App State's Corona Response

Without being too stereotypical, these are trying times. Living through this crisis is arguably the hardest thing my generation has done so far. Struggling with the failures of capital and the government's piss-poor response, faced with the fact that 100.000 deaths in the United States would be considered the best outcome, it's bleak. But there are things to help us keep our heads above water. There was that guy who recovered from corona after living through the Spanish flu, along with 220,366 others (at the time of this writing). AP also has a feed of good news.

But the focus of this blog post, something I want to bring to people's attention, is my university's response to the crisis. I just got yet another email detailing the changes in policies they're making, from online classes to paid leave for student employees. The latest one details an opt-in pass/no credit system.

While I am usually critical of the chancellor and the school's elite and their profit-first academics-second choices, their response to Coronavirus has been excellent. On March 1st, they created a tracking website containing all the information they have officially released regarding COVID-19. This is in large part, along with emails I have recieved by virtue of being a student, will be the source of information for this blog post.

On Wednesday, March 11th, App State extended its spring break another week. This was to help professors prepare for a transition to online education.