WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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After closing their doors back in mid-February to students and faculty, Indiana and Purdue Universities are closing in on new ideas on how to appropriately open schools for the fall semester in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Purdue University President Mitch Daniels announced on Tuesday the possibility of opening all classes on-site at Purdue’s West Lafayette locations this fall while keeping a fifteen feet distance.
According to The Hill, Mitch Daniels was hopeful students could follow health protocols to keep others safe. After calling the virus our greatest enemy at a university congressional hearing he went on to say, “we have every intention of being on campus this fall. We are sober about the challenges that will bring. We believe in the value of the on-campus experience, and we’re determined, if we’re permitted to do so by the public authorities and medical circumstances. If at all possible, we intend to be open and operating.”
In a separate letter to the press, Daniels suggested measures to be taken to adopt safety plans for students coming in the fall. The list includes spreading out class schedules to reduce the size of those classes, increasing the waves for online instructional options, and making students and staff be tested for infection while monitoring results.
Critics have accused Daniels of being, “money hungry and willing to do whatever it takes to get people sick.”
Across the United States, colleges are weighing the options of how classes will soon operate as the virus has made many colleges struggle financially. Congress has recently allowed struggling colleges to be allocated more than 14 billion dollars in higher education funding through the CARES Act. Critics have called this sum of money “woefully inadequate.”
Lyon College President W. Joseph King discussed on NPR that he was, “50/50 on whether the fall semester looks normal,” regardless of whether the school reopens virtually or offers in-person classes, there will still be a financial toll from the coronavirus closures.”
However, many universities are willing to reopen campuses for the fall of 2020, despite concerns from health experts about a second wave of coronavirus coming this fall to early winter. These universities willing to open are Brown University, The University of Missouri, The University of Clemson in South Carolina, The University of Mary Washington in Virginia, and William Jewell College in Missouri.
Indiana University is yet to release a statement for what classes will look like under the new normal, but according to IU Spokesman Chuck Carney and IU President Michael McRobbie the possibility of I.U. reopening its campus will take time, but the University said it is willing to listen to health care experts on what solution is right.
