31 Questions college students should ask their schools about returning to campus & the virus

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Here are some questions that students, parents, and faculty might ask about a school's plan for handling the virus during the fall semester.

1-Will students be expected to quarantine when they first arrive?

2-Will be outdoor social distancing activities?

3-Will there be a list of dues and don’ts along with an indication of what’s the most important?

4-Will students with underlying conditions get special help?

5-Should students treat their professors differently than students since they are older?

6-Will classrooms be cleaned after every class meeting?

7-What messaging will be used to motivate students to be safe? 

8-How will students be encouraged to wear masks at social events? 

9-Will students coming from lax-mask wearing states be given extra help/encouragement to follow the mask-wearing rules?

10-What will be done to help to correct mistaken beliefs about safety measures on the part of students and staff?

11-What happens if someone refuses to wear a mask?

12-How will testing for the virus be handled?

13-How often will I be tested?

14-Where will testing take place?

15-What happens if someone refuses to be tested?

16-Is there an HR form to be filled out each week by employees about symptoms? Will HR notify the supervisor and work contacts if someone is a potential risk? 

17-What if someone is turned away for testing because they don’t exhibit symptoms but may have been exposed?

18-Will there be an app used to track symptoms?

19-If there is a symptom tracking app used, will there be rewards for using it?

20-Can the tracking be personalized to their pre-existing conditions? 

21-How will shame over contracting symptoms or contracting the disease itself be combated?

22-If someone is self-isolating on campus because of exposure to the virus, how will others be informed (so they don’t intrude)? How will meals be arranged?

23-How will the duties of staff/faculty be handled if the person is self-isolating?

24-Will it be made clear to students what will trigger automatic quarantine?

25-How will contract tracing be handled? (Even if county health authorities say they will conduct tracing, there are reports of this not happening in parts of the country.)  

26-Will a “case manager” be assigned to each COVID-19 case (and who assigns them and is there a system in place to keep up with their findings)? 

27-If the spread happens rapidly, what will happen if case managers are overwhelmed?

28-Will students who reveal they have been to bars (when they are underage) be punished for reporting these contacts?

29-How many cases will trigger parts of the campus to close or restrict services? How many cases will trigger a shut down of the school?

30-Will students clearly be informed about the threshold for campus shutdown? 

31-If I feel unsafe, can I take my classes online?

If you have other questions to suggest, let me know! stephengoforth@gmail.com

We are actors in a play

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We play many roles during our lifetime. The hard part is knowing when to play which role. We are often unaware that the curtain is falling, and another act is about to begin. Don't become one of those sad actors, playing a role that has already ended. You know someone like this: They are no longer relevant, and they are reciting lines that belong in another act, in another time. 

There is another danger: Playing our role on stage and then running off the stage and into the audience. We take a seat and heckle ourselves. It is God's play, not our own: allow him to determine the value of your performance. As actors, we do not know when the final curtain will fall. We do not know the outcome of the play or even how storylines resolve themselves. There are twists that only the author understands.

The thought that "we are all actors in a play" is an old idea that reminds us that we do not have enough information to make heads or tails of too much of what’s going on around us. We are forced to ad-lib, to improvise, to guess our way through life.

CS Lewis wrote, “We keep on assuming that we know the play. We do not even know whether we are in Act I or Act V. We do not know who are the major and who the minor characters. The Author knows.” And then there's Garrison Keillor's quip: "God writes a lot of comedy...the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny."

