5 ms·

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack

by aquova 7y ago

I can see why the university is taking the actions that it is doing, but on the other hand, if I were still and undergrad, and suddenly told that I had to pack up all my stuff and move within the next 3 days, I can only imagine the chaos that entails. Every student on campus now has to suddenly not only find a place to stay, but also a way to move everything on short notice.

piannucci 7y ago
I think the idea is you leave stuff in your dorm room that you don't need right away, but yeah. Wow. (btw some of the MIT dorms have storage space in the basement)
- the_svd_doctor 7y ago
  Ar Harvard (same thing happening) from what I’ve read on their website, you need to get rid of all your stuff like in an usual move out.
neltnerb 7y ago
during midterms. with the expectation that either they or parents are rich enough to afford flights somewhere else on three day notice.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  I'll be booking a greyhound bus to a far off place with cheap rent and good WiFi...
jacquesm 7y ago
It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.
- atomicUpdate 7y ago
  > vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't A campus full of runny noses for a couple weeks? These are overwhelmingly young people of which the vast majority would be perfectly fine.
  - jacquesm 7y ago
    What's the typical age of MIT professors? What's the typical age of the students parents? What would happen if a good 5% of them have more than a runny nose, end up in intensive care and there is a shortage of beds? Go read up for a bit on what is happening in Italy, then check where your country is and advance 4 weeks. See if you still think 'runny noses' is a good analogy.
    - chickenpotpie 7y ago
      I don't know if it's fair to compare MIT to Italy. Italy has a very aging population and MIT is very young and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country.
      - jacquesm 7y ago
        The question is whether or not you are willing to take that chance. The people responsible decided - rightly, in my opinion - that they do not want that responsibility. Risk = impact times likelihood.
      - greedo 7y ago
        And Italy has some of the best healthcare in the world. When you have only so many ICU beds and ventilators, it doesn't matter.
      - roel_v 7y ago
        "and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country." I hear people say that all the time of all sorts of places, but what does that mean? Does Boston have (beyond some baseline) more respiratory aid machines than other places? More virus or respiratory system specialists? Better or more nurses? If they do, why? It doesn't matter if they have a bunch of world class brain surgeons. I'd imagine the area would have roughly the same level of materials and skills in this specific domain that other big developed areas have. I wonder what makes people so sure about the specific capabilities of all the areas they claim to be (much) better than other areas.
xenihn 7y ago
Beats getting quarantined.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  They might still get quarantined. Given the state of testing in the US, who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus.
  - grimjack00 7y ago
    > who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus. And by that time, most of the student body (with who knows how many asymptomatic carriers) will have been widely dispersed.
    - JabavuAdams 7y ago
      I'm guessing part of the rationale is that there is no way to contain this in the US. It's going to go around. But, spreading it out in time and space will reduce the chance that local health infrastructure will become saturated, resulting in more deaths. Basically hospital load-balancing.
      - mlyle 7y ago
        Spreading it out in time and space fuels exponential growth, where you might contain it to slow growth through social distancing. But you've got to get people out of environments where it is going to spread extremely quickly, like communal living in dorms, just the same.
- avocado4 7y ago
  If I'm a poor student without a place to go I can imagine being quarantined in your dorm room with WiFi is not so bad at all.
  - ghaff 7y ago
tekacs 7y ago
They’re providing packing materials and helping with the move. Financially, they say: > We understand that being asked to leave campus may pose a serious financial hardship for certain individuals. Students will receive a follow up communication on this matter. It’s unclear what their solution is, but they seem to have thought about it...
- r00fus 7y ago
  The unclarity is unsettling. I imagine many will want to fly back to their parents home but may be barred from doing so. Was evicting a large populace a good idea? Aren't there other options?
  - ajross 7y ago
    > The unclarity is unsettling. The situation is unsettling. Realistically MIT made the right broad decision here, I think we can all agree on that. Classrooms (most of them) are an inherently remotable environment. Lecture halls and giant shared dormitories and shared meal facilities are just not a safe environment in a pandemic. They made the right call. Demanding that they do it with perfect bureaucratic finesse is a bit much. Over the coming months, all of us are going to be asked to undergo some hardship, there is no getting away from that. And realistically that hardship not going to be distributed fairly. We all need to do the best we can and help where it's possible.
    - ngold 7y ago
      Looks like they are ripping off the bandaid, anything else would take more time. Evidently, MIT seems to think they don't have any left.
      - ajross 7y ago
        In Boston, I don't know. But Seattle for sure is crossing the threshold where Milan was 10-15 days ago, and there's no reason to expect things will evolve differently. These, literally, are the last days of calm before things start to blow up in the US too.

