Face-to-Face
Featured image: Emily Converse, 19, sophomore of Highmore, South Dakota, gets help from her brother Bryton, 16, during her early move-in time at High Rise, Monday. Staggering move-in times this semester was one of many changes aimed at keeping students and faculty safe from the pandemic as they return to campus. – photo credit: Aubrie Lawrence.
For the first time since mid-July, students at Chadron State College will meet for courses in person when the semester begins Monday. Faced with the challenge of operating during a pandemic, some institutions have chosen to continue remote-delivery of courses, but a variety of factors from financial considerations to the desire to maximize the learning experience, have motivated many others to attempt to go forward with courses as normal – or as normal as possible.
As the nation continues to experience a rise in COVID-19 cases, it’s unknown how successful safeguards against the virus will be at universities and colleges once students begin to flood back onto campuses and into dorm rooms. Though some would prefer to return to college life as they knew it, the pandemic has led to fundamental changes in the college experience, at least for the fall semester.
Without access to widespread and routine testing of students, pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers represent a major challenge to keeping COVID-19 off campus. According to Kim Engel, of Panhandle Public Health District, infected individuals are contagious two days prior to showing symptoms, and some who are infected will never have symptoms, or will have symptoms mild enough to be passed off as something other than COVID-19.
Because of this, one positive case on campus could easily lead to many more cases, and even more who have to quarantine.
According to PPHD, one of the best ways for students to protect themselves and each other is to wear a mask. Though some have pushed back against mask requirements, studies continue to show they are effective at slowing the spread of the virus, particularly among those who are either asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic and feel healthy despite being contagious.
With regard to quarantine protocol the wearing of a mask can determine whether or not a student will need to quarantine after exposure to someone having tested positive for the virus. So long as the person who tested positive and those who were exposed to them are wearing masks, only the positive case will be required to quarantine. In contrast, if either the infected person or the person exposed was not wearing a mask, both will be required to quarantine. In short, those exposed can only avoid having to quarantine if they and the infected person were both wearing masks at the time of exposure.
According to the college, students will be required to wear a mask during indoor courses and in public spaces inside campus buildings. Students will also be asked to wear them in outdoor spaces where social distancing isn’t possible. In order to facilitate mask wearing, CSC will provide two masks during move in to each student living on campus, and those living off-campus can get theirs in the Student Center at the student activities counter, Monday. Disposable masks will also be available in classrooms.
Those who believe they may have developed symptoms should remain at home or in their dorm and follow the college’s health response protocol which puts the student in contact with CSC Health Services to assess their risk and provide assistance for those deemed to be showing symptoms and needing to quarantine. Students can also use CSC’s COVID-19 reporting form, found on the college’s website, to report any suspected contact with the virus or the occurrence of symptoms. According to PPHD, testing in Chadron is done twice a week, once on Monday and once on Friday. Currently, test results have been requiring about a four-day wait period, although Engel said a two-or-three-day wait is typical. Students showing symptoms will be required to quarantine during the time they are waiting to be tested or waiting for the test results.
The college is prepared to help any student, on or off campus, who needs to quarantine. Temporary living quarters can be arranged and meals will be delivered to residential students via Dining Services for no extra charge.
Although they’ll ultimately be responsible for reporting the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, if a student who tests positive is found to have intentionally failed to report their symptoms they could be found to be in violation of the student code of conduct and face suspension. Similarly, those who test positive and fail to quarantine will face a misdemeanor charge from the State.
Though PPDH will handle testing, per Nebraska State College System guidelines CSC has acquired a number of tests reserved for students and employees. To help students screen themselves for symptoms the college will also be launching their #CampusClear mobile app soon. Engel stresses that when being tested students should be sure to use their campus address instead of their home address to avoid any delay in receiving test results.
Masked classmates won’t be the only changes students notice on campus. Buildings now have designated entrances and exits to control the flow of traffic. Stairwells have also been designated as flowing only one way and are clearly marked. Halls have also been lined with hand-sanitizer dispensers and several classrooms are now adorned with plexiglass barriers.
Dining services will continue to provide meals on campus, but self-serve food areas will no longer be part of the cafeteria. Instead, the cafeteria will provide grab-and-go meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Students can still eat at the cafeteria, but self-serve areas will no longer be in service, other than the beverage area. The college has also installed physical barriers to limit contact between servers and diners.
Ultimately, it will be guidance from Nebraska Governor Pete Rickett’s Directed Health Measure that determines whether classes will continue to occur in person. Time will tell if CSC’s measures will lead to a COVID-19-free campus or if students will be back to remote classes. As of Monday, Dawes County had one active case of the virus, its 10th confirmed case. Nearby Box Butte County to the south has five active cases.
Chadron and the surrounding region’s low case count likely benefited from being relatively isolated during the spring and summer, but the fall semester will bring students from across the nation back into the community and despite the college’s efforts, a large part of the battle against COVID-19 will depend upon the willingness of students to follow safety measures, like mask usage, to protect themselves and others from spreading the virus on campus and in the community.