With the world still experiencing high numbers of COVID cases, students wonder if it is a good idea to keep the campuses open. 

As everyone is getting situated for the school year, students are concerned about their safety going to the campus when they have in person classes instead of the hybrid class. Most classes will be remote from student’s homes, but  some students have a class that will force them on the COS campus. This could risk their health and some students don’t want to that risk.

Even with all the health safety and regulations that are being implemented in the classrooms, the prevalence of coronavirus in Tulare County makes the possibility of returning to classrooms too risky with 1,606 current cases as of September 2nd. 

The main priority should be to keep students, staff, teachers and all of their families safe. In the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, after the first week of  in person classes they announced  cases of COVID-19 on the campus forcing the students to online classes.

This year we have to be more careful by keeping an account table for our actions, and so we can help students keep moving forward in these times. With that in mind, maybe we should rethink the decision to have an open campus.