Colleges expected that fall would be close to normal. It’s not.
(Chronicle of Higher Ed)
…Earlier this summer, a return to some version of normalcy seemed within reach. But the first week back, it was clear that “normal” was still a long way off.
The same was true at colleges across the country, but the degree to which people acknowledged that reality varied widely. The Delta variant had driven up the number of hospitalizations nationwide to levels not seen since early February, before vaccines were widely available. Young people were now a greater share of the dying. Operating in person without the strictest safety protocols — vaccination mandates, indoor-mask requirements, social distancing — risked lives on campus and in the community. But many campus leaders, some of them limited by finances or state politics, pushed ahead with reopening plans. Zero risk is impossible, and leaders assured protesting faculty members that they were taking reasonable precautions…. (continue reading)
