How UC San Diego Is Dealing With COVID-19

Courtesy of one class

Courtesy of one class

UC San Diego put up four large tents outside near the center of campus to give the students a place to listen to lectures and study. Health officials say that a combination of the breezy air outside and social distancing would make it hard for the virus to spread.

A new mini village is part of “Return to Learn,” UCSD’s effort to allow a comparatively small number of students to live on campus and take some courses in person.

The outdoor classrooms can fit up to 50 students. Strikingly different from indoor lecture halls, where 200 student classes are held.

“The outdoor classrooms will include an array of amenities, such as WIFI, podcasting equipment, microphones, and LCD display screen.” This quote is from Los Angeles Time.

Campus officials say that they may use the structures for a handful of events this fall. But UCSD won’t begin to routinely use them for lectures until the winter quarter starts. The large tents are designed to withstand the wind and rain. 

Several thousand UCSD students are currently taking one or more classes in person. Everyone else is taking their courses entirely online. 

“Early on, UCSD said the anxiety caused by the pandemic and the heavy emphasis on online courses was likely to cut the university’s fall enrollment by around 800 students.”  This quote is from Los Angeles Times. The opposite happened. The school says it’s total enrollment extended by 840, reaching 40,373. It was the first time in UCSD’s 60 years history that it excelled 40,000. The school could exceed its official size of 41,000 next year. That wasn’t supposed to happen until the year 2035.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “A total of 72 university staff and students tested positive for COVID-19 since Oct.1, a small number given UCSD’s size.” School officials are thinking about an expansion of its already large testing program. They might let students manage nose swab tests themselves. The test would be examined by the university.