The coronavirus pandemic has reached the U.S. education system. As many students across the country prepare to come back from their spring break or are preparing to go on spring break, college officials have been sending out emails to the student body telling them to not return to the campus for the rest of the semester.
By late afternoon Wednesday (Mar 11), over 100 universities had canceled in-person classes and switched over to online classes at least for a couple of weeks or for the rest of the semester. A week or two prior, colleges had issued notices to students that abroad travel had been canceled due to the coronavirus.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have also taken measures against the coronavirus, dispelling the myth that black people can’t get the coronavirus. Howard University in Washington D.C. shifted to online classes from March 23 to April 6.
The Atlanta University Center, which consists of Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta, has also taken measures ensuring the safety of its students. On Thursday, the AUC sent a notice to all students, saying that all in-person classes were canceled for the rest of the semester and professors were switching to online classes instead. You can read the full statement here.
The campus closures have created even more problems. Campus closures mean that students who live on campus will have to move off of campus and have to return home or find somewhere to live. This has caused problems especially for low-income students who relied on their institution for housing.
For the class of 2020, many students and parents of students are unsure about the fate of graduation activities. Institutions have been canceling events of more than 250 people for the remainder of the semester. While it is still too early to tell what will happen with the virus we hope that students are able to walk across that stage in May or June.
