WHAT ABOUT PARTYING? It’ll happen. But a combination of clear rules and public education up front and testing, quarantining, and contact tracing at the back end should minimize transmission.
The PRT will not run this fall. Busses will connect the downtown, Evansdale, and Health Sciences campuses.
The wild card this fall semester is going to be the social scene and students’ willingness to reinvent it. “How are they going to stop them from partying and transmitting all over town and campus?” one worried Facebook user asks about WVU. “They are dreaming if they think they will play beer pong masked.” It’s true. WVU can require masks and distancing on campus and has limited the size of student gatherings to 25, but it can’t stop students from going to bars and parties. One reason university leadership decided to offer the on-campus experience this fall is that, after finishing the spring semester online-only, students overwhelmingly wanted the on- campus experience. Given that, the university believes public education will go a long way. “We’ve been communicating through the summer and will continue to do so that it is on the students—that it’s their behavior that is going to determine how successful this fall is,” says Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop. “If they really value the on-campus experience, they’re going to have to adjust.” Bar managers have incentive to keep things under control on their turf. They got a preview of the downside in July when maskless bar hopping led to
a rash of cases—and weeks of closure mandated by the governor. Now Monongalia County’s three strikes rule puts the ability to stay open in each business’s hands: An outbreak, that’s three COVID cases or more associated with a given business, shuts it down for progressively longer periods each time it happens, indefinitely the third time. Mask-lax bar managers risk closure. Students in group houses like fraternities and dorms can find their fun at home. “We have 25 guys at the fraternity, and we’re all around each other anyway. Why not watch the football game with the people you’re already with?” says Student Body Vice President and Pi Kappa Phi President Jaron Bragg. “But the university doesn’t have a say in house parties—that would fall to the county health board.” Alsop points to research showing that, if 80 percent of a population wears masks, the virus can be kept under control—the expectation being that mostly good practices keep outbreaks here and there contained. “There will be students, there will be adults, who are not going to follow best practices. We’ll have to reduce that as best we can with public education and following the governor’s orders.”
Student and employee COVID kits include masks, sanitizer, wipes, and a key touch tool.
10%may break the rules, but 90% are concerned about safety and will wear masks. — Student Body Vice President Jaron Bragg
Libraries are open—masks re- quired. Returned materials will be quarantined for 72 hours.
September 26 Homecoming v. Kansas State—parade yet to be determined.
October 30–November 7 Mountaineer Week, ending in a game against Oklahoma State. Indoor events like the craft fair are up in the air, but some outdoor events may take place.
14 MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020
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