Albion College, in Albion, MI, is looking to create a “Covid-bubble” on campus this term. The school is asking students to stay within a 4.5-mile perimeter for the entire semester. If a student leaves the campus for unauthorized reasons, an app on the student’s smartphone will notify the school’s administration.
The app, which students will be required to download and use, will track their location and private health data at all times throughout the semester.
“The school wants my daughter to sign a form consenting to specimen collection and lab testing,” the father of one student told the Washington Free Beacon on condition of anonymity. “I have a ton of concern with that…. Why is the state of Michigan’s contact tracing not enough?”
Though students are required to remain on campus, professors and administrators will not be. The school declined to comment on this potential loophole in its “Covid-bubble.”
“I feel like I am being treated like a five-year-old that cannot be trusted to follow rules,” said Albion senior Andrew Arszulowicz. “If the school believes masks work…why are we not allowed to leave if they work? It does not make sense to me.”
Albion is planning to offer in-person learning only this semester. It will not offer any virtual or hybrid learning opportunities.
Students who refuse to comply with the contact-tracing program will be forced to defer for a semester or a full school year.
Covid19 testing will be required when a student first arrives on campus. The results will be stored on the app.
Students must also sign a form authorizing the disclosure of their medical records to the county, state, or “any other governmental entity as may be required by law.”
Additionally, students must quarantine for three days after first arriving on campus.
They will be given a list of “approved businesses” they can frequent. They can then leave campus for “approved” activities only, which include medical appointments, religious obligations, and “significant family obligations.”
Students who fail to comply with these regulations will be locked out of their dorms and other school buildings. Students can also be temporarily suspended for violating the guidelines.
Photo by Albion.edu