UM COVID-19 dashboard
An appreciation of transparency for UM's COVID experience and reporting, heading into the new school year: https://campusblueprint.umich.edu/dashboard/
And, some background from Ann Arbor's only remaining journalism-based newspaper: https://www.michigandaily.com/section/administration/u-m-covid-dashboard-shows-13-positive-cases-two-weeks-quarantine-housing
August 21st, 2020 at 2:08 PM ^
Pardon my cynicism but I have real doubts that Michigan students are any different from college kids at UNC, ND, Vandy, etc. which means that U of M has gone out of its way to get kids on campus, to takes their money and then go to an on-line form of teaching for the semester.when, shockingly, CV19 rears its ugly head among the student body.
August 21st, 2020 at 2:22 PM ^
Yeah classes will more than likely be online only for most of the semester.
If you can, you should probably take them from a CC for a semester or two and save yourself a shit-ton of money/debt. I think a lot of courses are transferrable in Michigan, but obviously do your own diligence.
August 21st, 2020 at 2:43 PM ^
You're absolutely correct. Undergrads are still a bunch of immature 20 yr old kids that mostly want to party. I biked through campus on a nice day in April or early May, back when most adults around here were still taking things extremely seriously and most college kids had returned home.There were still large groups of college kids playing beer pong and partying throughout the off-campus housing area.
Numbers are going to start spiking as soon as kids return to campus, just like everywhere else.
August 21st, 2020 at 2:54 PM ^
I don't see why this is the schools fault though. The kids want to be on campus. So the University is jumping through hoops to give them the product they want. Then the kids party and ruin it for themselves. What are the schools supposed to do?
I would argue that in-person instruction isn't the most important in-person experience that happens at college. It's living and interacting with other students. Making lifelong friends and meeting future colleagues. Learning about perspectives you didn't have growing up. This is especially important for freshmen living on campus which is why Harvard made a concerted effort to give their freshmen that experience.
So that's all still happening even if classes aren't in person, right? Absolutely guarantee that the majority of students in off-campus housing aren't going home just because instruction is online. And the kids in campus housing won't go home unless they're kicked out.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
yeah! fuck anyone else that works there, or lives nearby. IT'S WHAT THE STUDENTS WANT.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^
Suspending in-class instruction is done to protect the non-students working there. So they're being protected.
The kids want to live together, most in off campus housing. That has absolutely nothing to do with the school. You can't prevent them from living where they want to pay rent.
And as for the community, that's a stupid point. If they aren't in Ann Arbor, they aren't living underground. They still exist. College aged kids are going to pose the same "threat" to society (and probably a larger threat to their parents if they're at home) no matter where they live.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^
They are absolutely creating a situation that will rapidly spread an infectious, deadly disease. And they are not doing this for the students benefit. It's all about money.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
It's certainly about money. Colleges provide a product that makes them money. So obviously they're going to provide a product their customers want. And that's all they're doing. It's not like there's any deception going on. Yes, they're doing it because the students aren't going to pay unless they give it a shot.
So it's both for the students and for money. That's how capitalism works. Buyer and seller benefits.
If there are externalities that arise from the transaction, it's kind of on the govt or community to regulate those, right? We're getting angry with the schools for doing what the market dictates. That's what I'm saying, do we expect them to not provide their product that is being demanded for the good of society? It's a tough ask to have them do that voluntarily.
August 21st, 2020 at 6:53 PM ^
Nice to know that the university I attended is just a shallow corporation, willing to risk the health of the people in the town around it, so they can provide an attractive "product" to young adults who want the "in-person experience" to congregate, socialize and fornicate with other fellow young adults. You're not wrong, but you say that like it's something we should be OK with, particularly as an Ann Arbor resident myself.
August 21st, 2020 at 8:23 PM ^
How many years did they run the naked mile? I’ll hang up and listen...
August 21st, 2020 at 2:51 PM ^
I just emailed the dashboard link to WMU, where the "leaders" are steadfastly insisting that releasing any test data whatsoever is a privacy violation. I'm so disgusted.
August 21st, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
That's just an excuse to not spend the money and effort on transparency. It's absolutely not a privacy violation to report aggregate data that is in no way personally identifiable.
August 21st, 2020 at 8:38 PM ^
That's just an excuse to not spend the money and effort on transparency.
You're more optimistic than me: I think it's an conscious effort to hide what's going on. They have the numbers. Providing them to the pubic would take an assistant undersecretary about 22 seconds to email.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:20 PM ^
When will most students begin arriving on campus. I assume the next week or so?
August 21st, 2020 at 3:29 PM ^
Move in starts on August 24 (Monday), so we should start seeing pics of huge parties at Delta Tau Delta and keggers at houses on Tappan in a week, and COVID cases taking off like a rocket on this dashboard about a week after that.
