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Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

stanforddaily.com

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Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#21

I was always under the impression that the word "frosh" was weird slang for freshmen, not a word considered just as proper for written communication.

They say "frosh" now because "freshmen" is gender-specific. Many schools do this.

I've only ever seen schools switch from freshman to "first year". Frosh is slang.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#22
Let the college kids get sick. They are extremely unlikely to have any serious effects from covid. At least on a college campus they won’t infect older family members. Herd immunity on campus would be reached very quickly. The few with serious preexisting conditions can stay home until that happens.

The level of fear is frankly ridiculous. People get sick and people die. One day, we will all die. That is the human condition. Life must go on. This is not the Black Death. A 1% fatality rate, mostly of people already on the cusp of death, is not a reason to bring society to a halt, to lock children inside for months.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#23

I firmly think there is a sea change going on from standard “college” degrees to more practical training that will be a mix of apprenticeship and solid training like air/vac, electricians and online skills, since the vast majority of jobs don’t really need a college degree. This has actually begun already at the high school level. Once again I believe net/net the beer virus will be positive for America in the long ru…

No one is deciding to work a trade instead of going to Stanford.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#24

I firmly think there is a sea change going on from standard “college” degrees to more practical training that will be a mix of apprenticeship and solid training like air/vac, electricians and online skills, since the vast majority of jobs don’t really need a college degree. This has actually begun already at the high school level. Once again I believe net/net the beer virus will be positive for America in the long ru…

While I would like this, I don't see this happening. Universities are stonewalling the complaints for lowered tuition. It's in a private university's best interest to keep their schools away from being "career preparation" institutions.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#25
post #18
post #9

My son's state university is forcing students to return in person. I fully expect a notable outbreak in some college to start a wave of media noise, followed by all the universities sending everyone back home again. Sucks because students are signing leases, moving crap, buying meal plans, etc, right now. Aside from the obvious safety issues.

>I fully expect a notable outbreak in some college to start a wave of media, followed by all the universities sending everyone back home again. If you are referring to the USA, I disagree. Unless the local county health departments or states require schools to go virtual, I don't see it. If a large public university experiences an outbreak, I don't think they will go virtual until someone dies. I do not think large p…

My experience has been that schools cave pretty fast in the face of media pressure.

Edit: Especially if fueled by some notable event.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#26
post #23

I firmly think there is a sea change going on from standard “college” degrees to more practical training that will be a mix of apprenticeship and solid training like air/vac, electricians and online skills, since the vast majority of jobs don’t really need a college degree. This has actually begun already at the high school level. Once again I believe net/net the beer virus will be positive for America in the long ru…

No one is deciding to work a trade instead of going to Stanford.

How many Stanford students are even capable of working a trade?

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#27

I firmly think there is a sea change going on from standard “college” degrees to more practical training that will be a mix of apprenticeship and solid training like air/vac, electricians and online skills, since the vast majority of jobs don’t really need a college degree. This has actually begun already at the high school level. Once again I believe net/net the beer virus will be positive for America in the long ru…

I really hope so.

The problem with "part of the population being disenfranchised" is that it includes the some of the parts/minorities that we officially care about (unlike, say, poor white boys in areas that vote for The Other Party).

If a solution can be found where these minorities can instead go and learn something actually useful, I'm all for burning the current university system to the ground.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#28
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My immediate thought to your comment was that "frosh" is actually very common and accepted slang for "freshmen". That said, I did not expect to see it in the article's lede – or in the president's official statement [0]: > We will continue planning with the hope and expectation of bringing undergraduates back to Stanford at the earliest possible time. If public health conditions allow, we plan to invite frosh, sophom…

I imagine that's because "fresh men " is problematic in $CURRENT_YEAR, but it sounds too weird to say "freshpeople" so they went with the existing slang of "frosh."

Considering it's a term that originated centuries before women were first allowed to attend college, I suppose it's reasonable to argue it has been long obsolete to the point of being problematic.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#29

I firmly think there is a sea change going on from standard “college” degrees to more practical training that will be a mix of apprenticeship and solid training like air/vac, electricians and online skills, since the vast majority of jobs don’t really need a college degree. This has actually begun already at the high school level. Once again I believe net/net the beer virus will be positive for America in the long ru…

While I would like this, I don't see this happening. Universities are stonewalling the complaints for lowered tuition. It's in a private university's best interest to keep their schools away from being "career preparation" institutions.

Of course universities will fight against anything that cuts into their income streams. That doesn't mean they'll win though. Market forces can't solve all problems, but they may solve this one.

Re: Stanford cancels plans to bring half of undergrads back to campus

#30

Let the college kids get sick. They are extremely unlikely to have any serious effects from covid. At least on a college campus they won’t infect older family members. Herd immunity on campus would be reached very quickly. The few with serious preexisting conditions can stay home until that happens. The level of fear is frankly ridiculous. People get sick and people die. One day, we will all die. That is the human co…

Even Cuomo mentioned in April that closing down colleges and having students return to live with, in some case, elderly relatives, may not have been the best public health policy.
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