Stephen Goforth 

 

 

Articles of Interest about the virus & religion - July 12

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***THE VIRUS 

Warning of serious brain disorders in people with mild coronavirus symptoms

New Study Says 'Silent Spreaders' May Be Responsible For Half Of U.S. COVID-19 Cases

***WORKING FROM HOME

Lawsuit: Mom working at home fired because boss was upset about kids interfering with work 

***THE VIRUS & RELIGION 

A running list of situations where churches have met together and spread the virus

A Christian Summer Camp Shut Down After 82 Kids And Staff Got The Coronavirus

Churches, eager to reopen, have emerged as a major source of coronavirus cases 

Evangelical minister from Mike Pence’s Indiana prayer group reveals he's voting for Joe Biden 

***RELIGION  

An Immaculate Copy of Leonardo’s The Last Supper Digitized by Google: View It in High Resolution Online

Montana man arrested after toppling religious monument

Israel orders US-based Christian TV channel off air 

Kneeling in the Church of Social Justice

***RELIGION AND POLITICS

Author Interview: 'Unholy' Examines The Alliance Between White Evangelicals And Trump

A new dilemma for Trump’s team: Preventing super-spreader churches

When progressive evangelicals held the national stage

How an ardent defender of faith—and Donald Trump—came to think of the press as her enemy

The Faith Of The Black Lives Matter Movement

***RELIGION & THE LAW 

Recent SCOTUS Decisions On Religion Open Up New Questions  

Supreme Court lifts ban on state aid to religious schooling

Religious school teachers aren't covered by employment discrimination laws, Supreme Court rules

Why Supreme Court Liberals Joined Conservatives on Religion

Supreme Court Allows Exemptions For Birth Control Coverage

***RELIGION & RACIAL ISSUES

Evangelical leaders are speaking up about race — but will this new focus last? 

How an iconic painting of Jesus as a white man was distributed around the world ($)

Indiana priest suspended after calling Black Lives Matter and antifa protesters 'maggots,' 'parasites' and 'serpents in the garden' 

***TELEVANGELISTS 

Televangelist Morris Cerullo dies at 88

Televangelists take a slice as churches accept billions in US coronavirus aid

***DENOMINATIONS

Church of God denomination facing significant COVID-19 outbreak; leaders won't say how many infected

Jehovah’s Witnesses schedule virtual convention due to coronavirus

Catholic Church Getting Over $1 Billion In Coronavirus Aid

***MEGACHURCHES 

A Megachurch Let the Pastor’s Son Work With Kids Despite His “Attraction to Minors”

John Ortberg’s Church Says ‘No Evidence of Misconduct’ As More Details Emerge

John Ortberg’s megachurch announces new investigation

Dallas megachurch that hosted Pence approved for millions in coronavirus aid

A Dallas Megachurch Had A Coronavirus Cluster then It Hosted Mike Pence

***RELIGION & LGBTQ ISSUES

Instagram and Facebook ban all content promoting conversion therapy

Mexico City Lawmakers Vote To Ban ‘Gay Conversion’ Therapy

 

 

 

How to Identify Adaptable People

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How can you determine whether a job candidate is willing to constantly revise their understanding and reconsider problems they thought they'd already solved?" Ask: “Tell me about a goal you didn't manage to achieve. What happened? What did you do as a result?" 

Most candidates will take responsibility for failing. (People who don't are people you definitely don't want to hire.) Good candidates don't place the blame on other people or on outside factors. They recognize that few things go perfectly, and a key ingredient of success is having the ability to adjust.   

Smart people take responsibility. And they also learn key lessons from the experience, especially about themselves. They see failure as training. That means they can describe, in detail what perspectives, skills, and expertise they gained from that training. And they can admit where they were wrong -- and how they were willing and even eager to change their minds.     

Jeff Haden writing in Inc.

Articles of Interest about the virus & higher ed - July 7

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***THE VIRUS 

Face masks vs. face shields: What should we be wearing?

The race to develop RNA-based vaccine ($)

***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS 

Florida State just barred many employees from caring for kids while working remotely. Moms ask: ‘What am I supposed to do?’

New Report: How The Coronavirus Pandemic Affected College Enrollments In The Spring

A Reckoning In Higher Education: Will There Be Campus Life After Covid-19?

***THE FALL SEMESTER  

What Will College Be Like in the Fall?

