10 — Monday, August 31, 2020
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

A

s K-12 students across the 
country prepare for the 
2020-2021 school year, 

mounting research suggests that 
school districts can welcome 
students back to the classroom 
safely. However, from here in 
Ann Arbor to large cities like 
Chicago and Los Angeles, a 
flurry of school leaders have 
signed off on plans to keep 
millions of students home for 
remote learning in response to 
the ongoing COVID-19 threat.

There are clear reasons for 

the widespread push toward 
distance learning, at least to kick 
off the upcoming school year. 
Since the coronavirus has the 
potential to spread easily in large 
gathering places like schools, 
experts fear that a return to 
in-person learning would spark 
a surge in COVID-19 infections. 
At a time when the United States 
just surpassed a total of 5 million 
confirmed 
coronavirus 
cases, 

many officials, students and 
health experts don’t think now is 
the right time to bring thousands 
of students together to learn.

It is obvious that a return 

to in-person learning in the 
middle of this public health 
crisis carries risks. But evidence 
is increasingly emerging that 
the risks of keeping students at 
home are even higher. According 
to a statement released by 
the 
American 
Academy 
of 

Pediatrics, “children learn best 
when physically present in the 
classroom. 
But 
children 
get 

much more than academics at 
school. They also learn social 
and emotional skills at school, 
get healthy meals and exercise, 
mental health support and other 
services that cannot be easily 
replicated online. Schools also 
play a critical role in addressing 
racial and social inequity.”

The truth is that while remote 

learning may curb the spread 
of COVID-19, it has devastating 
implications for all K-12 students, 
especially younger-aged children. 
Regardless of what many school 
leaders 
say 
about 
distance 

learning, it is nowhere near an 
acceptable replacement for the 
in-person 
education 
that 
so 

many students depend on. While 
many are expecting the second 
round of remote learning to be an 
improvement over the first in the 
spring — when the coronavirus 
first shut down our economy — 
it is becoming increasingly clear 
that the distance learning this 
fall will be another nightmare for 
students and parents alike.

According to the Washington 

Post, “America is about to embark 
on Round 2 of its unplanned 
experiment in online education 

— and, for millions of students, 
virtual 
learning 
won’t 
be 

any better than it was in the 
spring.” As reported in the 
same Washington Post article, 
students will face numerous 
hurdles if forced to learn online 
this school year. In addition to 
instructors’ lack of experience 
with remote learning, “millions 
of 
students 
nationwide 
still 

lack 
devices 
and 
Internet 

access.” In the end, as risky as 
the COVID-19 threat remains, 
school leaders must weigh the 
equally dangerous impacts of 
inadequate learning from home, 
especially on students from 
poorer backgrounds. At a time 
when every student deserves 
a high-quality education more 
than ever, distance learning is 
deeply problematic.

While it’s painfully obvious 

that students will get an inferior 
education online, the threats that 
remote learning pose to student 
development 
go 
far 
beyond 

academics. More than ever, an 
abundance of evidence suggests 
that 
distance 
learning 
has 

disastrous social and emotional 
consequences 
for 
students, 

raising 
the 
chance 
that 
a 

destructive mental health crisis 
will arise from online classes. 
After the first round of remote 
learning earlier this year led 
to an increase in anxiety, 
depression 
and 
suicidal 
or 

self-harming 
thoughts 
for 

school-aged 
children, 
we 

cannot afford to make the same 
mistake twice. In addition to 
a way for students to develop 
academically, 
socially 
and 

emotionally, in-person classes 
also serve as a safe haven 
for students who come from 
troubled backgrounds and are 
endangered by violence and 
abuse at home. A significant 
number 
of 
school 
districts 

and law enforcement officers 
continue to voice concerns 
that 
distance 
learning 

prevents teachers and school 
administrators from finding out 
about abuse and intervening for 
the benefit of the student.

Finally, 
besides 
the 
direct 

impacts of online learning on 
students, a distance education has 
alarming effects on our economy, 
which is already struggling in the 
midst of the ongoing coronavirus 
crisis. One of the most glaring 
and obvious impacts of remote 
learning is the inconveniences 
and troubles it brings for working 
parents, many of whom are already 
suffering financially. As a result 
of mandatory distance learning, 
parents are forced to commit 
less time to their jobs so they can 
help their students successfully 
learn from home. Many others 
must also turn to costly child care 
options who have no other choice, 
which puts additional financial 
strain on families.

In the end, it’s overwhelmingly 

clear that distance learning is no 
match for the valuable experiences 
that students derive from an 
in-person education. In addition to 
the inarguable and vast drawbacks 
to distance learning, research 
increasingly demonstrates that 
schools can reopen safely and 
intelligently in the age of COVID-
19, with both in-person and hybrid 
options available. Meanwhile, as 
our understanding of the novel 
coronavirus 
deepens, 
it 
has 

become exceedingly evident that 
COVID-19 is a mild illness for the 
vast majority of infected children. 
According to medical research 
published by Mayo Clinic, “While 
all children are capable of getting 
the virus that causes COVID-19, 
they don’t become sick as often as 
adults. Most children have mild 
symptoms or no symptoms.” At 
the same time, numerous experts 
also suggest that even if children 
do contract the coronavirus from 
in-person classes, the chance that 
they will transmit COVID-19 to 
higher-risk individuals remains 
low.

