Before classes began, academic officials and students responded to the risks of the coronavirus.
Note: The following quotations were recorded between August 13-18.
Responses to the coronavirus and the opening of in-person classes on campus ranged from optimism to caution. Amy Cataldi, dean of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences, said the main priority of the Petree College was flexibility.
“I have a great team here, and we’ve thought about it all summer long. Staff has, dean’s office has, faculty has thought about it all summer long, so we’re going to try to be flexible. We’re going to try to understand each other’s perspectives. We’re going to try to do the best we can. It’s really hard to predict. We’ll know when we know,” Cataldi said.
Gardner Roby, political science sophomore, said he believed the guidelines would be sufficient to maintain a safe campus environment.
“I think with our on-campus policies, as far as wearing masks, social distancing, making sure everything’s sanitized, and hey, if you don’t feel comfortable, you can absolutely Zoom in, because I know we’re adding some of those classroom cameras. I’m not too worried about it. I think we’re going to be just fine,” Roby said. “I’m happy to be back, and I hope that we can stay as long as everybody takes care of themselves and wants to take care of the campus.”
Similarly, Jim Roth, dean of the School of Law, said they focused on student-centric policy that gave their students the support they deserve for the commitment they made.
“There’ll be questions raised tomorrow and the day after and the day after that, and we are just walking through this experience open-hearted and open-headed to hear what those questions are and then look towards those answers, but if anyone suggests to you that they have it completely figured out and they know everything, I’d be worried.” Roth said. “We are working really hard to figure it out in real time.”
Steve Agee, dean of the Meinders School of Business, said he appreciated the efforts of students and faculty to follow the new guidelines.
“We’ll get through this, but we’re going to have to all work together to do it, so I just want to show my gratitude for the students and the faculty for adhering to these guidelines,” Agee said.
Agee said the students at OCU will hopefully be more diligent in following the guidelines on campus than students at major universities nationwide, such as Notre Dame, which has announced a move to virtual classes after an outbreak of cases on campus shortly after opening.
George Sims, interim provost, said he’s worried complacency will cause an outbreak.
“There’s two things I’m worried about. First of all, I’m worried – looking around, most of us don’t seem to understand what six feet is. I’m delighted that everybody has gotten the message about masks, but it seems like we don’t quite understand what it means to be six feet, and I’m worried that that’s going to catch up with us,” Sims said. “And then the other thing that I’m worried about is that I think that the stuff we’re doing is actually going to help, and in a few weeks we’re going to start feeling like, “Oh, it’s getting better,” and I’m worried that we’re going to let down our guard.”
Lois Salmeron, dean of the Kramer School of Nursing, said the coronavirus is a threat due to the potential of people being asymptomatic carriers for it.
“I think it takes a while, some time, for, we’ll say, the general public to understand the seriousness of this. Particularly, say the wearing of the mask. You wear a mask to protect you, but you wear a mask to protect others too,” Salmeron said. “We certainly support the entire campus to be strict about what we do. It might be not too comfortable or not too convenient, but that’s how we’re going to be able to continue to teach people on campus.”
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