Daily Lumina News 032320

Who says academe can’t be nimble? In the space of a few weeks in early March, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, colleges across the country ditched their customary glides toward the end of the semester in exchange for closing campuses and moving all classes online.
It’s too early to tell how, or if, this mass experiment in online mobilization will work. Many institutions just started teaching remotely, and some won’t start until this week. But early lessons have already made themselves evident.

Sara Goldrick-Rab has long been on the front lines of advocating for low-income and food-insecure college students. But even for an expert like her, this past week has been uncharted terrain.
When the former University of Wisconsin-Madison professor first heard that Harvard University was asking students to move out on March 10, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly took on a new form.
Within hours, Goldrick-Rab, who now teaches higher education and sociology at Temple University and directs The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, wrote and published a guide for colleges on how to support students during the crisis.

California’s public universities and colleges have moved most courses online to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Still, select services remain intact for some students, including those who are homeless or have nowhere else to turn.
As COVID-19 continues to create havoc for American colleges and universities, several campuses in California are keeping dorms and counseling services open and operating for their most vulnerable students.

The closing of colleges and universities has disrupted the educations of millions of students. But it’s affecting the lives of many in ways that are not yet widely understood.
Graduate students have had their research interrupted. Those in the performing arts have seen recitals and auditions canceled. Aspiring nurses can’t do clinicals. Job fairs and internships have been called off, as have debating competitions, graduate school admission tests, and conferences that are essential opportunities to network and get jobs.