At this point, the evidence 

makes it exceptionally clear that 
schools can reopen safely in the 
presence of strict safety measures 
— including social distancing, 
hand washing and face coverings 
— and provide an enriching and 
high-quality education for all K-12 
students across the nation. While 
in-person classes do not come 
without risks to public health, the 
extreme risks posed by distance 
learning models are far deeper 
for both students and society as a 
whole. School leaders who have 
moved the beginning of the 2020-
2021 school year online have an 
obligation to their students and 
their communities to make plans 
for in-person or hybrid classes 
immediately.

Benefits of in-person learning outweigh the risks

EVAN STERN | COLUMNIST

L

et’s take a moment of 
silence. Take this time to 
reflect. To mourn. We have 

lost a valued member of our college 
experience — athletics. On Monday, 
Aug. 10, Big Ten Commissioner 
Kevin Warren announced the 
conference 
postponed 
all 
fall 

competition, including our beloved 
gameday weekends, until further 
notice because of the ongoing 
COVID-19 pandemic. The entire 
season is likely all but canceled. To 
call this a “tragedy” is a massive 
understatement. 
“The 
selfish 

answer is that I am sad because I 
want to watch sports,” Business 
freshman Matthew Berube said. 
“But at the same time, I think 
(canceling fall sports season) is 
smart. I have been hearing about all 
these athletes getting coronavirus 
and it has become really bad. With 
this new ruling, they can now return 
quicker when it is safe.”

Like many of you, I was 

enthusiastic 
about 
collegiate 

athletics and everything that comes 
with them. From prior experience, 
there is nothing more satisfactory 
than the crisp autumn air, a sea of 
maize and blue and singing “The 
Victors” at the top of your lungs. 
For freshmen, this is just another 
disappointment in our already 
dismal year. If you’re like me, there’s 
the reason you told everyone you 
chose the greatest university in 
the world — academics, the alumni 
network, etc. — but then there’s the 
other major factor in your decision: 
football Saturdays. 

Yet before we grab our pitchforks 

and storm Director of Athletics 
Warde Manuel’s office, we should 
realize that the University of 
Michigan is just as heartbroken 
as we are. In any other difficult 
situation, our leaders would combine 
their respective intelligence and 
figure out a creative solution. Except 
we live in a world where one must 
both clothe their faces and stand 
72 inches away from one another 

at all times. How can we expect a 
myriad of contact sports, as well as 
those played in an indoor facility, to 
survive this virus’s wrath? 

Think about it: Linemen crashing 

into each other like wrecking 
balls every snap, two volleyballers 
meeting at the top of the nylon 
and sweaty locker rooms? I don’t 
think Dr. Fauci would approve. If 
you’re still skeptical of the motives 
behind the decision, look no further 
than the University’s pockets. By 
canceling fall sports, the University 
has sacrificed $122.3 million in 
football revenue, according to the 
U.S. Department of Education, and 
an estimated loss of $85 million 
to the city of Ann Arbor, via local 
business owners. 

If there’s one thing all of us 

have experienced these past six 
months, it’s making unpopular 
choices. We’re staying at home for 
the fall term instead of showering 
in a community bathroom. We’re 
isolating ourselves for the last 
fourteen days of summer when we 
should be soaking up the final rays 
of sunshine in our hometowns. 

We’re forcing ourselves to choose 

our heads over our hearts. It’s not 
necessarily healthy, but then again 
neither is contracting COVID-19. 

It’s why we, as students, should 

be able to understand the difficulty 
of this decision on both sides. Even 
though deleting fall competition 
from our agendas is undoubtedly 
infuriating, we cannot let it distract 
us from the ultimate goal: complete 
safety 
among 
the 
University 

community. In our attempt to 
achieve it, we must carry on valiantly. 
We must not become complacent 
with the current condition of our 
athletic climate, but rather seek 
to improve it by continuing to do 
our part: Masking up, washing our 
hands frequently and staying six 
feet away from each other. As of 
Aug. 14, Michigan athletics has two 
new COVID-19 cases out of 254 
tested, via the Detroit Free Press. 

The University is already taking 

a massive risk. Allowing students 
to live in dorms, occupy common 
areas like the Michigan Union and 
inevitably congregate — all while 
abiding by the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention’s guidelines 
— is a lofty request at best. At the 
University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill, they’ve switched to 
total remote learning to reduce 
residential density. Little brother 
did the same. 

Could we be next? Maybe. One 

thing is for sure: If the University 
can attempt to safely accommodate 
us, we can patiently stand by for 
a safe resumption of athletics in 
return. 

College sports, in their infinite 

wisdom, have illustrated that the 
proper amount of time can improve 
the outcome of a player or team. Joe 
Burrow was a backup quarterback 
at The School That Shall Not Be 
Named for two years. In his senior 
season at Louisiana State University, 
he won the Heisman Trophy and 
a national championship, then 
became the first pick in the NFL 
draft. 

College sports also unite us 

through a common love of the 
game. If nothing else, the Big Ten’s 
decision verified the infectious 
passion that we have for our 
colleges. The shared despair is 
unprecedented, but then again, so 
are these times. 

This is why, when we comfortably 

return from this problematic state 
in the world, collegiate athletics will 
still be there. They will embrace 
us with open arms and an electric 
environment for us to revel in once 
again. 

In the meantime, we wait. The 

passion that athletes share for their 
sports is not lost on us, but neither 
is the well-being of our campus 
population.

Sam Woiteshek can be reached at 

swoitesh@umich.edu.

SAM WOITESHEK | COLUMN

Canceling fall sports is disappointing, yet expected

Distance learning 

this fall will 
be another 

nightmare for 
parents and 
students alike

Evan Stern can be reached at 

erstern@umich.edu.

SUBMIT TO SURVIVORS SPEAK

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ZOE ZHANG | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT ZOEZHANG@UMICH.EDU

