. “Our goal is to remain flexible, vigilant and responsive…regardless of what the pandemic may bring.”
Douglas Mell, Special Assistant to the Chancellor at UW-Stout, expressed similar thoughts.
“We will continue to consult with local health officials to determine how to best respond to any changes in the health of our campus communities,” he said.
Mell said UW-Stout’s goal is to open campus in a way that is safe, while still providing a “quality educational experience” for students.
Plans include different class options
This includes a variety of class options, such as online, in-person or a hybrid mix of both.
Similar options are outlined in the Blugold Flight Plan, the guidelines published for students’ and faculty’s return to UW-Eau Claire.
UW-Eau Claire’s guidelines for reopening were created by Chancellor James Schmidt and other executive faculty members, with input from Dr. Pat Kress, director of Student Health Services.
The plan requires students sign a pledge agreeing to wear masks, practice social distancing, wash their hands and monitor their health.
Daily health monitoring will be done through Blugold Protocol, an app developed by UW-Eau Claire and Mayo Clinic Health System for students and faculty to download. This will create a database of potential COVID-19 cases on campus.
Knuth said that on-campus testing for COVID-19 will be available to symptomatic students through Student Health Services.
He added that classrooms across the UW-EC campus have been adjusted, and some classes have been moved to larger spaces (such as Zorn Arena) to enable students to practice social distancing.
Student reactions
Andrew Beidel, a UW-Stout student, said he has faith his university has made the right choice in reopening.
“I feel pretty good about going back,” he said, “considering my school is following the proper guidelines and precautions to prevent the spread of the virus and keep everyone healthy.”
However, while some students say they’re happy to return to campus, they fear not everyone will do their part to keep their community safe.
“I know that we’re dealing with a campus of college students,” said Logan Schreiber, a UW-EC junior, “and it’s hard to tell who’s taking it seriously and who isn’t.”
Schreiber noted that she would have felt safer at home.
Alexa Sheridan, an incoming UW-EC freshman, said she had doubts about her fellow students.
“I am a little bit nervous,” she said. “I’m concerned that it’s gonna be hard to get everybody to want to participate in mask-wearing at all times. I’m worried they won’t be thinking about others.”
Some universities have switched plans
These comments come after some universities across the country have had to switch from in-person classes or force hundreds of students to quarantine due to immediate outbreaks. These include the University of Notre Dame and Colorado College (according to NBC News and the Colorado Springs Gazette).
Additionally, NPR has reported that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suspended in-person classes after the positivity rate there surged from 3% to 14% in the first week.
Knuth and Mell said their administrations are working with local health officials to do their best to ensure similar outbreaks don’t occur in the Chippewa Valley.
“We learned a great deal this past spring,” Knuth said, “…and we will adjust as needed as we move forward.”
Both Schreiber and Sheridan said that, despite their hesitations, they’re glad to be returning to in-person classes and think the Blugold Flight Plan is as tight as it could be.
Schreiber, a Spanish minor, said “learning another language virtually isn’t easy.” She said the only thing that would make her feel safer on campus is “knowing that every student is actually taking things seriously.”
“I’ve been looking forward to the college experience, independence-thing for a long time,” Sheridan said. “I’m glad that I’m still getting to have that experience, even if it sucks a little bit.”
If you liked this story, please remember there were costs involved in producing it. The CVPost has no paywall, and we rely on our readers to help us meet the costs of reporting community news and information you often won’t find elsewhere.
Annual CVPost membership is $50, but contributions of any amount also matter. Please consider helping community supported journalism survive by clicking the Donate button below.