Colleges And Universities Plan To Reopen In Fall, But Will Students Come Back

Episode 42 focuses on colleges and universities in Florida and their plans for students to return to campus in the fall. A number of state colleges and universities have unveiled plans to bring students back to campus in the fall including the University of Florida. Gabriella Paul spoke with Luis Toledo, a data and policy analyst researching campus responses to COVID-19 through the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson College, about the viability of UF's reopening plan (01:26). With colleges and universities unveiling their reopening plans we know how administrators feel about returning to campus in the fall but Anthony Montalto talks to students about how they feel returning to campus (06:29). The fall semester begins in six weeks and University of Florida students are getting ready to return to campus. But for out-of-state students, returning to Gainesville next month is more complicated than for others. Taylor Levesque spoke to a couple of out-of-state students who say that despite the school's plan to reopen campus they have decided to stay home for the fall semester (11:08). It's been a roller-coaster few months for international students as the pandemic has thrown their status into uncertainty. Josh Williams takes us through the highs and lows (15:20). From having their last day of high school in April, to graduating with social distancing in effect in June, the class of 2020 now has to transition to college in the middle of a pandemic. Camron Lunn spoke with two such students who are both navigating this difficult time in different ways (20:21). This podcast serves to provide updates on Florida's response to coronavirus, with a particular focus on north central Florida.