Will university students ever get back to college? Can freshmen even start? These are the questions preoccupying many parents in the US and elsewhere. And, judging from the angst-ridden conversations I’ve had with my friends in recent days, the outlook is exceedingly mixed.
A survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education and the College Crisis Initiative suggests that almost two-thirds of US colleges expect to bring at least some students back to campus. Some, such as Notre Dame, are starting the semester next week, to try to cram in as much teaching as possible before Thanksgiving. And others — among them Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago and Harvard — are adopting hybrid models that rely partly on digital teaching.
As the debate over how to reopen continues, I would urge students, parents and university administrators to look at a fascinating piece by the anthropologist Hugh Gusterson posted on Sapiens, a platform for social science.