UC Berkeley is looking more like a prison that a college campus these days including police in dorms and a ban on solitary outdoor exercise.
According to the The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley has extended the self-sequester mandate an additional week, through February 15, for all students living in residence halls even though the new cases of COVID-19 in Berkeley are on the decline.
An email from UC Berkeley student affairs stated there are a large number of students are in quarantine and that the self-sequester will be lifted when the campus confident of the ability to reduce virus transmission.
“Due to the 14 day incubation period of this virus, it is too early to be sure we have contained this current surge,” the email states. “We understand this extension is frustrating, but please understand this will help us mitigate further spread while protecting our community.”
Apparently students are not allowed to leave their rooms except to get a COVID-19 test or receive medical care (including mental health care), grab food from the dining halls or use the bathroom, period.
The email reminded students that they can receive food from the Cal Dining kiosks with lunch being available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and students can pick up dinner and breakfast between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
It is completely unclear how this can be called a “self sequester” when there are in fact campus security officers and university staff monitoring dorms.
“We don’t wish for residents to be alarmed by this increased UCPD presence, but we must ensure the health of our community,” the email reads.
To add to the insanity, UC Berkeley has placed a ban on solitary outdoor exercise which was not in place during the first part of the lockdown.
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“Right now it is critical that you avoid gatherings — large or small — even with your residential household grouping, whether indoors or outdoors, and even if your most recent COVID test is negative,” the email states.
“We are working with the city of Berkeley to determine whether outdoor exercise may be permitted, and we will provide more information on this in the near future,” reads a memo from the university on the matter.
Alameda County, where the campus resides, does not have any such restrictions.
Tuition for undergraduate students at UC Berkeley is $14,253 for in-state and $44,007 for out-of-state. Add to that the estimated $17,220 for room and board and you have to cost of sending your kid to the equivalent of jail with an online school program.
Article Source : thefederalistpapers.org
