Northern Vermont University held all instruction remotely for the first week of the 2022 spring semester. Dean of Students Jonathan Davis told The Critic several reasons for the delayed arrival, including rising COVID cases, poor weather conditions, a pipe bursting on the Lyndon campus, and giving students time to get tested for COVID.
Both NVU campuses were still open to students during the first week and were fully operational aside from academics. The dining hall and Hornet’s Nest served food, clubs were allowed to meet in person, and even events were held. Davis explained that due to the low density of students because of remote learning and continued indoor masking, it was still safe to have events during the week.
However, how the remote week was announced to the NVU community came under criticism from some faculty members who wished to know about the change sooner. The email from President John Mills was sent on January 13, five days before the start of the semester, and was the first communication for informing both students and faculty. Davis explained that the decision was not made far in advance; the team decided within a few days. This team consisted of President Mills, Provost Nolan Atkins, the Health Commissioner of Vermont, and others who meet weekly to ensure the university is a safe place to be during the pandemic.
“During COVID, the word pivot has become a mainstay, as in monitoring conditions and responding.” -Jonathan Davis, NVU Dean of Students
With the Omicron variant, the United States saw a surge of cases higher than the previous peaks of the pandemic. In the week leading up to the semester (Jan 9-17), the U.S saw record numbers of covid cases and hospitalizations, which reached an all-time high of 150,000 hospitalizations and 1 million new cases. According to the New York Times, there were 14,247 new cases reported in Vermont alone in the week before the semester. January saw the highest spike in cases in the state since 2020.
Isabella Mertens, a freshman at NVU-Lyndon, told The Critic, “We are at a state in this pandemic where we will have to accept the fact that nearly everyone we know is going to have contracted COVID-19 at least once in their life… As students return to campus, we will probably have to accept the fact that a large number of students will get sick… I am scared not only about the potential of my friends and me getting sick due to close contact on campus, but I am also scared of the potential of the sickness spreading throughout the community due to Lyndon students.”
According to Davis, this first week of virtual learning has successfully slowed cases, giving time for testing and boosters. Thus, NVU should remain in person for the rest of the semester. “Our Department of Health colleagues have stopped being so optimistic, but with vaccines and boosters in play and upcoming warm weather, I still want to remain optimistic about campus being a safer place to be.”
There will be testing held throughout this second week to ensure student safety. Some new covid protocols the college will be taking include decreasing seats in the dining hall from seven per table to four. The school is also taking measures to follow up with students who have not reported their booster status to make sure they plan to get the booster within fourteen days of their eligibility date.
Feature Photo by Alexandra Huff