Dear Students,
The English department has strongly encouraged faculty to shift all classes to an online format, potentially for the rest of the semester. Certainly until conditions start to improve rather than continuing to get worse. However, online-only learning is certainly different, and we will all need to be patient with ourselves and each other as we adjust and figure out what works best for our class.
Therefore, I want to take some time to explain why I believe social distancing, when possible, is important. I will endeavor to use Aristotle’s 3 appeals and each piece of the rhetorical triangle as I compose this post, so as an exercise to practice, keep an eye out for how I’m considering each one as you read (even if you don’t think I’m being effective in one or more ways).
Many people are saying that concern around COVID-19 (the current strain of coronavirus) is overhyped, and that it’s far less prevalent than the flu. So, why are the changes being implemented around the world important? For one thing, our healthcare system is managing coronavirus on top of the existing flu season (which is already worse than average). This means that hospitals and other medical facilities have fewer resources with which to help all patients, regardless of their ailment.
Distribution chains are also struggling, since many U.S. products are manufactured in other affected regions like China, and many people are buying up materials like hand sanitizer, alcohol swabs, and masks. Because demand is so high, medical facilities are also facing greater difficulties in acquiring supplies– it’s not just regular people going to CVS. Furthermore, COVID-19 is spreading at an exponential rate, doubling around every 6 days. It is likely to get far more widespread before it goes away.
So, healthcare facilities are at a high risk of being overloaded, and many healthcare facilities already face long wait times and limited space. Another issue is we don’t actually know how widespread the virus is in the U.S., because access to testing kits is limited , and many people cannot afford the medical bills of getting tested (one man’s bill for getting tested was about $1,400 after his health insurance paid for some of the costs) or cannot afford to take the time off of work/care responsibilities to do so.
Some epidemiologists (disease experts) are estimating that eventually, 40-70% of the human population will contract COVID-19. The question becomes, when? That’s where social distancing comes in.
Social distancing essentially means limiting time spent in groups of people, including at work, at school, on the train, and at social events. The goal of social distancing is to flatten the curve — that is, slow the rate at which people are getting the virus. If fewer people are sick at the same time, our healthcare system is better able to handle the situation and take care of everyone, even if the total number of sick people remains the same.
It’s true that the overall fatality rate is fairly low compared to some diseases, but it’s high for some populations of people, such as the elderly and people who are immunocompromised (their immune systems aren’t very strong, so they’re much more vulnerable to illness). And it’s important for us to care about the wellbeing of these people too, even if we ourselves are not at high risk. This is the same principle behind vaccines: herd immunity. If most people are safe from a virus (either through immunities or through protective measures), fewer people get the virus, and the virus is more easily treated and contained.
The virus also has the potential to seriously affect people economically. For jobs that rely on tips, or people who get paid hourly only when certain institutions are open (schools, for example), people may lose their source(s) of income even though they are still employed. So, it’s extra important to limit the severity of the pandemic as quickly as possible, although I do think that it’s very important for schools/workplaces to consider and provide for how students’/workers’ needs will change, including considering access to technology, access to food and housing, etc. For example, I think the advice from many places to just “not take public transit” is laughably unrealistic, and telling people to stay home without providing for how they will afford to pay their bills is…a major problem.
I will write again later today with a plan for how our particular class will proceed. As I said yesterday, please still do your homework for today, please fill out the technology survey, and I’ll be in touch. Likely we will do a blend of some webconferencing and some asynchronous work. Please also check your email notification settings for this site, since it’s now especially important that you stay up to date with information.
Please email me with anything you’d like to talk about, or ways I can support you further.
