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The Hechinger Report
What students think about returning to campus
By Delece Smith-Barrow
With the new school year just a few weeks away and coronavirus cases on
the rise, many college and university presidents have shared ambitious
plans for a never-before-executed fall semester. Students will have to
wear masks in class, keep social distance as much as possible, get
tested for Covid-19 and more to prevent spreading the virus. The plans
are lengthy and detailed, and many of the new rules seem tough to
follow, which makes you wonder: What do students think of these plans?
Sherry Pagoto, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University
of Connecticut, can tell you. She and her graduate assistant, Laurie
Groshon, have spent the last few weeks conducting focus groups with
University of Connecticut students to learn what they think about the
university’s Covid-19 prevention strategies and what students are
realistically willing to do to keep the campus safe. Some of what
students shared might disappoint you, but other thoughts might surprise
you.
On July 11, Pagoto wrote a Twitter thread about some of her findings,
and the thread soon went viral. Her first tweet was retweeted more than
7,000 times and liked about 9,000 times.
Pagoto and Groshon conducted interviews with six or seven focus groups,
each group having between four and seven students, most of whom were
undergraduates. On Twitter, Pagoto shared that students are especially
doubtful about the university’s 14-day required on-campus quarantine
for residential students before the start of classes.
“Every student we asked said that this is not realistic and will likely
fail,” Pagoto wrote. “They pointed out that students are eager to see
each other and will find a way to do so when they arrive on campus.
They said that students who live 1-2 hours away will try to find a way
to go home. They said off campus students will likely find their way on
campus.”
The focus groups also weighed in on symptom tracking through mobile
apps and wearing masks in social settings. Their responses could give
the university reason to worry.
Students are afraid of being automatically quarantined if they report
symptoms, and said “unless their symptoms were severe and unusual, they
might not report them,” Pagoto wrote. And as for mask wearing, “They
said it will depend on the social norms of the group. Many said
students should hold each other accountable but weren’t sure how to do
this.”
But the students were also creative and thoughtful, too. While the
prospect of 14 days of doing nothing in quarantine was not appealing,
they did share ideas of how the university could make that period more
enjoyable. They suggested online trivia nights, having professors put
out readings for them and mask-making contests, Pagoto told me when we
spoke this week.
“They liked the idea of students live-streaming to show off their
talents, like maybe the a cappella groups or musicians or fine arts
students could do live streams of whatever their craft is,” she said.
The students also said that there should be some accountability for older members of the campus community.
“They said, ‘You know, you guys are asking us about wearing masks,
you’re asking us about quarantines,’ and they said ‘You know, it’s hard
for us and we see adults who are much older than us who aren’t doing
those things,’” Pagoto said.
Students also fear being reprimanded for not following rules to a T,
and suggested the university reward them for good behavior. Pagoto said
it’s important for colleges and universities to work toward getting rid
of the stigma that’s come with having the coronavirus and to show
empathy to students, who are often categorized as not taking the
disease seriously. They’ve suffered a lot in the last few months and
genuinely want campus reopenings to be a success, she said.
Institutions should be “leaving an open door for people to express how
they’re feeling about it, acknowledging that students have lost
something, and they are really bummed out about that,” Pagoto said. “I
think that is what they really wanted to hear.”
Pagoto said she doesn’t know of other universities that have conducted
similar focus groups, but that may soon change. “I shared my focus
group script with probably at least 30 people who are going to do this
work on their campuses,” she said.
She recommends all institutions conduct focus groups for students to
better understand their concerns and ideas for returning to campus.
“That exercise of bringing students in and listening to them, I can
tell you they very much appreciated it, that they got a say and their
voice is being heard and their suggestions being considered,” she said.
How can colleges and universities ensure their Covid-19 prevention
strategies include the opinions of students? How can institutions
motivate students to take precautions while living and learning on
campus? Email or tweet me your thoughts.
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