Colleges Plan to Reopen Campuses, but for Just Some Students at a Time 

A Shift to Online Classes this Fall Could Lead to a Retention Crisis

A Ph.D. Student Simulated a Day in the Life of a Covid 19-Era Campus. It Went Viral, but It Wasn’t Pretty.

Colleges Gear Up for an Uncertain Fall Semester Online

Texas universities are moving more classes online, but keeping tuition the same. Students are asking if it's worth the money.

Ethical challenges loom over decisions to resume in-person college classes

Universities Reverse Campus Reopening Plans Amidst Covid-19 Spike

There is no safe way to reopen colleges this fall ($)

Local Communities Should Sue to Keep University Campuses Closed (opinion)

A COVID-19 outbreak on UW’s Greek Row hints at how hard it may be to open colleges this fall

'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools

Colleges are racing to create 'a new sense of normalcy.' Will new rules, COVID-19 testing be enough?

***FALL COLLEGE SPORTS

Texas College will forego intercollegiate athletics in the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic

'Not a stretch': Reality dictates Covid-19 may hit college football programs

Unable to afford coronavirus testing, some colleges are canceling football season

***COLLEGE FINANCE 

Shortened Semesters on Campus and Full Fees for Room and Board as Connecticut's Colleges and Universities Face a Steep Fiscal Challenge

***HIGHER ED

International students may need to leave US if their universities transition to online-only learning

College Leaders Have the Wrong Incentives 

3 Colleges to Acquire U of Bridgeport

University of Maryland, College Park No Longer Under Warning for Lack of Transparency

Ed Dept blames Higher Learning Commission for failing to protect students from two unaccredited for-profit colleges

***HIGHER ED & HACKERS

Ransomware is now your biggest online security nightmare. And it's about to get worse

How hackers extorted $1.14m from University of California, San Francisco 

***HIGHER ED IN COURT

CUNY faculty union sues system, saying adjunct cuts violate CARES Act

Steps Colleges and Universities Should Take to Avoid Future Litigation Over Tuition and Fees 

***TEACHING  

Seven Things That Worked in My Online Class

Are History Textbooks Worth Using Anymore? Maybe Not, Some Teachers Say - EdSurge News

Cornell researchers: in-person semester safer than online one

'We shouldn't go back to lectures': why future students will learn online 

***ACADEMIC LIFE: GEORGIA TECH

Georgia Tech Professors Revolt Over Reopening, Say Current Plan Threatens Lives Of Students, Staff

'A Nightmare': Georgia Tech Faculty Push Back Against In-Person Reopening Plans

Georgia Tech won't require students to wear masks on campus. Faculty aren't happy.

***ACADEMIC LIFE

UVA professor, supporters question role of race in decision to deny tenure 

As young people drive infection spikes, college faculty members fight for the right to teach remotely

Faculty from at least 15 colleges and universities in Virginia sign petition surrounding reopening

Mounting Faculty Concerns About the Fall Semester

A Problem for College in the Fall: Reluctant Professors ($)

University of North Carolina Wilmington University Paid $504,000 to Get Rid of Professor following campus uproar over tweets

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 

Baylor acknowledges historic ties to slavery

Cedarville University Trustees Resign as Board Reinstates President after Investigation

Wheaton College Chaplain Fired For Inappropriate Comments

***RESEARCH 

Rush to publication – What do we have to lose?

Publishing Journal Articles: Tips for Early-Career Scholars 

Why someone wrote a paper called "Dear Reviewer 2: Go F’ Yourself"

The Lancet Editor’s Wild Ride Through the Coronavirus Pandemic

Science needs to look inward to move forward

***RESEARCH & RACE 

Racial Inequality in Psychological Research

Science Has a Racism Problem

***STUDENT LIFE

ICE says international students must take in-person classes to remain in the US

Racist Social Media Posts From Students Are Forcing Colleges to Respond 

Colleges Rescinding Admissions Offers as Racist Social Media Posts Emerge ($)

Medics who changed history wouldn't get into modern medical schools

College students are preparing to return to campus in the fall. Is it worth it?

