University System News:
Statesboro Herald
COVID cases continue drop at GS, schools
68 remain hospitalized at EGRMC
James Healy
While the Georgia Department of Public Health won’t report the number of new COVID-19 cases over the Labor Day weekend until Tuesday afternoon, new cases reported at Georgia Southern University and in Bulloch County Schools dropped significantly for the second consecutive week. Confirmed and self-reported cases at Georgia Southern have dropped from 434 across its three campuses the week of Aug. 16-22, to 116 for the most recent week – Aug. 30-Sept. 5. Of the total number, 86, were on the Statesboro campus, compared to 230 the previous week and 389 the week before that.
The Brunswick News
Radiologic science graduates at CCGA earn 100% pass rate on national exam
By Lauren McDonald
College of Coastal Georgia recently announced that its Spring 2021 radiologic science graduates achieved a 100% pass rate on their first attempt of the national certification exam given by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. ARRT is a national organization that sets high standards for radiologic technologists by creating examination procedures, ethical standards and continuing education requirements. The exam is rigorous, and being certified and registered with the ARRT demonstrates to employers that an individual meets professional standards and is qualified. The certification allows graduates to work as radiologic technologists throughout the United States.
WTOC
UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography assists in improving hurricane forecast models
By Andrew Gorton
Peak hurricane season is just around the corner and scientists at the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography are working with NOAA to improve hurricane forecasts. The UGA Skidaway Institute deploys and maintains unmanned gliders that measures data such as water temperature and salinity. NOAA operates “saildrones” which collect data along the sea surface along with atmospheric data.
Tifton Gazette
ABAC preps for 21st Classic Golf Tournament
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Forest Lakes Golf Club is set to be the location for the 21st Annual School of Agriculture and Natural Resources Classic Golf Tournament on Sept. 24. Hosted by ABAC’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Alumni Council and SANR, the tournament is intended to help generate funds for student scholarships and faculty and staff professional development, college officials said in a statement.
The Brunswick News
Surf Club at CCGA takes students outdoors
By Lauren McDonald
The college at the beach is now offering a new way for students to take advantage of its locale. College of Coastal Georgia students and community partners recently launched the college’s first Surf Club, also called COAST (Coastal Outdoor Adventure & Surf Tribe), with hopes to create more opportunities for students to spend time outdoors. The club will orchestrate activities like surfing, hiking and camping, kayaking and more. They also plan to organize trash cleanups and outreach efforts to help underprivileged youth in the community experience parts of the coast they may rarely see.
WRDW
Honey extraction party planned at East Georgia State
East Georgia State College will host its second honey extraction party on Sept. 9. The event will be held in the lobby outside the college auditorium in the Luck Flanders Gambrell Building from 2:30-5 p.m.
Members of the college’s Beekeeping Club, students, faculty, staff, and members from the community are invited to attend. Guests will get to learn about honey, how it is made by honeybees and collected by beekeepers. …East Georgia State College maintains an apiary to increase awareness about honeybees and other pollinators, as well as their importance to the environment and how to protect both them and their habitats.
WJBF
Health care workers dread possible aftermath of Labor Day holiday
by: Kim Vickers
It’s Labor Day and many are spending time with friends and family. But because of staff shortages and the COVID surge, front line health care workers aren’t looking forward to the holiday. Front line health care workers are locked in a battle with the coronavirus surge caused by the delta variant. Augusta University Medical Center has so many COVID patients that ER wait times are long and they are having to divert trauma patients to other hospitals. While they are scrambling to treat patients, the burnt out medical community is dreading the holiday, knowing there will likely be a spike in cases that they cannot afford.
