With the recent outbreak of COVID-19 around the world and in our own state of Pennsylvania, many universities have extended their spring breaks or moved classes online entirely to help prevent the spread of the outbreak. However, despite what the other petition argues, with some travel restrictions, rules against large gatherings, and keeping larger classes online, I actually believe Penn State can better protect students from COVID-19 by proceeding with the semester as normal. Below, I have listed some details and evidence to support my side of the argument, and my reasoning why it outweighs the reasoning behind moving classes online.

1) There are exactly zero cases of COVID-19 in Central PA as of today. The 14 presumptive cases of COVID-19 in this state as of March 11 are in Eastern Pennsylvania - with little chance of spreading to Centre County due to the rural nature of the school's location. With some stringent monitoring of students coming back from the eastern part of the state, we can easily prevent the illness from making its way to Penn State or further west.

2) The vast majority of international students were not allowed to travel. If international students had been allowed to go overseas over Spring Break, then yes, I would reconsider my stance on this, because those students could have been exposed before returning to State College next week for classes. However, to my knowledge, the vast majority of international students have not traveled this break, and we should not let their sacrifice be for nothing. They will also be stuck on campus even if campus is closed and classes are moved online; will we let them be stuck by themselves on campus?

3) Penn State has the ability to implement travel restrictions and precautions. Penn State keeps records of every student's residential address, and if we were required to submit a list of places we have all been over Spring Break, Penn State can easily identify all students that might have been exposed to the virus and either have them self-quarantine or monitor them accordingly. Similarly, they can identify all students with compromised immune systems who might be at increased risk and arrange to have them stay at home or be accommodated in safer quarters. They have no less than three days to identify at-risk students and implement measures to that effect.

4) Moving everything online is a logistical nightmare. Despite Penn State having a vast array of resources to implement precautions and restrictions accordingly, with over 40,000 students at main campus, moving things online will be a nightmare. How will they deal with angry parents demanding partial refunds on tuition, housing and meal plans due to students living at home and getting a lower quality education? How will they ensure that online classes meet the standards Penn State upholds and provide the education to the students that the students are paying for?

5) Full time workers (Dining, Reslife, Off Campus Businesses) would suffer. With a lack of students on campus, adults who work full time, whether on campus with housing and dining or off campus at any number of stores and restaurants, will face a debilitating loss of business and wages. Hourly Penn State employees will be put on unpaid leave, and face a dire situation regarding their personal finances - more than half of them likely live paycheck to paycheck. More downtown businesses may face closure - the loss of business will result in incredible losses in what is supposed to be their peak profit season. Workers will be unable and unwilling to get themselves tested for COVID-19 for fear of absurd medical bills that they will be unable to cover because of a loss of paychecks from Penn State moving classes online.

6) We are not paying a main campus tuition for a World Campus education. Sure, both campuses may provide a complete Penn State education, but the fact remains, we are not paying a University Park tuition to receive a World Campus education. University Park is known for providing a high quality education to its students through its research programs, world-class labs, and on-campus facilities, and we pay a higher tuition due to that fact. If classes are moved online, we would essentially be paying a premium on what is, in the end, no different or even worse than a World Campus course equivalent, due to the lack of access to these benefits. (I am not trying to talk down on a World Campus education here, but merely pointing out the benefits of a University Park education.) Unless State College is overrun with cases of the virus, I believe we deserve the high quality education we are paying for.

7) Students just want to be absolved of responsibility to attend class. Yes, I'm going to say it. The people who signed the other petition probably just want to get out of class. The risk for contracting COVID-19 on campus is currently minimal, and Penn State's ability to accommodate at-risk students, faculty, and staff is almost unparalleled by any other university in this state given its resources, location, and medical network. Any student who still wants classes to be moved online given these facts just wants to get out of having to go to class - and will complain when they're too lazy to attend online classes and their grades drop.

As further developments with this virus occur, the reasoning for moving classes online may indeed begin to outweigh the reasons outlined above, however, as of now, it is my firm belief that continuing classes as normal - albeit with some stringent safety and health precautions and monitoring of potentially exposed students - is more beneficial for both the university and the students. Therefore, I urge the university to not follow other universities, and rather than moving classes online, implement active countermeasures to ensure the safety of students on campus and encourage classes to proceed as normal.