University System News:
WJCL
COVID cases on the decline at Georgia Southern University
Dave Williams, Reporter
COVID cases are headed in the right direction at Georgia Southern University. After seeing numbers in the hundreds when the fall semester started, the number of positive cases has continued to drop. Last week, there were only three, and another 19 self-reported cases. University officials believe the protocols put in place have helped with the drop in cases.
11ALIVE
Georgia State University research team links air pollution to worse COVID outcomes
The study found a moderate increase in the particles in the air seems to correspond with a rise in severe cases and deaths.
Author: Jonathan Raymond
A Georgia State University research team finds that a moderate increase in air pollution seemingly corresponds to worse cases and more deaths from COVID-19. The research, conducted by a team of economists at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at GSU, analyzed environmental data from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and COVID caseload data from Johns Hopkins University. The research found that an increase in the measurement of fine particles in the air – fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5 – of just one (about 15% the average level in the air, they say), corresponds with a 2% increase in severe cases. They also described an increase in “same-day deaths by 3% from the mean case rate in a county.”
Savannah CEO
Staff Report
While her children napped, Georgia Southern University accounting student Mary Harrelson was meeting with potential employers from the comfort of her home. Harrelson, along with nearly 80 of her peers from the Parker College of Business, met virtually with accounting firms looking to fill positions during the Meet the Firms event, the School of Accountancy’s biggest recruiting event of the year. “This was my first time attending any of the Meet the Firms events, and I was very nervous,” she said. “I had never done this in person, so I wondered how I would be able to do it virtually. That went away almost immediately. As soon as I entered any of the chat rooms, someone was already there and talking to me either through text or a video call. The longer I talked the more comfortable I got with it.” …Meet the firms is just one of several recruiting and job fair events the Parker College of Business has moved to a virtual format since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The college also hosted a virtual Accounting Day career fair and a summer Meet the Firms event. “The best thing about the virtual Meet the Firms is that in spite of the pandemic, Georgia Southern University made it possible for us, students, and the firms to meet online and continue with the event,” said Emily Olsson, an accounting student set to graduate in December.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
University of Georgia satellite launch delayed
By Eric Stirgus
NASA officials delayed Thursday night’s launch of a rocket that included a satellite made by a team of University of Georgia students and faculty. The launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility along the Virginia coastline was scrubbed less than three minutes before the scheduled 9:38 p.m. launch. NASA officials said they delayed the launch because of a problem with a piece of ground support equipment, not the rocket. NASA plans to try the launch again at 9:16 p.m. Friday.
AllOnGeorgia
Georgia Southern signs memorandum with Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia
The Georgia Southern University College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) has signed a memorandum of understanding to partner with the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia.
The Georgia Southern University College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) has signed a memorandum of understanding to partner with the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. The partnership will provide girls with access to opportunities in STEM education.
Henry County Times
Georgia Archives to host lunch and learn October 9
Special to the Times
On Friday, October 9 the Georgia Archives’ Microsoft Teams’ virtual Lunch and Learn live event will be available to the public. Using Georgia’s Land Lotteries to Prove Family Relationships will be presented by Professional Genealogist Susan Sloan. Georgia’s Land Lottery system is unique in genealogy. This presentation is designed to provide information about the history of Georgia’s Land Lottery system and how lottery information can be used to solve family relationship problems
The Red & Black
‘It feels horrible’: UGA HSA responds to UGA Student Affairs statement after Zoom bombing incident
Gabriela Miranda | Staff Writer
During a University of Georgia’s Hispanic Student Association Zoom meeting, several white men yelled explicit and offensive words, mocked the Spanish language and showed an explicit photo on their video screen. The incident took place on Sept. 3. Now weeks later and without further action from UGA, HSA said they decided to start their own investigation, according to a statement they released Tuesday. HSA said on Sept. 26, Zoom Customer Service told them that if they provided the meeting ID, date, time and the name with which the men joined the call, they would refer that information to their Trust and Safety department to begin an investigation. “If the investigation concludes and the department sees fit, they will release the names and emails of the Zoom-bombers,” according to HSA’s statement.
Other News:
The New York Times
On Monday, Trump Updated the Nation on Virus Strategy. By Friday, He Tested Positive.
President Trump interacted with scores of staff members, donors and supporters this week. Early Friday morning, it was still unclear how many other aides who had come into close contact with him had tested positive.
By Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman
On Monday, President Trump updated the nation on the administration’s coronavirus testing strategy and announced a plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests. By early Friday morning, he had the virus himself. On the days in between, Mr. Trump interacted with scores of staff members, donors and supporters. Even the woman he has nominated to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been at the White House this week. …It is not yet clear when and how Mr. Trump contracted the virus. The president and the first lady said they had both tested positive hours after one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, also tested positive.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Oct. 1)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 7,063 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 319,334 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
CDC Issues New Testing Guidance for Colleges
Update offers more detailed guidance on prioritizing testing during an outbreak. It also says entry testing combined with regular serial testing might prevent or reduce transmission.
By Elizabeth Redden
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 testing guidance for colleges Wednesday. The new guidance includes fresh detailed information on how to prioritize testing for students, faculty members and staff members in the event of an outbreak. But it disappointed some experts who think the CDC’s guidance on testing asymptomatic individuals for disease monitoring and surveillance purposes falls short of what’s needed. While a previous version of the guidance recommended against testing all students, faculty and staff upon their return to campus — so-called entry testing — the updated version states that “a strategy of entry screening combined with regular serial testing might prevent or reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”
Inside Higher Ed
What Does ‘Close Contact’ Really Mean?
On some campuses, students are unlikely to be notified through contact tracing if an in-person classmate tests positive for COVID-19. Is that right?
By Lilah Burke
Contact tracing has been a hallmark of college reopening plans, an essential part of any successful attempt. But on some campuses, faculty, staff and students have raised concerns that contact tracing at their universities isn’t going far enough. Specifically, in many cases students and instructors attending in-person class together are not considered “close contacts” for contact tracing purposes. That means a student may sit next to a classmate for three hours per week, but they will not be alerted if that person tests positive for COVID-19.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
3 Universities Face U.S. Inquiries Into Free-Speech Controversies
By Katherine Mangan
Tensions were rising at Binghamton University last November as a crowd of protesters surrounded a table where students displayed images of guns and proclaimed their right to carry them. As the shouting escalated, the university police escorted the conservative students away but didn’t arrest any protesters — a decision that would prompt complaints of bias and a lawsuit from campus Republicans. It’s the kind of controversy that usually plays out within the confines of a campus, and sometimes in the courts, but this one has also attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of Education. Since President Trump issued an executive order on free speech last year, Binghamton is at least the third university to be put on notice that it is under federal investigation. Free-speech experts predicted more will follow.