WFXG
College football stadiums packed in midst of pandemic
By Eliza Kruczynski
College football has officially returned and stadiums were packed, but we are still in the COVID-19 pandemic. People heading to football games this holiday weekend is a cause for concern when it comes to the rise of COVID-19 cases. Dr. MacArthur with the Medical College of Georgia says cases, at least hospitalizations seem to have plateaued, and we’ve reached the peak after the last holiday weekend; the 4th of July. However, he says that could be temporary.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bulldogs experiencing ‘our highest spike’ of COVID cases
By Chip Towers, 19 hours ago
The irony was not lost on Georgia coach Kirby Smart. Standing in front of a room of masked but not-socially-distanced reporters, Smart provided a somber COVID-19 report ahead of the Bulldogs’ first home game before a full-capacity, no-masks-required crowd at Sanford Stadium since Nov. 23, 2019. “I think there’s this relief where (people) feel like everything’s back to normal, but it’s really just not for us,” Smart said at the Georgia football’s first in-person, pregame press conference of the year. “Because we have the most (COVID cases) we’ve had right now.” Smart’s impromptu report came after he was asked to update the condition of Ron Courson.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: The mask battle, KSU’s court ruling, Morehouse’s record enrollment
By Eric Stirgus
COVID-19 cases are up at many of Georgia’s largest colleges and universities. Faculty want stronger safety provisions. Others are urging administrators to stay the course. Welcome to the start of the fall semester. Here’s the latest on the ongoing battles concerning masks and vaccines, a court ruling on a dispute that cost a university president his job, a big enrollment jump at one college and other happenings in this edition of AJC On Campus.
The mandate debate
Faculty groups at a few universities, such as Kennesaw State and North Georgia, have overwhelmingly passed measures in recent days demanding administrators and state officials enact mask mandates in all indoor facilities where social distancing cannot be done. The state’s University System has encouraged, but not required, people to wear masks in campus buildings. Faculty-led demonstrations have been held at the University of Georgia, Columbus State and Georgia State universities.
…COVID-19 cases up on campuses …UGA professor continues to buck administrators …KSU cheerleader court ruling …KSU joins nationwide effort to support Jewish students …Coming this week
The state’s Board of Regents meets Thursday.
Marietta Daily Journal
KSU faculty senate votes overwhelmingly in favor of push for vaccine, mask mandates
By Thomas Hartwell
The Kennesaw State University faculty senate has voted overwhelmingly in support of vaccine mandates at University System of Georgia institutions, as well as mask mandates at institutions in areas of elevated community transmission of COVID-19. The faculty senate vote calling on the board of regents of the university system to require vaccinations against COVID-19 for students, faculty and staff passed by a 33-6 vote. The motion calling on the board of regents to allow presidents of individual USG campuses in areas of substantial or high community transmission to require face coverings in indoor settings passed 34-2.
Ledger-Enquirer
‘We are not disposable.’ CSU professors lead protest for stricter COVID rules, vaccines
By Brittany McGee
Columbus State University professors and students demanded tighter COVID-19 protocols on campus during a protest Friday afternoon. Demonstrators asked that the University System of Georgia allow CSU to implement mask and vaccine mandates, create more social distancing in classrooms, allow faculty to temporarily move classes online, and have more testing and contact tracing. Friday’s demonstration followed a petition that was sent to USG in early August with many of the same demands. Acting USG Chancellor Teresa MacCartney responded to the petition with an open letter on Aug. 20 that upheld the current COVID-19 protocols for the system and encouraged vaccinations and masks. However, some of the CSU faculty felt the open letter did not properly address their concerns.
New York Times
The Masked Professor vs. the Unmasked Student
By Anemona Hartocollis
Matthew Boedy, an associate professor of rhetoric and composition, sent out a raw emotional appeal to his students at the University of North Georgia just before classes began: The Covid-19 Delta variant was rampaging through the state, filling up hospital beds. He would teach class in the equivalent of full body armor — vaccinated and masked. So he was stunned in late August when more than two-thirds of the first-year students in his writing class did not take the hint and showed up unmasked. It was impossible to tell who was vaccinated and who was not. “It isn’t a visual hellscape, like hospitals, it’s more of an emotional hellscape,” Dr. Boedy said.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Sept. 3)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,112,841
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 20,041 | This figure does not include additional cases that the DPH reports as suspected COVID-19-related deaths. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
COVID-19 amplifies chronic shortage of substitute teachers
By Ty Tagami
The long-running substitute teacher shortage that intensified during the early days of the pandemic last school year may be growing worse as more students return to classrooms amid the surge of COVID-19 driven by the delta variant. The rise in case counts has led to more teacher absences as they become infected or come in contact with others who are and must quarantine. Meanwhile, the pool of substitute teachers that was already constrained before the pandemic has continued to shrink as substitutes, many of them older, retired teachers, are refusing to enter classrooms.
