Some B.C. university students, instructors worry about eased restrictions in fall

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It will be a lot closer to normal for universities and colleges in British Columbia as the province on Monday outlined details of what the September return to classes will look like.

Masks will be optional and physical distancing will no longer be required. Post-secondary education is expected to take place on campus and in buildings with “maximum capacity” rooms.

It’s too early for Doaa Magdy, an SFU student who is also a teaching assistant.

“I was scared for about three hours when I read this. Personally, I just think it’s too early, especially with the emergence of variants. We don’t know what the future will look like, ”she said.

She says that as a PhD student she works in smaller groups and hopes that this will help her distance herself from other students. However, she is still concerned that she will be exposed as a teaching assistant.

“Alone in a classroom with a large group of students, nobody knows the other person’s vaccination status. I feel like it’s not just fear for me, but also for the people around me, ”she said.

“I have my two shots. I will continue to wear a mask personally to protect the person from me, ”she added.

Too early and with the Delta variant, I personally do not believe that we will return to campus. If we do that, it will be for a month at most. At least I’m in graduate school with smaller classes but TAing is going to be a nightmare without knowing the Vaxx status of others ????

– Doaa M. (you / you) (@doaalicious) July 5, 2021

A UBC employee who chose to remain anonymous said he had great concerns about the plan.

“As a parent with unvaccinated children, I worry about having to return to an office with poor ventilation, especially because there is no mask or vaccination requirement,” they said.

Hamish Telford, Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, shares some of these concerns.

“This is essentially a return to normal at a time when we are not yet in normal. We haven’t got back to normal yet, ”he said, adding that he was concerned as he read through the plan for the fall, emphasizing that he only spoke in person to share his feelings about the plan and not in the Name of UFV or its faculty.

“I know that many teachers … will be very concerned about going back to the classroom under such circumstances,” he said.

I have 3 kids going to UFV and they are EXCITED! The online university was not good according to them. Mainly because they didn’t have to pay full price for less than a third of the class 🙂

– Leesa Friesen (@ Leesa64901807) July 5, 2021

Meanwhile, UBC Associate Professor Tom Davidoff says that while he would like everyone to be vaccinated, he will leave himself to the experts.

“I think it would be polite to wear a mask, but I will definitely follow the guidelines to do so. Above all, I am very happy that we have the opportunity to be personal again, ”he said.

When justifying the autumn plans, the provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, on the “excellent progress” in BC’s vaccination program.

“This, along with declining case numbers and low hospital admission rates, means we can gradually and safely move forward with our restart plan – including face-to-face learning at our colleges and universities,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer.

“We will continue to carefully monitor all transmission episodes on campus, just as we do this fall for the flu or other respiratory illnesses to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff. We have shown that we can do this successfully in BC. “

As of Monday, BC reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 in the past three days, with only 20 in the past 24 hours. There are 85 people in the hospital, 22 of them in intensive care.

According to the province, 78 percent of people 12 years and older received at least one vaccine dose and 36 percent received their second dose.

Personally, I am considering going back to school, I haven’t taken an online course as I learn better in person than online. And Covid kept me really busy at work.

– Rgelderman (@RGelderman) July 5, 2021

But both Telford and Magdy point to other places in the world like the UK, Australia and parts of the United States as examples of just how much cases can rise.

“In summer, when it’s hot, people gather inside to cool the air conditioner. We tend to be outside in the summer but we will all gather inside in the fall in the winter, “Telford said, adding that this is worrying given the more virulent variants of COVID-19.

Telford says many post-secondary instructors teach in older buildings with poor ventilation.

“Sometimes in classrooms with windows that cannot be opened. And in many cases classrooms that don’t even have outside windows, ”he explained.

On the subject of matching items:

When it comes to distance learning, Magdy believes it should remain an option.

“This is really important for accessibility,” she said, noting that by learning from home, she was able to avoid the discrimination that she personally faced on her way to work.

“I can imagine that all BIPOC students face the same problem. It’s not just about going to campus. It’s about how to get on campus and all the fear that you go through with racism on the go. Then you get there and even more fearful without masks or distancing. “

But Davidoff says many students struggled with distance learning.

“I don’t think it was much fun taking four courses on Zoom twice a week; It’s not that fun to be personal. I think they missed each other’s company. But they put on a really brave face, ”he said.

If Telford was in charge, he would suggest sticking to the current Phase 3 of the restart plan through the fall.

“See how it goes. If it goes on without too many problems, we could move on to Level 4 in January. I think that would be more prudent,” he said, adding that he doesn’t see many contingency plans for the reintroduction of COVID-19. Restrictions if the number of cases increases again.

So that students can study from home if they feel insecure when they come to class (e.g. immunodeficiency), I will have my lectures recorded for my large lecture, provide videos from the remote version of the course, and remove the tiered interactive one Component.

– Election Observer (@CdnElectWatch) July 5, 2021

If Davidoff made the rules, he would be “erring on the austerity side”.

“Personally, I would be on the ‘Make sure everyone can document the vaccination where possible, and I would probably go in more masks,” he said. “But two of those vaccines and the age distribution in the classrooms, I think it will probably work out fine. But that’s with a little hope, not with the knowledge that it will be like that. “

The province believes that daily health checks will continue to be required and that people will continue to be advised not to attend class if they are ill.

Davidoff says at the end of the day it’s a compromise.

“Until the virus has completely disappeared from the surface of the earth, there is a risk. What you worry, of course, are variants … So until we get to zero, there is some risk that by approaching we will have a transmission that we would not otherwise have had. But of course there is also the other side of life. “

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/some-b-c-university-students-instructors-worry-about-eased-restrictions-in-fall/