In this week’s roundup:
The FDA’s approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine breaks down one barrier for institutions that haven’t yet required the vaccine, the return to campus this fall is best described as “uncertain” and Yik Yak is back.
August 12 - 25
- As students begin to return to campus for the fall semester, the only thing certain is uncertainty. With the delta variant surging, some colleges are making early changes to their health and safety plans.
- Not everyone is excited to be back on campus. A new Axios poll finds many college students are not ready to resume campus life. And professors are protesting, signing petitions and even resigning.
- But the wait is over for colleges and universities who wanted full FDA approval on a COVID-19 vaccine before they would require it. The Pfizer vaccine, now called “Comirnaty,” was formally approved on Aug. 23, replacing the emergency use authorization granted by the agency last December.
- Leaders of the more than 700 colleges and universities requiring vaccines are preparing to mete out consequences ranging from disenrolling to unplugging the wifi. Meanwhile, institutions without vaccine requirements are encouraging vaccination through fees, testing and limited access to facilities.
- In an effort to reduce misinformation and to reach their peers, students at colleges and universities formulated the Covid Campus Coalition to share scientific data and information via Tik Tok and other social media platforms.
- Incoming first-year students report feeling “mentally exhausted but optimistic about their first year of college,” according to data from Indiana University’s annual Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement.
- Colleges are reaching out with extra support to sophomores whose first year of college was disrupted by the pandemic.
- Students, scholars and other academic personnel continue to try to evacuate Afghanistan and come to the U.S. One of the most difficult aspects, according to a board member for the American University of Afghanistan, is getting students to the correct side of the airport and ensuring that there are planes at the ready to get people out.
- Although many college students have struggled with remote learning over the last year, some students with disabilities found it easier to pursue their education — and they want the option to continue.
- Finally, we are sorry to tell you that, after a four-year hiatus, the controversial app Yik Yak is back.
ICYMI: Check out our two special blog installments for this month: The Lede: Highlights and The HBCU Roundup!