by aquova 7y ago

piannucci 7y ago

I think the idea is you leave stuff in your dorm room that you don't need right away, but yeah. Wow. (btw some of the MIT dorms have storage space in the basement)

the_svd_doctor 7y ago
Ar Harvard (same thing happening) from what I’ve read on their website, you need to get rid of all your stuff like in an usual move out.

neltnerb 7y ago

during midterms. with the expectation that either they or parents are rich enough to afford flights somewhere else on three day notice.

londons_explore 7y ago
I'll be booking a greyhound bus to a far off place with cheap rent and good WiFi...

jacquesm 7y ago

It's a very smart decision. You have to imagine the chaos that entails vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't. Err on the side of caution with this stuff.

atomicUpdate 7y ago
> vs the chaos that could entail if they didn't A campus full of runny noses for a couple weeks? These are overwhelmingly young people of which the vast majority would be perfectly fine.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  What's the typical age of MIT professors? What's the typical age of the students parents? What would happen if a good 5% of them have more than a runny nose, end up in intensive care and there is a shortage of beds? Go read up for a bit on what is happening in Italy, then check where your country is and advance 4 weeks. See if you still think 'runny noses' is a good analogy.
  - chickenpotpie 7y ago
    I don't know if it's fair to compare MIT to Italy. Italy has a very aging population and MIT is very young and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country.
    - jacquesm 7y ago
      The question is whether or not you are willing to take that chance. The people responsible decided - rightly, in my opinion - that they do not want that responsibility. Risk = impact times likelihood.
    - greedo 7y ago
      And Italy has some of the best healthcare in the world. When you have only so many ICU beds and ventilators, it doesn't matter.
    - roel_v 7y ago
      "and Boston has some of the best healthcare in the country." I hear people say that all the time of all sorts of places, but what does that mean? Does Boston have (beyond some baseline) more respiratory aid machines than other places? More virus or respiratory system specialists? Better or more nurses? If they do, why? It doesn't matter if they have a bunch of world class brain surgeons. I'd imagine the area would have roughly the same level of materials and skills in this specific domain that other big developed areas have. I wonder what makes people so sure about the specific capabilities of all the areas they claim to be (much) better than other areas.

xenihn 7y ago

Beats getting quarantined.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
They might still get quarantined. Given the state of testing in the US, who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus.
- grimjack00 7y ago
  > who knows if few days from now they won't discover there was a carrier on the campus. And by that time, most of the student body (with who knows how many asymptomatic carriers) will have been widely dispersed.
  - JabavuAdams 7y ago
    I'm guessing part of the rationale is that there is no way to contain this in the US. It's going to go around. But, spreading it out in time and space will reduce the chance that local health infrastructure will become saturated, resulting in more deaths. Basically hospital load-balancing.
    - mlyle 7y ago
      Spreading it out in time and space fuels exponential growth, where you might contain it to slow growth through social distancing. But you've got to get people out of environments where it is going to spread extremely quickly, like communal living in dorms, just the same.
avocado4 7y ago
If I'm a poor student without a place to go I can imagine being quarantined in your dorm room with WiFi is not so bad at all.
- ghaff 7y ago

tekacs 7y ago

They’re providing packing materials and helping with the move. Financially, they say: > We understand that being asked to leave campus may pose a serious financial hardship for certain individuals. Students will receive a follow up communication on this matter. It’s unclear what their solution is, but they seem to have thought about it...

r00fus 7y ago
The unclarity is unsettling. I imagine many will want to fly back to their parents home but may be barred from doing so. Was evicting a large populace a good idea? Aren't there other options?
- ajross 7y ago
  > The unclarity is unsettling. The situation is unsettling. Realistically MIT made the right broad decision here, I think we can all agree on that. Classrooms (most of them) are an inherently remotable environment. Lecture halls and giant shared dormitories and shared meal facilities are just not a safe environment in a pandemic. They made the right call. Demanding that they do it with perfect bureaucratic finesse is a bit much. Over the coming months, all of us are going to be asked to undergo some hardship, there is no getting away from that. And realistically that hardship not going to be distributed fairly. We all need to do the best we can and help where it's possible.
  - ngold 7y ago
    Looks like they are ripping off the bandaid, anything else would take more time. Evidently, MIT seems to think they don't have any left.
    - ajross 7y ago
      In Boston, I don't know. But Seattle for sure is crossing the threshold where Milan was 10-15 days ago, and there's no reason to expect things will evolve differently. These, literally, are the last days of calm before things start to blow up in the US too.