By Natalie Demaree October 9, 2020
The trees are beginning to change on campus at the University of Arkansas, but significantly less students are able to enjoy the fall colors this year because of remote classes.
“I feel we do have good protocols and guidelines in place. With limited face-to-face instruction, socially distant classrooms and spaces and increased cleaning, we are doing what we need to in order to ensure as safe of an environment as possible,” Zac Brown, director of communications for the Pat Walker Health Center said.
When UA students returned to campus for the fall semester, many were uncertain of how long they would get to stay on campus because of the pandemic. A little over a month into the semester, things seem to be going much better than anticipated, according to UA leaders.
Chancellor Joe Steinmetz’s top concern when developing safety procedures for the fall semester alongside the Arkansas Health Department and local health officials was keeping students and faculty safe while maintaining the same level of excellency, he said.
In an effort to keep in-person class meetings while maintaining CDC guidelines for social distancing, the UA rented out the Walton Arts Center for a class, Chancellor Steinmetz said.
“One-third of sections offered are face-to-face including hybrid classes,” he said, referring to the number at the beginning of the semester.
Chancellor Steinmetz said that Fayetteville would have looked like a ghost town, similar to when the UA first closed in March, if students had not returned to campus. He thinks the correct decision was made in reopening campus for in-person classes, he said.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” Chancellor Steinmetz said.
At the University of North Carolina, leaders announced the decision to move all undergraduate classes remote after the first week of classes, according to a press release by UNC Communications.
“In just the past week (Aug. 10-16), we have seen Covid-19 positivity rate rise from 2.8% to 13.6 percent at Campus Health,” the press release stated. “…effective Wednesday, Aug. 19, all undergraduate in-person instruction will shift to remote learning.”
Similarly, Notre Dame suspended in-person instruction for two weeks after a spike in positive cases during the first week of school, according to a Notre Dame press release.
“Ultimately, letting students come back to campus just inherently put their health at risk. But without it, plenty of people wouldn’t have a job,” Jack West, Director of Physical Health for the Associated Student Government at UA said.
One of the first initiatives he began working on upon returning to campus, with the help of ASG President, Julia Nall, and the support of the Volunteer Action Center, is assembling isolation bags, which they began delivering this week, for students who are in isolation around campus, he said.
Covid-19 care bags distributed by the Associated Student Government and the Volunteer Action Center. Courtesy of the Associated Student Government.
These reusable tote bags include fuzzy socks, journals, pencils among other self-care items for students as a response to Covid-19, West said.
“We’re going to distribute 150 as needed,” West said.
The number of students in isolation at the end of September, emailed to him by the Assistant Director of Housing, Megan Witherspoon, was 80 in designated Covid-19 dorms and 30 students isolating in their own rooms, West said.
Today, that number has decreased significantly. As of October 7, there is 92.2 percent of quarantine and isolation space available on campus, according to Pat Walker Health Center’s Covid-19 Dashboard.
Holcombe Hall, where many of the bags will be distributed, is being used as a quarantine dorm for students who test positive that were originally in community-style dorms without individual rooms, he said.
“I think from what we have seen across the country on other campuses, there are challenges every university faces. No one school has it figured out completely, so all we can do is share ideas, learn from failures and build off of successes,” Brown said.
At the Pat Walker Health Center on campus, several new operational procedures, such as TeleHealth services and programs, have been implemented to ensure the health and safety of staff and students, he said.
“As a health center, we continue to be an active campus partner and part of the overall strategy for the University. Our medical staff has worked constantly since February trying to come up with solutions to every challenge thrown our way,” he said.
Brown said that because of the factors that go into deciding appropriate next steps, it’s difficult to speculate whether or not the UA should remain having in-person classes or move to remote-only.
“Many things are taken into consideration including availability of testing supplies, on-campus, and community positivity rate and the current status of our area hospitals,” Brown said.
On September 18, the UA had 284 active cases, including 244 students, one graduate assistant, two faculty members and four staff members, according to the Pat Walker Health Center’s Covid-19 Dashboard. On October 8, that number is down to 33 active cases, including 32 students and one staff member, according to the Dashboard.
Chancellor Steinmetz announced October 8th in his email update that UA leaders had been preparing to go completely remote after Thanksgiving break, but as the campus case count continues to decrease, that option is no longer needed and classes will remain as they are.