US Colleges Close Early for Winter Break as Virus Cases Rise
2021-12-19
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1Well-known colleges and universities in the United States announced this week that they will end the first part of the school year early because of a rise in COVID-19 cases.
2They will also move final tests out of classrooms and onto computers.
3Princeton University and Cornell University are part of the group that is closing school early.
4Students traditionally leave school for about one month after December exams.
5Both Cornell and Princeton say nearly all of their students are vaccinated against COVID-19.
6At Syracuse University in central New York, students will need to get a booster shot before coming back to school in January.
7The schools also said some of the COVID-19 cases are from the Omicron variant first found in southern Africa in November.
8Kent Syverud is one of the top leaders at Syracuse University.
9Until recently, he said, the school was feeling good about the part of the school year that starts in January.
10"But Omicron has changed that," he said.
11He added that the school will try to keep students and teachers safe until more is known about the variant.
12Mallika Gore is a student at Syracuse University from India.
13She spoke with VOA in early November for a story about her experience at school this year.
14On Wednesday, she said she already has her booster shot,
15but she has some classmates from other countries who may not be able to get a booster before they go home.
16They will have to return to the U.S. early because boosters are not yet available where they live.
17Gore said her parents wonder if she should come back to the U.S. in January.
18"They have been reading the news," she said.
19"There are some articles saying it is supposed to peak in January."
20"For me, it's the worry that if I come, what will be changed? I hope I don't have to, mid-semester, go back to my country. So, I think that's the worry."
21The Associated Press news agency reports that over 20 colleges recently told their students and teachers to get boosters.
22Universities throughout the U.S., including Boston University and the University of New Mexico, have asked people on their campus to get boosters.
23The drug company Pfizer recently said a booster of their vaccine helps protect against Omicron.
24Emily O'Brien is a first-year student at the University of Massachusetts, where most students are vaccinated.
25She said she was already planning to get a booster,
26but if the university requires it, more of her classmates will get a third shot.
27O'Brien and her classmates will need to take a virus test before coming back to school in January.
28Students at Middlebury College in Vermont recently went back to taking classes by video.
29At the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, students are no longer allowed to gather except for classes.
30The Cornell University COVID-19 website reported over 800 cases in the week ending December 13.
31There are more than 20,000 students at Cornell.
32The school's student newspaper reports that Omicron came up in some tests,
33which is one reason for the decision to move the final exams out of classrooms.
34The school also asked students to be sure they had a negative test before going home.
35Martha Pollack is the Cornell president.
36She called the change "extremely dispiriting" in a message to students.
37On Wednesday, New York University said it was canceling all sports events, parties and study groups.
38Gore said it will be "frustrating" if her school imposes restrictions on in-person classes when she returns in January.
39However, she said she is trying to think positively about the future.
40"We have this virus, we know this is not going to go away soon," she said.
41"What can we do so we are still being safe but we are making the most of our college experience?"
42I'm Dan Friedell.
1Well-known colleges and universities in the United States announced this week that they will end the first part of the school year early because of a rise in COVID-19 cases. They will also move final tests out of classrooms and onto computers. 2Princeton University and Cornell University are part of the group that is closing school early. Students traditionally leave school for about one month after December exams. 3Both Cornell and Princeton say nearly all of their students are vaccinated against COVID-19. 4At Syracuse University in central New York, students will need to get a booster shot before coming back to school in January. 5The schools also said some of the COVID-19 cases are from the Omicron variant first found in southern Africa in November. 6Kent Syverud is one of the top leaders at Syracuse University. Until recently, he said, the school was feeling good about the part of the school year that starts in January. 7"But Omicron has changed that," he said. He added that the school will try to keep students and teachers safe until more is known about the variant. 8Mallika Gore is a student at Syracuse University from India. She spoke with VOA in early November for a story about her experience at school this year. 9On Wednesday, she said she already has her booster shot, but she has some classmates from other countries who may not be able to get a booster before they go home. They will have to return to the U.S. early because boosters are not yet available where they live. 10Gore said her parents wonder if she should come back to the U.S. in January. 11"They have been reading the news," she said. "There are some articles saying it is supposed to peak in January." 12"For me, it's the worry that if I come, what will be changed? I hope I don't have to, mid-semester, go back to my country. So, I think that's the worry." 13The Associated Press news agency reports that over 20 colleges recently told their students and teachers to get boosters. 14Universities throughout the U.S., including Boston University and the University of New Mexico, have asked people on their campus to get boosters. 15The drug company Pfizer recently said a booster of their vaccine helps protect against Omicron. 16Emily O'Brien is a first-year student at the University of Massachusetts, where most students are vaccinated. She said she was already planning to get a booster, but if the university requires it, more of her classmates will get a third shot. 17O'Brien and her classmates will need to take a virus test before coming back to school in January. 18Students at Middlebury College in Vermont recently went back to taking classes by video. At the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, students are no longer allowed to gather except for classes. 19The Cornell University COVID-19 website reported over 800 cases in the week ending December 13. There are more than 20,000 students at Cornell. 20The school's student newspaper reports that Omicron came up in some tests, which is one reason for the decision to move the final exams out of classrooms. 21The school also asked students to be sure they had a negative test before going home. 22Martha Pollack is the Cornell president. She called the change "extremely dispiriting" in a message to students. 23On Wednesday, New York University said it was canceling all sports events, parties and study groups. 24Gore said it will be "frustrating" if her school imposes restrictions on in-person classes when she returns in January. 25However, she said she is trying to think positively about the future. 26"We have this virus, we know this is not going to go away soon," she said. "What can we do so we are still being safe but we are making the most of our college experience?" 27I'm Dan Friedell. 28Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English with additional material from the Associated Press. Susan Shand was the editor. 29Do you think colleges in the U.S. will be restricted in January? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 30____________________________________________________________________ 31Words in This Story 32booster - n. an extra amount of a substance (called a vaccine) that is injected with a needle into a person or animal to help protect against a particular disease 33variant - n. something that is different in some way from others of the same kind 34peak - adj. at the highest point or level 35semester - n. one of two usually 18-week periods that make up an academic year at a school or college 36despiriting - adj. causing a loss of hope or enthusiasm 37frustrating - adj. causing feelings of anger and annoyance