[BostonCard]

If regular students could be tested with the same intensity as football players, would we be able to restart in person classes?

Not even the same intensity of testing would be required. Vanderbilt, for example, which has a mix of in-person and Zoom classes, is doing fine with once-weekly testing of all undergrads: last week the positive rate was 0.31% (20 new infections), down from 0.46% the week before, and they have good contact tracing with quarantine housing for positives and isolation for exposeds. Housing limitations might prevent all Stanford students from returning, but surely 2 classes at a time could come. I suspect the obstacle for Stanford now is that it made its decision and it's too late to reverse it for fall quarter. I would be disappointed if they don't do something different for winter quarter. Online learning is inferior to in-person, and online socializing is inferior to socially distanced in-person.

Right, I believe that was the initial plan (two-year classes), with a mix of zoom classes for the large lectures (e.g, Psych 1 in Dinkelspiel), and in person classes for smaller classes that can potentially be held outdoors, and which benefit much more from being in person (small seminars), not to mention labs for the sciences and engineering, and potentially the arts.

BC

[BostonCard]

If regular students could be tested with the same intensity as football players, would we be able to restart in person classes?

Not even the same intensity of testing would be required. Vanderbilt, for example, which has a mix of in-person and Zoom classes, is doing fine with once-weekly testing of all undergrads: last week the positive rate was 0.31% (20 new infections), down from 0.46% the week before, and they have good contact tracing with quarantine housing for positives and isolation for exposeds. Housing limitations might prevent all Stanford students from returning, but surely 2 classes at a time could come. I suspect the obstacle for Stanford now is that it made its decision and it's too late to reverse it for fall quarter. I would be disappointed if they don't do something different for winter quarter. Online learning is inferior to in-person, and online socializing is inferior to socially distanced in-person.

Right, I believe that was the initial plan (two-year classes), with a mix of zoom classes for the large lectures (e.g, Psych 1 in Dinkelspiel), and in person classes for smaller classes that can potentially be held outdoors, and which benefit much more from being in person (small seminars), not to mention labs for the sciences and engineering, and potentially the arts.

BC