It’s March 2020 COVID deja vu for college students as new term begins

Los Angeles Times

Colleen Shalby

January 4, 2022

The start of 2022 at the University of California feels like March 2020 deja vu for some students.

Most campuses started the winter quarter Monday with two weeks of remote classes — a decision announced days before Christmas as Omicron cases prompted new warnings for caution from health experts and public officials. But the online reality has reminded students of March 2020 when a two-week shutdown turned into campus shutdowns that sundered their traditional college experience. With coronavirus cases rapidly surging, driven largely by younger adults, many students are already wondering whether the delay to in-person classes will expand.

By Tuesday their predictions carried some validity as Cal State L.A. added itself to the list of California universities that were temporarily moving to online classes for three weeks when the semester begins on Jan. 24.

“By allowing the peak of the surge to pass before beginning in-person instruction, we hope to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our university community and the other hardships it causes,” wrote Cal State L.A. President William Covino.

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