Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted practically every element of our lives. Many people have faced major adjustments, within their job, social life, and general day-to-day routine. It's safe to say that no matter what activity we're hoping to partake in, certain precautions will have to be made to match the current public health climate.
Within universities, on-campus students are facing advanced precautions in hopes of avoiding another school shutdown from high infection risks. These precautions may vary depending on school and state, often including masks, routine (sometimes random) testing, social distancing, and more frequent levels of sanitation. As every school is a little different in how these precations look, we want to know how COVID-19 is being handled at your university.
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Headline: Everything You Need To Know About How [University] Is Handling COVID-19 template
Cover photo: Ideally, make this a personal image, like a picture of you in a mask on your campus.
Intro: Begin your piece with an intro that provides relevant background information on you (your grade and major) as well as the climate surrounding COVID-19 on your campus. Are people taking all their classes in-person? Some of their classes? Is your school allowing some traditional students to be fully online this semester?
Describe the information and instructions you were given before you arrived. Did you have to get tested as soon as you got to campus? Were you allowed to have anyone (family, friends) help move you in — did they have to get tested too? How were dorms/apartments sanitized before you arrived to move in?
Share any ways that your university is tracking active COVID-19 cases. Do they have an online dashboard where updated data can be easily accessed by all students? How are campus-wide alerts sent (email, text, etc.)? Do you feel that the communication you're receiving is effective?
Discuss how testing is being done on your campus. Are students required to get tested a certain amount? What is the turnaround time for test results? Are there multiple places you can get tested?
Include full detail about how COVID-19 has impacted your classes. Did any classes that were supposed to be in-person shift to online? If so, was that because of the professor's preference? Are students required to wear masks to class? Are classes practicing social distance requirements (seats farther apart than normal)? See if you can get a quote from one of your professors, discussing the thought that went into adjustments made for classes.
Lastly, include any other details that are relevant to what your school is doing to prevent COVID-19 from spreading on your campus. Any statistics, extra precautionary measures, and school-wide communication about keeping infection rates low is helpful for others to see exactly what's going on on your campus. Discuss anything you think they could be doing (that they currently aren't) and why it may be helpful.