Hope I'm wrong, but I really doubt it.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
Calm before the storm.
If you've read anything about Schlissel and the university's "plans" for how the campus is supposed to work in a COVID environment (big focus on "personal responsibility"), you will have no doubt UM will be just like UNC, NCSU, Notre Dame etc by mid-September (if not sooner).
https://www.michigandaily.com/section/administration/daily-sits-down-president-schlissel-mayor-taylor
There is basically no difference in how UM is handling dorms or bathrooms for students living on-campus from a regular year (e.g., people still have same number of roommates; bathrooms still communal), dining halls will be at full capacity, and they are just hoping for the best regarding off-campus & frats.
Hopefully I'm wrong and they pull it off, but I don't see how the tens of thousands of 18-24 year olds coming to Ann Arbor are going to be any different than elsewhere.
August 21st, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Really disappointed in Shissel. Cancelling football I can understand but just jamming up the dorms business as usual style is vastly going to increase the spread of Covid-19 on campus. It's hypocritical. And it will affect a much bigger population than cancelling sports. If anyone is hurt or worse on campus as a result of his callous decisions it should be his head.
August 21st, 2020 at 5:42 PM ^
While I don't disagree with the decision to postpone fall sports, Schlissel's handling of the situation was anemic at best and an act of cowardice at worst. I simply don't understand why the president, making the decision, wouldn't address the athletes the postponement will impact. I feel sorry for Warren who is the fall guy for a bunch of highly paid presidents who refuse to be publicly identified for their actions.
Don't even get me started about the policy Schlissel is spearheading for bringing students back. As an immunologist, Schlissel knows more than he wants to admit about what is going to happen when students come back to school. It kills me when I think MSU did something better than Michigan but in this instance I believe they have.
August 21st, 2020 at 11:41 PM ^
My understanding is that MSU did NOT plan for testing of students prior to returning to school. Not knowing who or how many students would be returning with the virus left MSU with no choice but to go to virtual.
Meanwhile, my niece attending UofM had to self-quarantine and pass a covid test before moving into the dorm. UofM has supposedly sectioned off 500-600 rooms in Baits for students that test positive.
UofM is trying to make it work. MSU said, “aw, fuck it.” This is coming from parents that have students going to both schools.
College is about entering adulthood and learning to make good choices. UofM is giving their students an opportunity to act responsibly. It’s up to them not to screw it up. We’ll see what happens.
August 21st, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
I can understand same number of roommates. There's not enough capacity to give everyone their own dorm. So if the students are ok with rooming up, fine. Treat each dorm as a single household.
I'm surprised they're doing business as usual for dining though. That's something that can be staggered or more easily done with additional facilities (they could literally set up tents in parking lots to serve food on nice days, etc.). The dining experience is where you get all those individual dorms coming together and mixing (involuntarily if there's no other choice).
August 21st, 2020 at 8:39 PM ^
They aren’t doing business as usual with dining. I’m not sure about capacity but it’s largely take out only and you need a reservation to actually sit in the dining room. It’s not going to be remotely like a normal year with that or basically anything else on campus lol
August 22nd, 2020 at 12:02 PM ^
- There is zero mentioned about capacity constraints, so it's logical to assume there are none.
- There is zero mentioned about needing a reservation, and you can definitely sit inside to eat, as it does state "Face coverings will be required at all times for staff and customers in dining facilities except when seated to eat."
So if things are going to be way different than a normal year, that would be great -- but they sure aren't telling anyone, and they better get on that, as students arrive in a few days.
August 23rd, 2020 at 11:24 AM ^
https://campusblueprint.umich.edu/students
theres a line about seating capacity being limited and I’m a student and have received emails about the reservations being needed and it mostly being takeout. I can dig up those emails if need be. Right or wrong once Michigan made the choice to open they put in place as much precautions as could be expected of them to try and make it work. To act like they are just throwing us back in the dorms with nothing different is very unfair
August 21st, 2020 at 4:48 PM ^
Sweet Jesus I cannot WAIT until this colossal fucking mess is over. What a shit show this has been.
August 21st, 2020 at 8:55 PM ^
Seconded
August 21st, 2020 at 5:14 PM ^
Things are going great.
Interim President Gregory Postel sent a letter to UToledo students and campus community on Friday after it was learned large social gatherings and off-campus events without COVID-19 safety precautions have occurred, leading him to tell students who attended to quarantine for 14 days.
The university has already experienced some cases of COVID-19 on campus and is asking anyone who attended large social gatherings and off-campus events to follow a 14-day quarantine, Postel said.
The gatherings included multiple student-athletes and Athletics Director Mike O'Brien also sent out a notice that reminds student-athletes of the pledge they signed to follow COVID-19 prevention measures.
August 21st, 2020 at 6:55 PM ^
They're having them sign pledges? Eyeroll.
