More Campus and Conference Suspensions

March 11, 12:30 p.m. Michigan State University was one of the latest and largest universities to announce the suspension of all in-person classes, effective at noon on Wednesday. The university said in a statement that health authorities were investigating and monitoring someone linked to the campus for coronavirus-related concerns.

Notre Dame University also announced Wednesday that it is moving to online instruction and canceling in-person, beginning March 23 though at least April 13.

By Wednesday morning, roughly 90 colleges and the universities had shut down their campuses or suspended in-person instruction and moved it online or to distance delivery, according to a crowdsourced Google sheet created by Bryan Alexander, a futurist, researcher and senior scholar at Georgetown University.

Several others are helping Alexander maintain the database, which is being populated by contributors throughout higher education. It has crashed several times due to heavy traffic.

ASU+GSV, a meeting focused on education technology, postsecondary education and workforce development that had been scheduled for April in San Diego, has been postponed until the fall. 

Organizers of the conference, which hosted 5,500 attendees last year, said postponing was “the best option to protect our community and to have a truly productive convening.”

The American Association of Geographers also announced the cancelation of its April meeting in Denver. The group said Wednesday morning that it would shift to an online version, free of charge.

Low-Income Students and Campus Shutdowns

March 11, noon. Harvard University is giving students less than a week to pack up, leave campus and not return after spring break is over. 

Primus, a student organization at Harvard that advocates for the university’s low-income and first generation students, put out a statement highlighting several ways this expectation will be close to impossible for students who are not privileged.

Many can’t afford unexpected travel costs to get home. They’re expected to pay for storage units for on-campus belongings. Students won’t be able to rely on their on-campus jobs. And they’re being ask to make all these changes while still attending classes this week.

On top of that, students will have to take courses online, which requires internet access and computers.

“These closures disproportionately affect the most vulnerable groups of students on campus,” said Anthony Abraham Jack, assistant professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, later adding: “I know what it means to be affected by something that money can’t stop, but money helps you through. So when you don’t come from money, you feel the full brunt of it.” 

Beyond financial constraints, some students may not have safe homes to return to, he said. Jack said he knows of one student who lives an hour from home but never visits, because the student is queer and doesn’t get a bed at home. Other students never had three square meals a day and a consistent roof over their heads until coming to college, Jack added.

“Even if college is hell, it can still be a sanctuary for some students,” he said.

Primus has organized a document of resources and answers for students on financial assistance and help from alumni. But Jack said it’s unfair to expect students to take on the job of the university.

“We must be better, as college officials, at outlining processes so students can just be students,” he said. “Right now, colleges are addressing this pandemic almost solely as a public health issue, when it’s actually one affecting inequalities on campuses.”

— By Madeline St. Amour

March 11, 11:30 a.m. A large crowd including students from the University of Dayton gathered on the Ohio campus yesterday after the university on Tuesday suspended in-person classes due to coronavirus concerns. The university called on all residential students to leave campus by 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Students began gathering in large numbers after the announcement. The Dayton Daily News reported that police officers from multiple departments, some wearing riot gear, cleared the crowd, which dispersed by 2:15 a.m. One person was injured in the disturbance, according to the university.

Students were not reacting to the coronavirus measures, the university said, but instead “wanted one last large gathering” before Dayton’s spring break, which begins Friday.

“A large disorderly crowd that grew to more than 1,000 people gathered on Lowes Street starting around 11 p.m., throwing objects and bottles in the street and at police, and jumping on cars,” the university said in a written statement. “Police gave verbal orders to disperse which were ignored. Police initially launched pepper balls, which contain powder with an irritant that disperses quickly, that were unsuccessful in reducing the crowd size.”