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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Axios
College students give failing grade on return to campus
Neal Rothschild
College students are learning less, partying less and a majority say
the decision to return to campus was a bad decision, according to a new
College Reaction/Axios poll.
Why it matters: The enthusiasm to forge something resembling a college
experience has dissipated as online learning, lockdowns and a
diminished social life has set in.
Now that the fall semester has started, 51% of students say it was not
the right choice for their schools to allow students on campus. Just 3%
say their school didn't allow students to return.
The dissatisfaction is more acute among those who have had to learn
completely remotely, even if they are on campus. For those who have
attended in-person classes, 59% say it was the right choice for campus
to reopen, compared to just 42% for those who have not.
Removing many temptations of campus life has not made it easier to
focus: 60% say they are learning less and just 6% say they're learning
more.
After North Carolina and Michigan State (and Notre Dame, temporarily)
made the call to move to online-only classes after August coronavirus
outbreaks on campus, others have become even more strict in order to
pull off a full semester.
Universities have threatened severe punishments for students who party
and imposed strict lockdowns when cases emerge, determined to keep
their campuses operating.
University of Wisconsin students in two big underclassmen residence
halls were given a two-week quarantine order after the campus caseload
surpassed 1,000, per the Wisconsin State Journal, forcing them to
decide whether to just head back home.
The University of Illinois announced a similar lockdown for undergraduates earlier in the month.
Bradley University in Illinois is keeping all students locked down for two weeks.
The polling shows that attending parties — or even having witnessing
one — is associated with a higher chance of knowing someone who's
contracted the coronavirus.
12% say they've attended a party, and among them, 60% say they know
someone who contracted the virus on campus. Compare that to the 38% who
haven't partied and know someone who's gotten COVID-19 at school.
Among those who haven't even seen a party, the number who don't know
someone who's contracted the virus drops to 23%. Meanwhile, 55% who
have seen a party say they know someone who got sick.
The big picture: While there have been high-profile outbreaks in
college towns accompanied by images of partying students, most students
have engaged in less conspicuous social activities: 73% of students
have either been to a party, bar or restaurant or gathered with friends
mask-less.
Methodology: The poll was conducted September 15-16 from a
representative sample of 808 college students with a margin of error of
+/- 3.4 percentage points.
College Reaction’s polling is conducted using a demographically
representative panel of college students from around the country. The
surveys are administered digitally and use college e-mail addresses as
an authentication tool to ensure current enrollment in a four-year
institution. The target for the general population sample was students
currently enrolled in accredited 4-year institutions in the United
States.
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