Pitt students react to shifting guidelines, shelter-in-place

As the University of Pittsburgh tightens covid-19 restrictions amid rising infection levels, some students say they aren’t all that surprised.

“All of this is unfortunate but not completely unexpected,” said Eric Macadangdang, a senior Pitt student and president of the student government. “But it’s completely necessary.”

The university moved its planned shelter-in-place period ahead of Thanksgiving up by three days, while also shifting the Pittsburgh campus back to its “elevated” risk posture. The campus had previously gone into “guarded” risk posture – relaxing some restrictions to in-person class and public spaces – in mid-October. An email message from Provost Ann E. Cudd said that in-person classes and labs can still continue through this change, noting that information collected from contact tracing has thus far connected no cases to classroom activities.

The university had successfully brought its rate of infection down in September and all through October, even as institutions across the country reported staggering outbreaks. But between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, a total of 47 infections were recorded among students, and 52 students are currently isolating. The five-day moving average of positive cases per day increased from 3.2 to 8.2.

Macadangdang said he was skeptical of the university’s earlier move to “guarded” risk posture, saying he expected cases to rise as flu season and cold weather loomed ahead – along with Halloween falling on a Saturday.

“I would say by and large, students are being smart and responsible,” Macadangdang said. “But it’s sort of an interesting case because ‘by and large’ is not really enough in the age of a pandemic. It only takes one big party at a house in south Oakland to cause a cascading effect of a number of cases.”

With campus restrictions now moving backward, he said both students and faculty have been remarkably adaptable and resilient. But students are growing tired and fatigued, Macadangdang said, even as they continue logging on.

“Even without the fluctuation, this entire semester has been probably the most stressful semester for most of our students,” he said. “The pandemic itself, social isolation that many students had to go through, the political climate going on right now, social unrest – it all compounds on itself, I think, to make this time extremely stressful and anxiety-inducing.”

An update from Pitt’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office on Friday said the uptick in cases is largely attributed to students who live together or who have socialized without masks or social distancing, and specifically cites gatherings that occurred Halloween weekend.

“We will continue to watch this trend as we anticipate that even larger numbers may be coming,” an email message from the office reads. The email calls the increase in cases a “wake-up call” and implores students to “take this seriously.”

Macadangdang said after the CMRO update, the shelter-in-place order and heightened risk posture were to be expected.

“It was my assumption that we would move back to ‘elevated’ risk, given the number of cases happening,” he said. “I think it’s been quite clear not only from campuses but from state governments and cities across the country that these sort of half-measures don’t really address the situation.”

Morgan Ottley, a senior and president of Pitt’s Black Action Society, said she also expected restrictions to tighten, citing gatherings during Halloween weekend.

“It was quite hectic, to say the least,” she said.

Ottley said the directive to shelter-in-place shouldn’t affect her daily routine too much, but it’s still a bit frustrating to watch the university move back and forth.

“I personally don’t think we should have ever left (elevated),” she said. “It feels like Pitt students are taking advantage of it and not in a positive way. It felt like as soon as we stepped into (guarded), people forgot we were in the middle of the pandemic.”

Claudia Huggins, a Pitt sophomore, said while the sheer number of cases on Pitt’s dashboard came as a surprise, she, too, had expected the Oakland campus to eventually move back to “elevated,” feeling like people “maybe got a little too comfortable.”

“If I’m being honest, I saw it coming,” Huggins said.

Students won’t return to campus after Thanksgiving break – all classes will be remote until the end of the semester, according to the university. But classes are set to return in at least some capacity for the spring semester. Huggins hopes that plan doesn’t change amid the region’s spike in infections. Keeping up with the university’s shifting guidance is difficult to maintain while balancing schoolwork, she said.

“It’s just a constant struggle,” she said. “The going back and forth is kind of confusing.”