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Note of caution: There are absolutely members of the @BYU student community who should receive academic discipline for not following COVID-19 protocols. But pinning the rise in cases all on student bad-actors is wrong, unfair and unhelpful. Here& #39;s why:
(1) University students live in incredibly dense housing where they often do not have control over whether an infected roommate spreads SARS-CoV-2 to them. Many (perhaps even most) infected students were trying to be careful.
(2) The lack of arrival testing means that the virus likely started spreading through student populations on August 17th- the day people started checking into the dorms. When everyone else moved in, it was like adding kindling- then full logs- to an already smoldering fire.
(3) Students are subject to the incorrect messages and lack of united leadership that older adults are. They saw Plandemic. They hear people saying masks are a hoax. They watched when @mayorkaufusi vetoed the mask mandate. Why do we expect them to see past it and behave better?
(4) All of the @BYU community knows where to wear masks, disinfect and how to social distance on campus. It& #39;s been really clear, focused and well-communicated. But training about what to do when socializing, in housing or off-campus is limited, vague or nonexistent.
(5) Even when they do have good instruction from the university, many students are still getting mixed messages from parents, bishops, friends, and yes- even some @BYU faculty. I& #39;m getting questions all the time about what is true about COVID-19 preventions and what isn& #39;t.
(6) The lack of information about positive testing rates on campus gives the false impression that spread is limited. The official case counts are artificially low, probably by a lot.
