Oberlin College delays start of spring semester due to surge

OBERLIN — With Lorain County at level 4, or purple, on the state's public health advisory system, Oberlin College has delayed the start of the spring semester by three weeks. Classes were to begin Jan. 7, but now they won't get underway until Feb. 1. "As we evaluate the current state of the pandemic, good judgment once again demands that we take the necessary steps to ensure our community's safety while we work to provide the on-campus Oberlin experience we value so highly," President Carmen Twillie Ambar wrote in a recent letter to the college community. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in November that college students may not be able to return to campuses in January. Oberlin College told students to remain home after Thanksgiving break and wrap up 2020 online. That was planned even before the fall semester began, not the result of any surge in cases. As of Nov. 30, the college had administered 11,135 tests to students, faculty and staff with just 28 positives. Ambar said much of the nation is struggling under increasing rates of community spread, and Ohio is no different. "The most concerning part of these increasing rates is that public health experts predict that during the holiday season, if people congregate indoors, the spread of COVID-19 will accelerate," she said. Now Oberlin students will move in Jan. 25-29. Under a new three-semester schedule created to "de-densify" the campus, it will be the first time this academic year that most juniors attend. All returning students will have to quarantine in their rooms until testing negative for the virus. That means first-week classes will be online. "This delay to the beginning of classes will allow our students to self-quarantine at home after the holidays, and prepare to arrive on campus safe and healthy," Ambar said. "This change does delay the end of the semester and the beginning of our summer semester, but the change is manageable." Oberlin College is looking into the possibility of having spring sports for the Yeomen and Yeowomen, but the "path is narrow" and unlikely to lead to a normal season, Ambar said. The spring semester is scheduled to end May 13. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.