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

Petition started to fire UWM lecturer, Wisconsin Air Guard colonel for saying 'sexual harassment is the price of admission' to military 

Finding Yourself is not how it works

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“Finding yourself” is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten dollar bill in last year’s winter’s coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. “Finding yourself” is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you. 

Emily McDowell

Articles of interest about the virus, journalism, writing, fakes & more - July 5

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***THE VIRUS 

Treating COVID-19: What We Know Now

How California Went From Coronavirus Success to Hotspot

What autopsies reveal about coronavirus ($)

***THE VIRUS & WEARING MASKS

Does wearing a mask pose any health risks?

Coronavirus question: Is a mask effective when you wear it just below your nose?

Can face masks lower oxygen levels or weaken the immune system? Here's what health experts say

The Science of Mask-Wearing Hasn’t Changed. So Why Have Our Expectations?

***WRITING & READING 

U.S. Copyright Office Creates New Registration Process for Online Authors

Confederate monument enthusiasts targeted my store—and it comically backfired  

Recognizing Race in Language: Why We Capitalize “Black” and “White” (Center for Study of Social Policy)

‘Irregardless’ is too a word; you just don’t understand dictionaries

Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cell phone video? 

***JOURNALISM & RACE

AP changes writing style to capitalize ‘b’ in Black when referring to race

Black Journalists Weigh In On A Newsroom Reckoning 

Black, Hispanic, white Americans feel misunderstood by media for different reasons

***JOURNALISM

Science by press release: When the story gets ahead of the science

BuzzFeed News Fires Senior Reporter for Plagiarism

US Judge Slaps Virginia Clerks With $2 Million Fee Award in First Amendment Case

Journalists believe news and opinion are separate, but readers can't tell the difference

One America News Has Support of Trump, But Not Cable Companies  

Las Vegas police plan $280 an hour fee for body cam footage. Critics say that violates law

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM 

IRE Executive Committee resigns, paving way for new election of board officers

Bowing to pressure, Google says it will pay publishers for news

Warner Media to Sell Atlanta’s CNN Center, Sidesteps Threat of Impending Layoffs

A quarter of all U.S. newspapers have died in 15 years, a new UNC news deserts study found

***FAKES & FRAUDS

How conspiracy theories emerge – and how their storylines fall apart  

‘Covid Parties’ Are Not a Thing

‘PizzaGate’ Conspiracy Theory Thrives Anew in the TikTok Era 

Bringing fact check information to Google Images

“The degree to which people level accusations of fake news against news outlets is at least partially associated with a personal need for an orderly and structured environment" 

Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake

***THE Q-Anon CONSPIRACIES 

Down the rabbit hole: how QAnon conspiracies thrive on Facebook

Born on the dark fringes of the internet, QAnon is now infiltrating mainstream American life and politics

***SOCIAL MEDIA  

'Facebook Groups Are Destroying America': Researcher On Misinformation Spread Online  

The rise of social media (Video) 

Facebook vowed to investigate horrific abuse by anti-vaxxers. Nine months later, no one was penalized

Facebook improperly gave users' data to third-party developers, again 

TikTok and Other Apps Are Secretly Reading Your Clipboard  

***LANGUAGE

The world’s weirdest languages

The Most Mispronounced Word in the World 

***LITERATURE

Lose yourself in the places that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien 

Men who stole rare books from Carnegie Library sentenced to home confinement  

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

How to make sure Google automatically deletes your data on a regular basis

Apple Is Outing Apps That Snoop on Your Personal Information

***PRODUCING MEDIA 

Adobe wants users to uninstall Flash Player by the end of the year  

Here are the tools and technology journalists are using to tell the coronavirus story

NYU’s First Amendment Watch Releases “A Citizen’s Guide to Recording Police”

Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cellphone video? Check your First Amendment rights.

