Thread: Shockingly, this is a positive story about Covid on a college campus.

As of today, there are only two students at Colby that have tested positive for Covid. Both contracted it before arriving on campus. NO ONE has caught it in the 2 weeks students have been here. (1/n)

How is this possible?
1. Massive amounts of testing. Everyone tested before arrival, on arrival, 3x a week for the first two weeks, then twice a week after that. Tests are easy and we get results in 24 hours, and posted to dashboard. Cost: $10 million for the semester.

2. Students are complying with the strict rules: mandatory masks, no parties. I won't say it has been perfect, but students I'm close to have told me their peers are actually behaving. I have only seen one student unmasked indoors and she immediately masked when I asked her to.

Honestly, I was pretty pessimistic. Now, I'm still nervous. We have a long semester to go. I hold classes and office hours outdoors and over Zoom. But I'm not freaking out anymore.

In class today, I showed the students a picture of my kid. I told them that she gets to go to kindergarten now, and isn't fully remote like the kids of so many of my friends around the country. I thanked them for helping to keep that little girl in school.

These observations aee obviously premature and it may collapse in a few weeks.

But if you want to bring students back, you need to do this. Schools have brought students back without protecting them bc they fear financial collapse.

Higher ed needs a bailout NOW.

***Another key part I forgot to mention! All students live on campus, which ensures greater monitoring and adherence to community standards.