Higher Education News:
The Griffin Daily News
Georgia declares September College Savings Month
By Griffin Daily News Staff
Georgia declares September College Savings Month
In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of saving for continued education, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp officially designated September as College Savings Month in Georgia.
Inside Higher Ed
Reshaping the Future of Tutoring
Colleges and universities should reimagine student tutoring by incorporating new cognitive approaches, argue Daniel G. Long II and Jason Kapcala.
Daniel G. Long II and Jason Kapcala
Much has been written about the “return to normal” expected across college campuses this fall. Students are again filling lecture halls, and courses have migrated back to the physical classroom after 18 months online. The hope is that we’ll get past the worst of the Delta variant and the academic challenges and anxieties that have defined the COVID-19 pandemic — lack of connection, support, engagement — will ultimately become worries of the past. Except that’s all too easy. Just as unconventional technologies and approaches were needed during the height of the pandemic, so will unconventional technologies and approaches be vital for meeting the growing and diversified needs of students in the post-pandemic future. That is especially true in the tutoring and academic support sector, where the principles of cognitive science provide the framework for an ambitious and overdue overhaul.
Inside Higher Ed
What ‘Back to Campus’ Messaging Is Missing
Campuses are communicating often about policies and procedures, writes Marcelle Christian Hayashida, but what about compassion for the anxiety and grief many people are feeling now?
By Marcelle Christian Hayashida
…Now, as we begin a new academic year, I’m asking about how to navigate the anxiety of our new workplace, one that, as it turns out, is not, and may not soon be, free from COVID-19. Note that I’m not asking about air filtration systems or about hand sanitizers. I’m not asking about the risk of transmission. I’m saying that anxiety, no matter how baseless it may seem to others, is something that humans carry. Some carry it gracefully and some carry it awkwardly, but this anxiety about our return to the physical campus cannot be quelled merely by handing employees a mask branded with a university logo. I would argue that this anxiety is normal, that occasional awkwardness and uncertainty are normal, and we all need a little bit of compassion from our institutions and from each other to move with and through it. We all need a little help here, regardless of how long our campuses have been open or where we are in the term.
NPR
6 Strategies To Make Classrooms Safer As The Delta Variant Spreads
Maria Godoy
It’s the kind of news story that keeps parents of school-age children up at night: Kids go to school, dutifully wear masks, and still half the class ends up infected with the coronavirus. …And because delta is so contagious, more than twice as contagious as the original strain of the virus, according to studies, experts say it’s more critical than ever that schools deploy multiple layers of precautions to curb the spread of the virus. Here are some of the strategies experts recommend for safer classrooms:
Inside Higher Ed
Women Experience Authorship Disputes More Than Men
By Scott Jaschik
Women in science are more likely to experience a dispute over authorship of a paper than are men, according to a survey in ScienceAdvances. “Our results demonstrate that women were more likely to experience authorship disagreements and experience them more often. Their contributions to research papers were more often devalued by both men and women.
Vox
Critical race theory bans are making teaching much harder
Educators are confused about how to navigate new laws that ban discussions about race in the classroom.
By Fabiola Cineas
This year, American history might look different in Iowa classrooms. In early June, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed a bill that restricts what teachers can teach in K-12 schools and at public universities, particularly when it comes to sexism and racism. It bans 10 concepts that Republican legislators define as “divisive,” including the idea that “one race or sex is superior to another,” that members of a particular race are inherently inclined to oppress others, and that “the U.S. and Iowa are fundamentally racist or sexist.” The law, which is already in effect, has sparked confusion and distress among educators, some of whom say it is so broad and the language so ambiguous, they fear they might face consequences for even broaching nuanced conversations about racism and sexism in the context of US history.