BOSTON — UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy is letting students know that going back to school in the fall, won’t be anything like the normal college life. The school released a 20-page college plan for the fall 2020 semester.
“The email we got today was a very definitive plan of action, and pretty restricting. Pretty harsh,” said 21-year-old Stephanie Lamkin, who will be a senior at UMass Amherst in the fall.
Lamkin, is just one of roughly 30,000 students at the university. All of them just learned their classes will now be mostly remote learning. Students will be allowed to attend in-person, for essential labs. Regardless, students have the option to move back on campus.
“They are letting us on campus, but they’re restricting us in so many other ways,” said Lamkin.
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Some of the guidelines include, critical health screening, where there will be testing for asymptomatic students, contact tracing, and students can get help if they need to quarantine.
While students are allowed to move back on campus, they will learn remotely. In person lab classes are an exception with the following guidelines: @UMassAmherst https://t.co/HZXITYy3Vc
— Malini Basu (@WFXTMalini) June 30, 2020
For Lamkin, she’s a chemistry major, which requires her to attend in person lab classes.
The classroom guidelines include, students to wipe down chairs, and commonly touched surfaces, face coverings, no eating or drinking in class and there will be assigned seats.
- Require students/faculty to wipe down chairs, other commonly touched surfaces.
- Require face coverings in class
- No eating or drinking in class
- Assigned seating, where appropriate
“On a positive note, we can plan for it, and now we know what we are getting into,” says Lamkin.
The university will also install plexiglass, and in the dining area, there can only be a few students allowed in to grab and go.
Public Health Promotion Measures include:
- Plexiglass/similar barriers in high volume areas
- UMass Dining: customer limit, grab and go sites, mobile ordering
“Everyone has to make the most of it. Especially as seniors,” said Lamkin.
Even if students decide to stay on campus, again, this doesn’t mean they can go to class. Online classes for all students at UMass Amherst start on Aug. 24. The school’s 20-page reopening plan can be found here.
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