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Uni students coming home for lockdown

125 replies

Chocolatecake12 · 02/11/2020 19:21

As title says..... my ds is saying he wants to come home. His girlfriend came home yesterday, (different uni) and another friend came home today.
Out of his flat mates (Halls) only one out of 5 is going home.
I’m in two minds - id love him to come home, I miss him etc but I also feel he should stay until Christmas as government are advising.
He currently has two online lectures and two face to face. One if those is practical hands on.
He hadn’t had any advice yet from the university.

What are people’s thoughts? I’m not sure I’m Capable of seeing Things clearly right now!

OP posts:
ForthPlace · 02/11/2020 19:58

I work with someone who's DC came back from university when it all started kicking off in early October. Child brought C-19 home with them. Colleague has been off sick for nearly three weeks. I get it's tough for them stuck at uni in these circumstances, but they really need to stay put for now if at all possible

Me too, it closed two primary schools and stopped a year group going to school in a secondary.

Bwlch · 02/11/2020 19:58

Apart from anything else don't they get warnings about missing lectures or marks taken off?

Generally speaking, students don't have to attend lectures if they don't want to. It's up to them. That hasn't changed since Covid.

Sparklingbrook · 02/11/2020 19:59

There aren't any at many Unis. It's all online.

I was referring to what the OP had written, her DS has these sort of lectures.

AllGongNoDinner · 02/11/2020 20:01

My dc is home for reading week and has just decided that he’s going to stay at uni for lockdown. I’m guessing it’s partly due to there’s no all day drinking going on here WinkGrin

bigbluebus · 02/11/2020 20:01

He has contact time at Uni. Most of his flat mates are still there. Why on Earth would he come home and put his family at risk? I suspect that part of the plan for Unis is that all f2f teaching will stop 2 weeks before the end of the semester and students will be told to isolate before travelling home to prevent a mass rise in cases from students travelling from high incidence areas into lower incidence areas.

FippertyGibbett · 02/11/2020 20:02

I’d bring him home.
My DD attended a seminar today but was the only one who turned up. The lecturer sent her home again.
It’s a waste of time sitting there, and they might just be tempted to drink/drugs to alleviate the boredom.

AlwaysLatte · 02/11/2020 20:02

This is one area where I'd break the rules. Sorry but nothing would make me say 'don't come home' to my kids.
That said, I think there would need to be precautions in place such as keeping away from vulnerable family members, etc and staying home, for a period of time.

Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:02

Dd misses her boyfriend and flatmates. She's had covid so hopefully will have immunity for a month or so

Sparklingbrook · 02/11/2020 20:04

Probably a lot of Uni students would like to go home but can see the bigger picture and realise why it's not a good idea.

DominaShantotto · 02/11/2020 20:06

@kursaalflyer

Apart from anything else don't they get warnings about missing lectures or marks taken off?
You're joking right?!

We are on week 5 of term and they've only just figured out the most ridiculously unfeasible method of trying to take attendance with anything other than staff photographing their laptop screen!

NameChange84 · 02/11/2020 20:07

Without a formal instruction from the Government to move ALL teaching online, Universities who are solely operating online are in violation of their terms of service. Universities who do not offer any face to face could have legal proceedings brought against them. It’s also bad for students’ mental health as they need the structure and contact of some face to face, especially anyone living in Halls (bearing in mind the vast majority of students do NOT live in Halls but private residences with friends, partners or, often, commute from their own or family home).

Despite being Tier 3, none of my local universities have suspended face to face. I find it appalling that Tier 1 universities have.

That being said, encouraging a mass migration of students back to parental homes all over the country would be disastrous in terms of the spread of the virus and associated deaths.

Whilst universities are allowed to stay open, there should be blended learning and students must stay at their term time address.

In terms of Christmas, we’ve been prepared that ALL students will have to self isolate for two weeks prior to going home and yes, at that point, learning will all be online. Our campus also offers mass testing and, despite being in a Tier 3 and being large and having Medical/Nursing/Teaching/Dentistry faculties (so high risk in terms of placements) we’ve had a tiny number of cases.