 

The Right Man for the Job

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His writing talents were never in doubt. Certainly not after he authored a well-written pamphlet called A Summary View of the Rights of British America. However, the tall red-headed, Virginian was so quiet during debates that some questioned his strength. The real power of that critically important Congress of 1776 was John Adams of Massachusetts.  His bull-necked honesty and enthusiastic zeal made him a power center in that legislative body. It was natural that Adams be a principal choice to prepare the key policy paper on the future of the 13 colonies. Three others joined him to form a committee: Ben Franklin, a Connecticut merchant and a New York lawyer. Another man was added to give place to the importance of Virginia. When the committee met to do its work, it was naturally expected that John Adams would be the primary architect of the writing. But Adam suggested instead that the quiet Virginian draw up the first draft for the committee’s consideration. “I’m too obnoxious,” he said. So, almost by accident, the new man had the job. “I turned to neither book nor pamphlet while writing,” he said.  He first draft was received without change by the committee and approved later by the entire Congress. Written almost by chance by just the right man…Thomas Jefferson. And the document— the Declaration of Independence

You Have Your Truth, I have Mine

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Some people.. maintain that morality is not dependent on the society but rather the individual. “Morality is in the eye of the beholder.” They treat morality like taste or aesthetic judgments, person relative. 

On the basis of (moral) subjectivism Adolf Hitler and serial murderer Ted Bundy could be considered as a moral as Gandhi, as long as each lived by his own standards, whatever those might be. 

Although many students say they espouse subjectivism, there is evidence that it conflicts with other of their moral views. They typically condemn Hitler as an evil man for his genocidal policies. A contradiction seems to exist between subjectivism and the very concept of morality. 

Louis Pojman, Ethical Theory

Articles of Interest about the virus & higher ed - June 29

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***THE VIRUS 

This simple model shows the importance of wearing masks and social distancing

This chart shows link between restaurant spending and new virus cases

Scientists just beginning to understand the many health problems caused by COVID-19

How Iceland Beat the Coronavirus

Covid-19: Scientists uncover the reason why people lose their sense of smell

Why Some Nursing Homes Are Devastated By COVID-19 While Others Remain Untouched

What To Look For In A Face Mask, According To Science

CDC expands list of who's most at risk for the coronavirus

Is It Safer to Fly or Drive This Summer? 5 Health Experts Weigh In.

***HIGHER ED & THE VIRUS

Colleges say campuses can reopen safely. Students and faculty aren’t convinced.

 ‘We Could Be Feeling This for the Next Decade’: Virus Hits College Towns

New research: accurate testing, limits on class size and social contact may be of critical importance

New coronavirus health concern as colleges reopen: Contaminated water sitting in pipes

At One Flagship, Coronavirus Cases Surge Even in the Midst of Summer 

Wealthier colleges can offer more protection from COVID-19 than cash-strapped peers

 ***THE FALL SEMESTER  

A Message from Your University’s Vice President for Magical Thinking

A tale of two liberal arts Colleges taking different paths in the fall

Univ of Chicago Professors Will Individually Choose Whether to Hold In-Person Classes Fall Quarter

This college is welcoming freshmen to campus this fall — but most older students will stay home

Park University offers discounted 'gap year' online

How COVID-19 has made some colleges question the academic calendar

As Colleges Make Plans For Fall, More Young People Are Getting COVID-19

Moody's Documents Likely Enrollment Effects by State if Students Stay Close to Home Come Fall

UC San Diego To Require Recurring COVID-19 Testing

***CUTS & CLOSURES

The University of Michigan, Flint, has laid off 41% of its nearly 300 lecturers

Boise's Concordia law school to close

Colleges cut academic programs in the face of budget shortfalls due to Covid-19

***HIGHER ED 

California University Paid $1.14 Million After Ransomware Attack

College athletics reacts to proposed change of Miss. state flag

Some colleges provide detailed lists of indirect expenses, while others provide nothing.

The University Is Like a CD in the Streaming Age (opinion)

A Push for Equitable Assessment 

Will More Unemployment Increase Fall College Enrollments?

