Once again...no snark intended and I myself am not exactly certain what I think about the column.
Of course, what happens at highly-selective schools does not necessarily apply to SIU--but (and trust me on this, please)...poop and water flow downhill.
(1) US COVID-19 statistics (February 29, 2020-June 16, 2020): 2,124,000 reported cases and 115,052 deaths
(2) Donald Trump (June 15, 2020) told a group of senior citizens that there would be very few cases of COVID-19 if the US stopped its testing and contact tracing: "If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, actually."
(3) Donald Trump [(Jan 20, 2020), when asked if he's worried about a pandemic]: “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s — going to be just fine.”
The penalties need to be severe if this scenario is ever going to change. The "slap on the hand" these "prestigious" schools continue to receive when there are recruiting scandals, pay to play, and just down right cheating doesn't set a precedent for change. If this scenario happens at a mid-major or below, you know the penalties would be pretty harsh. That same approach isn't applied to the high profile schools.
Discontinue their athletic programs or their educational offerings (i.e. the death penalty) for a few years (see SMU) and it will get their attention.
