In class we have talked about formal and informal rules. Formal rules are laws, regulations, and directives while informal rules are practices, customs, and beliefs. This has led me to my topic. Do students not take the formal laws being implemented on their campus for masks and social distancing, no partying or large gatherings as formal? Do they believe these are suggestions and not regulations?
On Friday, September 4th, eleven students were notified that they were dismissed from Northeastern University and that they had 24 hours to vacate the hotel they were living in. Northeastern also declined to refund their $36,500 tuition. Purdue University has also suspended 36 students after they were caught at a house party 24 hours after their president outlawed off-campus parties. Finally, several students were suspended at the University of Connecticut for throwing a mask-free party.
Colleges across the country are struggling to figure out how to stop campus partying, which has already set off outbreaks at a number of schools and shut down some classes. The New York Times has counted at least 51,000 cases in universities and colleges around the country since the start of the pandemic, and many major college towns have become national hot spots. Many colleges, including OWU, are sending warnings and pleas but should they take more drastic matters like these universities by suspending students and sending them home? Or will we all eventually be sent home because of the number of increasing cases?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/world/coronavirus-covid.html
5 comments:
This is a great topic that definitely needs addressed. The university regulations to wear masks at all times except when you are with your family unit are hard to enforce when no one is watching. It isn't fair to the students who are taking the proper precautions to stay at school. I believe that if students get caught at parties or in a group without a mask they should be sent home. Sending them home will decrease the chance of it happing again and will decrease the number of people on campus that refuse to follow the formal laws.
This is a very interesting topic. With it being such a serious topic and so close to students like us, it should be taken seriously. Personally, I believe sending anyone who is involved in a group setting on a college campus is a bit harsh. If people are caught in a group without a mask or following other guidelines I believe they should be tested and if they test positive then they need to quarantine for the proper amount of time. It is college and would be impossible to stop all parties or group gatherings. Regardless, we should try to stay clear of as many of these gatherings as we can.
I think it is impossible to track every student who is not following the regulations that have been put in place. I don't believe that sending students home and not refunding their tuition is the right move as Northeastern University has done. If someone is not testing positive, then there is no point in sending them home. This will just create mass fear and hatred amongst the students for the authorities. The universities decided to return to campus this fall and they should have expected this. The only question I have is that did we come back to campus because the colleges missed our presence or did they just want our money?
I think that everyone has been told to take safety measures, and if they are not abiding by the rules, then they should be sent home. I feel like if there are more cases which will be discovered, I think at that point we all will be sent home. Many colleges in the United States opened this semester but have also shut down because of the excessive amount of student who has Coronavirus are being found. I feel like if people do not party as much and go out as much, it would be much better for everyone because we cannot expect the University to keep an eye on each and every one of us.
I think that the actions taken by Northeastern university are perhaps too harsh and they should have taken a more diplomatic approach. Throwing young people out of college if the matter of a few weeks for not following the rules will bring forth devastating reactions from parents, past, current, and future students as well. Already, many students have decided to go back home and study online as to why should they waste their money and also live with the risk of being thrown out at any moment by the school or by the state as well. Even if northeastern did this they should have refunded the money as they will now face a lot of backlashes and declined applications in the future in my opinion. Students, especially freshmen, are young and currently socially deprived individuals. One can't blame them entirely for wanting to party. Schools should start taking smarter and divisive strategies to control such situations but throwing students out of school is not the right way.
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