***HIGHER ED RESIGNATIONS

University of Alaska System President Resigns

USC Dean Resigns After Acknowledging Student Relationship

***RACIAL ISSUES ON CAMPUS

When Free Speech and Racist Speech Collide 

Two black scholars say UVA denied them tenure after belittling their work

***HIGHER ED IN COURT

Harvard Law student sues university over tuition prices as classes remain online 

More than 60 colleges hit with lawsuits as students demand tuition refunds

We don't owe students refund for switching to online instruction, University of Michigan says

***TEACHING

Using Social Media to Retain and Connect with Students in the Shift to Online Education

Zoom losing to Teams in the video conference race to the top

With Pass-Fail, What’s the Point of Grades?

How did America’s remote-learning experiment really go?

UC Berkeley School of Law to be conducted entirely online in fall 2020

Study: Online College Classes Should Have No More Than 12 Students

What Does Good Classroom Design Look Like in the Age of Social Distancing?

***ACADEMIC LIFE 

Who Gets to Teach Remotely? The Decisions Are Getting Personal

Elon professor who researches right-wing extremist groups assaulted in Alamance County 

TCU Professor Asked To Teach Remotely Due To Daughter’s High-Risk Condition But Says He Was Denied 

George Washington University Provost Says Faculty Will Be Allowed to Opt out of Teaching Classes in Person

Teachers in Fairfax revolt against fall plans, refusing to teach in-person

Concerned for fall semester, UVM faculty union prepares to file labor complaint 

***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS 

Five evangelical Christian colleges and universities have eliminated more than 150 faculty and staff positions this spring.

Social media accounts force new discussion about racism and discrimination at Trinity College

Concordia College furloughing 210 full-time employees 

NCAA approves Division III membership for Bob Jones University

The Gift within the Quarantine (written by PLNU’s Dean Nelson for the U-T)

***LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

Former Liberty University official raises more than $18,000 to help Black employees leave the school

Two Liberty football players transfer, citing insensitivity, incompetence of school leadership

Evangelical Liberty University rattled by its own racial reckoning

***RESEARCH 

Duke researchers say all brain activity studies are wrong

Warning over coronavirus and predatory journals

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals Don't Really Do Their Job

CU Boulder alleges misconduct for former INSTAAR scientist

Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals Don't Really Do Their Job

Does tweeting about research attract more citations? 

The Pandemic Claims New Victims: Prestigious Medical Journals ($) 

***STUDENT LIFE 

Northeastern Student Newspaper Calls Out School Administration

16-Year-Old Alexis Loveraz Teaches Math on TikTok to Students All Over the World

Hardin-Simmons University in Texas says student who made racist TikTok 'no longer enrolled'

College waivers and COVID-19 complications (opinion)

Is An MBA Worth It? After Covid-19, Absolutely Not.

More than 165 college deans explain what they want — and don’t want — to see from applicants in the covid-19 era ($)

Brown accused of fraud by student-athletes whose sports were cut

Universities should support their most vulnerable students to champion education equity (opinion)

College Is Worth It, but Campus Isn't  (opinion) ($)

***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT

Institutions Pushing Back Against Removing PIs From Awards, Despite Harassment Findings

Campus Sexual Assault Policy Changes Not Widely Known  

Disney Princess theology

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White Christianity suffers from a bad case of Disney Princess theology. As each individual reads Scripture, they see themselves as the princess in every story. They are Esther, never Xerxes or Haman. They are Peter, but never Judas. They are the woman anointing Jesus, never the Pharisees. They are the Jews escaping slavery, never Egypt. For the citizens of the most powerful country in the world, who enslaved both Native and Black people, to see itself as Israel and not Egypt when it is studying Scripture, is a perfect example of Disney princess theology. And it means that as people in power, they have no lens for locating themselves rightly in Scripture or society- and it has made them blind and utterly ill equipped to engage issues of power and injustice. It is some very weak Bible work.      

Erna Kim Hackett