Opinion: Reopening for In-Person Classes was a Good Decision. Reopening for In-Person Classes Without an Effective Testing and Tracing Apparatus Was Not.
When Fr. Jenkins announced in May the university’s plan to reopen for classes for the Fall Semester 2020, I was happy. Notre Dame, one of the nation’s top universities, was one of the first schools to come out in favor of reopening, shortly after some major state systems had begun to announce that they would go online in the fall. My peers had reached a nearly unanimous agreement that online learning was subpar, and we were happy to return to class. I looked forward to once again being able to be with my friends, rather than just seeing their faces on a phone screen. Planning for this semester would be a formidable challenge, but I believed Notre Dame would pull this off.