Virus is surging in college towns. Where’s the worst spot? Texas

As football fans tailgated without masks outside Texas Tech University’s 60,000-seat stadium in West Texas this weekend ahead of the Red Raiders’ homecoming game, it was easy to forget that Lubbock — a rural county of 310,000 — has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in the country.

The outbreak at Texas Tech, which has infected at least 2,200 students, comes as the U. S. reported a national single- day record of new infections — 83,757 — Friday. Part of what’s driving the national spike in infections has been a surge in college towns where restrictions have eased since students returned this fall.

And nowhere is it more prevalent than in Texas, which has more infected college students than any other state in the country, 17,133, according to a New York Times database, and Texas Tech itself, with more infected students than any other school statewide.

As at many Texas high schools, canceling football wasn’t seen as an option by officials at Texas Tech or other state universities. Though the traditional homecoming parade was called off, last year’s king and queen still met this year’s winners in person for the crowning. And 15,000 fans, 25% of the stadium’s capacity, were allowed to attend Saturday’s football game, with tailgating OK’D for small groups outside.

Officials at Texas Tech, like those at other universities, say they’re trying to preserve as much of campus life as possible at the behest of students, parents and alumni.

“COVID has reinforced the value of the traditional residential college experience,” Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec said as he prepared to watch Saturday’s game from his suite atop the stadium, where masks were required. “You’re trying to balance being safe and providing some sense of the experience that the fans and the students want.”

As COVID-19 has surged on college campuses, some have moved to reevaluate their responses. Earlier this month, University of Michigan students were ordered to stay home until election day by health authorities because they accounted for 60% of local infections. In upstate New York, the president of SUN Y Oneonta resigned after 700 of its 6,000 students tested positive.

At Texas Tech, where 60% of classes have met in person this fall, it’s full speed ahead, with Schovanec saying he hopes to expand to 80%.

“People have different levels of anxiety regarding COVID-19,” he said. “We were very flexible.”

Joyce Zachman, executive director of the nonprofit Texas Tech Parents Assn., said she hears more concern from parents about students being forced to take classes online than about them catching COVID-19.

“It’s not the college experience that parents had hoped for their kids,” said Zachman, who’s asthmatic but still attended Saturday’s game. While studies this month show enrollment has dipped slightly at universities nationwide since the pandemic, Texas Tech’s is up 4%, and applications for next year have increased 10%.

“I was going to do community college if it was all online,” said Emma Thompson, 18, a Texas Tech freshman from Boerne, Texas, during lunch at the student union Friday. Across the table, classmate Major Thurman, 18, of Austin, said his father had warned that if Texas Tech classes were all online, he wouldn’t pay the tuition. Thurman has since had a friend test positive for the virus and his roommate had symptoms but tested negative.

“We have a lot of corona scares,” said Thompson, who joined a sorority and goes to bars with f r iend s but s a id t he y wear masks.

Lubbock County ranked 10th in the country for per capita COVID-19 infections this week, with one in 18 residents infected, at least 30% of them in their 20s. Since student testing is voluntary, the number of infections could actually be significantly higher.

Massengale said he believes university officials have done all they can do to prevent the virus from spreading.