In the face of COVID-19, Brown made the decision to reopen its campus and accept students for the fall semester. Christina Paxson, the President of the university, was seen by many as a leading voice in the push to reopen schools, writing an op-ed in the New York Times over the summer. Ultimately, Brown formulated a comprehensive plan, including evaluative " levels of safety," mandatory testing for all those on campus, robust social distancing guidelines, and housing protocols that reduced contact between students as much as possible. Brown has witnessed the fruits of such a plan - as of November 14th, Brown has reported 84 positive cases among more than 100,000 tests of close to 8,000 people.
Despite these shimmering numbers, there have been concerns (as there were always going to be). Questions have included about a diluted college experience; decreased avenues for social interaction; a less interactive, responsive, and engaging classroom; and, last but not least, the ability of 18-22 year-olds to be the diligent mask-wearing, social distancing and pandemic-beating students any reopening plan required.
In this podcast, Elias and Nick delve into this topic with three guests: Sterling Stiger, James Mullen, and Alexander Pralea. As our first guest podcast, we would without a doubt welcome any feedback to improve ourselves! Let us know by reaching out to us through Anchor, or by emailing elias@breakyourbubble.com!
