The university also moved all finals online starting Friday. Not ideal. Hopefully the spike doesn't last too long and we can get fans back in the Smith Center ASAP 

So the "cases are not severe and vaccination continues to provide strong protection" and masks "protect" us at the games but still no fans. There have been no studies that demonstrate that sporting events are superspreader events or that fans pose a risk to athletes or vice versa. Expect this to continue indefinitely because cases of Omicron will likely not recede for months according to the various estimates I have seen. Assume you will be required to have a booster if and when fans are allowed next. Welcome to Season II of COVID. But don't worry dozens of other games will be available for ticketed fans, SMDH

 

Last edited by GWRising (12/15/2021 5:13 pm)

Taking a pause seems like a responsible decision given that Delta making its way to the area and the real threat of Omicron is upon us. Spreading the disease to so many vulnerable people in the area would likely result in a terrible outcome.  Looking forward, since the games are not well attended, maybe it would be possible to socially distance inside the Smith Center if the powers that be decide to allow fans to attend again. For now, kudos to the decision-makers.  Good trade-off to keep everyone safe.

Last edited by 22ndandF (12/15/2021 8:07 pm)

This seems like a temporary measure from my perspective. The university canceled all in person events going into winter break due to a spike in cases among people in their testing protocol (mostly students) so students don't bring the virus home and spread it even further.

The basketball games seem like collateral damage rather than the main place where they were looking to stop the spread (and I'd be surprised if the virus has been spread at a game considering everyone is masked and vaccinated). The university couldn't move finals online, cancel in person events and then let people go to the basketball games next week.

I am expecting they'll mandate boosters to come to games in the future, considering the university is requiring all students and staff get their booster shots before February 1. I hope the case counts go down and they allow fans in the arena for the game against the Bonnies (they'll need all the help they can get from the crowd  in that one) and in the future.

I also found the wording of their statement bizarre. They said no ticketed fans will be permitted in the arena, but students don't need tickets since they get into the games for free. I'd be shocked if they allowed students in but no one else, but the statement was worded weirdly. Not to mention the fact that basically all students will be home for break so barely any students would come even if they could.

Last edited by gwstudent2024 (12/15/2021 10:20 pm)

A Wednesday game at noon when school isn't in session against Maryland Eastern Shore.  I couldn't think of a more socially distant environment.

While nobody should be happy with this decision, it does seem like the right thing to do given the spike in on-campus COVID cases.

Let's all remember that there really isn't a blueprint for this.  Nobody has the right to definitively claim that everyone who has been vaccinated and who wears a mask is completely safe.  Nor can anyone say that anyone would be in serious danger.  Rather than wait for a catastrophe to take place and then react, the school is taking a pre-emptive stance which should really be hard to argue against.

The one aspect that's hard for me to reconcile is why are the players still playing on our campus?  If the prospect of unsafe conditions exist for the fans, wouldn't this also be the case for the players (who do not wear masks while they are playing)?

Last edited by Gwmayhem (12/16/2021 9:59 am)

Some very adult and thoughtful responses.
​Somehow, the world will turn without us being able to see in-person, during a busy holiday season the much-anticipated GW-Maryland-Eastern Shore game on a weekday afternoon.
   Sure, the lack of fans at GW-UMES will shock the sports world and certainly could damage the economy, but we can get through this.

By the way, I make no judgments on each person's tolerance for risk. I am just saying let those who want to come with the restrictions imposed already and for those who don't, offer refunds.

 

Last edited by GWRising (12/16/2021 12:06 pm)

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

Merrick wrote:

young people can get the virus, have relatively mild symptoms, enhance their natural immunity, and get on with their lives.

  

Wasn´t a GW player hospitalized with COVID last season?
How about instead of relying on "enhanced natural immunity" we actually adopt measures that stop the spread of a highly contagious airborne virus? Far too many people, including too many younger than I, have been unable to "get on with their lives" because they have died from COVID.
Let´s not turn this in to a shouting match about COVID policies (enough of that crap goes on elsewhere) and instead focus on keeping all fans, players, staff, faculty and students safe and alive. If that means a few home games are played by invitation only, oh well. Sorry not being cool enough to get allowed past the velvet rope outside the Smith Center bothers you so much.

Who is relying on "enhanced natural immunity?"

What measures have effectively stopped the spread?

If the answer always is one death from COVID is too many, good luck. We will never get back to normal because I hate to let you know that the smartest people on the planet believe this is never going away and we will have to manage it.. 

But of course the shutdown is always prudent side only considers one metric and never considers the increased suicides, drug overdoses and economic ruin caused by the isolation and effects of shutdowns. How about the people who work at the Smith Center during games - concessionaires, maintenance, security, etc.. Think they get paid when they don't work? How many restauranteurs lost their businesses in the last 18 months? It's all fun and games (shutdowns) when you can work from home and your livelihood is unaffected. Sure flip on the game - no worries. The minute everyone is put in the same position of jeopardy, we will finally have some sanity to our COVID policies. Unfortunately those making the decisions from Ivory Towers and the Halls of Government have no general concept of the real world.

This isn't about the GW-UMES game. It's symptomatic of the whole failed approach to this virus by all sorts of entities. 

 

Last edited by GWRising (12/16/2021 1:47 pm)

Like many others, I don't have a problem with the University trying to be cautious and proactive, especially considering there is so little information available yet on how dangerous Omicron will be against Western World vaccines. Considering only 200-400 non family/friends/recruits were probably planning on going to this game anyway, it's not like that many people are being affected and it buys the school a week to hopefully have more info before making a decision on Bonnies.

This isn't to say I don't also understand Rising's argument that some of the policies we see regarding Covid can feel like only partial solutions that can have side-effect consequences, but I tend to air on the side of any decisions intended to reduce transmission a decrease the probabilities of the situation becoming dire being good ones. I also feel comfortable saying that as someone who was double un-employed for several months when Covid hit as a product of the NBA and restaurants both shutting down, so my perspective does not come from the "Ivory tower" being referenced above.