As an Ohio State student, here is a thread on why the Big Ten’s decision doesn’t coincide with anything that I have been told as a student.

To preface, I am about to enter my second year at Ohio State. I am from the south and one of the first things that we students were told was that if we were from any state with over a 15% positivity rate, you would be required to quarantine in a designated place on campus.

As of August 11, 2020 (the day the Big Ten canceled) those states are Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. As you can see, none of those states are home to a single college in the Big 10. However, 5 SEC schools and 2 ACC schools are located in those states.

Conversely, the highest positivity rate for a state with a Big Ten school in it is Iowa with 10%, an number that is less than every single SEC state other than 3. Additionally, the other B10 state’s percentages go 6, 6, 4, 8, 2, 5, 9, 5, 2, and 1%.

As for the campus itself, they have been extremely transparent with their plans for returning to school. Normally, all first and second year students are required to live in a dorm or a step approved housing situation, such as a fraternity or sorrority house.

However, they have done away with the second year requirement for on campus living which has led to many people finding off campus housing instead. This would result in up to 50% less people living in the dorms.

Because of this, if the university wanted to it could move things around and entirely reserve a dorm such as Blackburn for the players to live in, and they could monitor that building as well as the flow of people in and out of that building as much as they wanted to.

Having said that, I am not here to offer solutions, I’m here to talk about the reality of the situation for the students at the school. I am moving in this week and I can say I have no fear or worries about my living situation, as well as preparation for classes.

One of the main reasons for that is the preparation by the school itself, or school organizations such as IFC. They have told us exactly what the plan is and how things will go if various things happen. It boggles me that this sect of college is unable to do that.

The safety kits that the school issues includes three masks (2 washable 1 disposable), a thermometer, hand sanitizer, and other safety precautions as well as the school requiring us to take two online training exercises that educate everyone about how they will be combating COVID

Along with the safety kit, the school required daily temperature and reporting to be able to set foot on any of the buildings on campus, especially the classrooms, which they have limited to 50 people.

The 50 people is important because the team consisting of roughly 100+ people has been able to sanction themselves and keep clean with the most recent testings showing zero positives, a trend that the school has been keeping.

I am not here to give any solutions, but it shocks me that programs like Ohio State and the other B10 schools were unable to find a solution that allowed them to safely carry on with the season while they are making the progress and safety precautions for the rest of the school

I know that nobody asked for this thread and a lot of people don’t care, but I feel the students perspective hasn’t been heard and needed to be shared. I hope this starts a discussion on ways people think. @jbook37 @RJ_Young @Bill_Kurelic @OhioStateFB @bigten