RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia students should expect a far different college experience when universities reopen to in-person classes in the fall, state officials said Thursday.
Gov. Ralph Northam outlined statewide guidelines Thursday that higher education institutions will have to follow to reopen. He said each institution will have to submit a comprehensive plan for how they will conduct operations amid the coronoavirus pandemic.
Peter Blake, director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, said students should expect a “new normal” when they return to campus that includes more online and hybrid classes and smaller class sizes.
“Residence life will be spread out, food service will be offered in nontraditional ways, and large scale events such as performing arts and athletics will be a new experience,” Blake said.
Northam ordered all higher education institutions to halt any in-person instruction in March because of the coronavirus spread.
The governor’s new guidelines mirror those of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommend strict social distancing measures and face-covering requirements when individuals cannot keep a 6-foot (1.8-meter) distance. Northam’s guidelines also suggest doing away with buffet-style dining options.
Northam said Virginia’s coronavirus metrics continue to improve and he will detail the state’s possible move into Phase 3 of reopening next week. Northern Virginia and Richmond are set to join the rest of the state in Phase 2 on Friday.
Also Thursday, Northam announced that he is expanding the scope of a commission he formed last year to identify racist language still enshrined in state law although with no legal effect, such as that referring to poll taxes and segregation. The governor said he wants the Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law to now focus on current laws and regulations “that create or perpetuate inequities.”
The announcement comes after weeks of global unrest over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last month in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck while he pleaded for air. Northam announced last week that a statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee near downtown Richmond will be removed from its 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) granite pedestal as soon as possible. On Wednesday, protesters tore down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis near the Lee statue.
Also on Thursday, the state released revenue figures for May, which showed collections were down nearly 21 percent compared to last year. Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne said the decline is largely due to the state delaying the due date for individual income taxes and said the state budget is responding better than expected to the coronoavirus pandemic.
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