MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester • Hacker News Board

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#101

Post by whymauri » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:46 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #45

aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

I'm by no means an expert, but...

Is it a good idea to send a campus of young potential carriers from an emergency zone [0] to the rest of the nation, if not the world? MIT and Harvard may be setting a precedent in the world's largest college town that the status quo is to send thousands of travelers from a disease epicenter to lesser-affected areas. I'm genuinely concerned - not for my health as a student, but for how I might be impacting the health of the geographies I'm returning to. Am I misguided in this?

[0] https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/03/10/coronavirus-latest-ma...

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#102

Post by whyenot » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:46 PM UTC

PureParadigm wrote: post #50

I think large decisive moves like this may seem to some to be an overreaction, but it will prove to be the correct decision in hindsight (like the early travel bans). Exponential growth is real, and anything we can do to slow the rate of infection will save lives. As a current undergrad at UC Berkeley, they've moved all classes here online [1], and exams are either being postponed or converted to take-home assignment…

It should be noted that they have not moved lab classes online. For someone in the sciences, much of your classroom time is spent in lab classes. Unfortunately, there isn’t a good way to teach students how to run a gel, or do a titration, or identify minerals, etc. without in-person instruction.

There are students who are graduating this spring and the skills they learn in upper division or capstone lab classes are some of the most important skills they will learn at school. You can’t just cancel the classes (or those students won’t graduate), you can’t do a very good job at all teaching them online... What can you do? We haven’t figured it out here at my institution, and it looks like nobody else has figured it out.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#103

Post by chrisco255 » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:46 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #45

aquova wrote: post #22

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

Every report I've read shows the risk factor for young adults is extremely low, and probably no worse than the ordinary flu. Closing down the school for a whole semester seems like an overreaction.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#104

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:46 PM UTC

atomicUpdate wrote: post #99

jacquesm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

> vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't A campus full of runny noses for a couple weeks? These are overwhelmingly young people of which the vast majority would be perfectly fine.

What's the typical age of MIT professors?

What's the typical age of the students parents?

What would happen if a good 5% of them have more than a runny nose, end up in intensive care and there is a shortage of beds?

Go read up for a bit on what is happening in Italy, then check where your country is and advance 4 weeks. See if you still think 'runny noses' is a good analogy.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#105

Post by dvtrn » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:46 PM UTC

smallnamespace wrote: post #76

CodesInChaos wrote: post #59

I never understood why US universities have so many more rights over their tenants than other landlords. Why do they have the right to terminate what's effectively a rental agreement with only a week's notice?

Many universities are either municipalities in their own right, or have delegated municipal powers from the city government. Universities are their own small towns - they provide food, housing, have police forces, a large staff, etc. Put it the other way around, does it make more sense for a city official to be calling the shots, when campuses have their own special context?

Aren’t tenant/landlord laws typically set by the state, though-Using your analogy or do I have it backwards? Aside from local zoning laws I don’t quite see the comparison to how a municipality would be able to “call the shots” on something like eviction rules.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#106

Post by grimjack00 » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:47 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #83

xenihn wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beats getting quarantined.

They might still get quarantined. Given the state of testing in the US, who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus.

> who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus.

And by that time, most of the student body (with who knows how many asymptomatic carriers) will have been widely dispersed.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#107

Post by enitihas » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:47 PM UTC

atomicUpdate wrote: post #99

jacquesm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

> vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't A campus full of runny noses for a couple weeks? These are overwhelmingly young people of which the vast majority would be perfectly fine.

They would overwhelm the local medical system, making it impossible to care for the extreme cases.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#108

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:48 PM UTC

whymauri wrote: post #101

jacquesm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

I'm by no means an expert, but... Is it a good idea to send a campus of young potential carriers from an emergency zone [0] to the rest of the nation, if not the world? MIT and Harvard may be setting a precedent in the world's largest college town that the status quo is to send thousands of travelers from a disease epicenter to lesser-affected areas. I'm genuinely concerned - not for my health as a student, but for h…

They're not potential carriers. They are potential future problems and concentrating so many people that are so mobile is currently a very large risk.

Right now the chances of many of them being infected are still relatively low. Give it a few weeks and it is pretty much a certainty.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#109

Post by allovernow » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:48 PM UTC

chrisco255 wrote: post #103

jacquesm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

Every report I've read shows the risk factor for young adults is extremely low, and probably no worse than the ordinary flu. Closing down the school for a whole semester seems like an overreaction.

It's about containing the spread to spare risky populations and minimize hospital overload.

Also the bit about being no worse than the flu is not true for any age group.

Re: MIT moves all classes online for the rest of the semester

#110

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 10:49 PM UTC

chrisco255 wrote: post #103

jacquesm wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

Every report I've read shows the risk factor for young adults is extremely low, and probably no worse than the ordinary flu. Closing down the school for a whole semester seems like an overreaction.

Young adults interact with people who are not young adults. Young adults that need not be ill might end up in an ICU unit that an older person with a weaker immune system could have used to their advantage.

As long as there is no vaccine this is going to be a huge exercise in resource allocation.