Cal Poly asks students to cancel spring break plans — but in-person classes are still on
With spring break less than two weeks away, Cal Poly is asking students to “strongly consider not traveling” to foreign and domestic areas with significant number of cornovirus cases, including the Bay Area, Seattle, New York and Los Angeles.
“This is, of course, your personal decision, though I hope you will consider taking this precaution,” President Jeffrey Armstrong said in a campus-wide email sent Tuesday, adding that university housing, campus dining and other campus services will remain open during that time.
More than 20,000 students attend undergraduate classes at the university. Around a quarter of those students are from the Bay Area and one-fifth are from Los Angeles, according to reports on the 2017 student body.
No cases of the virus have been identified in the Cal Poly community or in San Luis Obispo County as a whole. And the focus now is on prevention, according to university spokesman Matt Lazier.
Still, the university hasn’t moved toward online classes or canceling events, as many other California campuses have this week.
“We are working closely with our partners in the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, who continue to advise us that we remain at low risk for infections,” Lazier said. “If we have cases arise here, we will look at the details and consider how we will need to make adjustments.”
The university has published a website of frequently asked questions. It can be found at chw.calpoly.edu/coronavirus. Here’s a look at how the campus is being affected:
CSU cancels travel
All planned university-related travel for conferences and other events, as well as travel for all student clubs and club sports, has been suspended through May 31.
The restrictions are the result of a systemwide ban announced Monday in a memo posted by Steve Relyea, the chief financial officer for the CSU.
All spring and spring break study abroad programs were also canceled this week, an escalation of an earlier move that only halted programs in heavily affected countries like Italy and South Korea.
In addition to discouraging travel to areas with several reported cases of the virus, students who plan to travel internationally have been asked to report their plans using an online form. The request was sent in an email that says the information is critical for the university to ensure the health of the community and says the information will not be shared.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked anyone traveling internationally to high-risk countries, which currently includes China, Iran, Italy and South Korea, to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Cal Poly has asked anyone in that situation, “Please do not return to campus during this time.”
How students are feeling about the threat
Students passing time at the University Union between classes on Wednesday didn’t seem overly fearful about traveling over spring break.
Fourth-year civil engineering major Jacob Payer said he would be spending the break visiting family and doing job interviews in Ventura County. He said he wasn’t concerned by the coronavirus outbreak.
“I’m just trying to practice safe and healthy manners to make sure that any kind of infection of virus going around like this can be limited,” he said.
First-year sociology major Molly Kirkbride said she would be going home as well but wasn’t worried because her town has no confirmed cases.
“I guess I am concerned about other people going. ... We have a large amount of people here from the Bay Area or Washington who may get it and could possibly bring it back,” she said. “Currently, I’m not too nervous.”
Journalism major Megan Deegan, who will also head home for break, understood the university’s concern and said each student would have to decide for themselves.
“In an ideal world, we would all stay put right here ... but controlling a student body of 20,000 people is not necessarily something they’re going to be able to do,” she said. “If I were to get sick over break, I would 100% go to the doctor immediately, and I would not return to SLO. ... If I had a trip planned out of the country, then I would probably cancel it.”
In-person classes still on at Cal Poly
Meanwhile, Cal Poly is continuing to hold classes in person even as some universities in California are transitioning to online courses, including neighboring UC Santa Barbara, several other UC campuses and CSU campuses like San Francisco State and San Jose State.
Cal Poly hasn’t taken that step yet, but Lazier said the the university is looking into how it would implement alternative instruction models if it becomes necessary.
The university will have to balance several priorities in those efforts: Protecting the health and well-being of the campus community, while fulfilling its mission of providing students with quality “Learn by Doing” model of education.
The university also is reviewing a list of upcoming events planned on campus based on CSU and public health guidelines, but no final decisions have been made.
Classes also still on at Cuesta
At Cuesta College, administrators are taking a similar approach and are continuing with in-person classes for the time being.
In an email to the campus community on Wednesday, President Jill Stearns said the college has formed a COVID-19 Planning Team while continuing to monitor the growing coronavirus outbreak in California.
“The well-being and safety of our campus community is our primary concern,” Stearns said. “At this time, campus operations have not been changed. All classes, events, and hours of operation should be maintained. While planning is underway to address multiple possible scenarios of disease in San Luis Obispo County, no change has been enacted.”
Stearns said the college is developing a new webpage to keep the campus community informed of the latest news.
It’s also exploring how “to provide the best possible educational experiences for our students across all possible scenarios and planning for social distancing,” she said.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 3:42 PM.