Sparklingbrook · 02/11/2020 20:08

In the eighties my DB and his 3 flatmates on the same Uni course took it in turns to go to lectures. Grin I thought it might have moved on a bit.

Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:08

Dds uni had some 'face to face' lectures. All in masks and socially distanced, she said it was horrible. She prefers online.

Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:09

If they've had Covid why on earth do they need to isolate for 14 days?

Bemorechair · 02/11/2020 20:11

I'd get them to come home but isolate at home for 2 weeks and take extra precautions.

LadyWithLapdog · 02/11/2020 20:13

Mine is coming home.

NameChange84 · 02/11/2020 20:14

@Noideawottodo

If they've had Covid why on earth do they need to isolate for 14 days?
Because there is currently no firm proof that it’s not possible to catch Covid more than once and indeed the most recent antibody studies show that those who had Covid in March are no longer showing antibodies. Potentially this means they could catch it and spread it again now. The various strains are also constantly mutating, which may also have an impact upon reinfection.
Sonnenscheins · 02/11/2020 20:14

He has contact time at Uni. Most of his flat mates are still there. He wouldn't be able to meet up with his girlfriend at home anyway due to lockdown. Why would he want to come home? Genuine question.

Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:15

Antibodies last for a couple of months!

Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:16

@Sonnenscheins

He has contact time at Uni. Most of his flat mates are still there. He wouldn't be able to meet up with his girlfriend at home anyway due to lockdown. Why would he want to come home? Genuine question.
Yes, what is he going to do at home that he can't do at uni?

No meeting up with his local mates, remember

NameChange84 · 02/11/2020 20:23

@Noideawottodo

Antibodies last for a couple of months!
There’s no definitive conclusion at present but surely you realise that ALL the students didn’t get Covid in September 2020? Some had it back in February or March, others at home in Spring and Summer. I know a nurse in a council nursing home who tested positive every week for 9 weeks after feeling better and was unable to return to work for nearly 3 months. If there’s a chance that people can be reinfected then of course the isolation period needs to be applied.
Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:26

Dd had it a month ago. I'm calling it, she's unlikely to get it again this term. She's already had to self isolate 3 TIMES due to flatmates getting it then her getting it. I won't be expecting her to self isolate again for 14 days.

Noideawottodo · 02/11/2020 20:27

I know a nurse in a council nursing home who tested positive every week for 9 weeks after feeling better and was unable to return to work for nearly 3 months

That's insane. That would have been dead virus with no chance of infecting anyone

Chloemol · 02/11/2020 20:36

If he comes home he can’t go back to attend the face to face or practicals. How will missing them impact on his course?

HereForTheFeminismChat · 02/11/2020 20:45

Lecturer here.

Do this logically.

First, he needs to contact the relevant people at his university to find out what is possible for his course. Is there a fully online version? You mention that one class is "practical hands on" - does that mean literal hands on? Would he need to change modules? By this stage of the semester, module changes tend to be allowed only in rare circumstances - but given Covid, it may be that universities will be more relaxed than usual in relation to changes. And finally, if he wants to resume F2F teaching this academic year (say in January, because some miracle happens over the next six weeks), would that be possible?

Second, what is the university's response to lockdown? FWIW, at my university, a decision has just been made to move virtually all teaching online, with an exclusion for practical classes. This may impact on the answers to the above questions.

Third, you need to think about his mental health and what will be best for his studies. If he is miserable, isolated and anxious, and doesn't see that changing during the coming lockdown, then it doesn't really matter that InsertYourUserName's son or daughter feels differently. And I should add - I have seen some very distressed students. We have also had quite a lot of students who originally requested in-person teaching now asking to be moved to online groups.

Finally, if he does come home, please remember that he might be bringing Covid with him, and you should act responsibly to your local community by taking extra care with quarantine (over and above what is mandated in lockdown).

I hope this helps.