Education

10 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT • SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020 EDUCATION GUIDE By Geoff Kirbyson While the COVID-19 pandemic presses on, one post-secondary institution in the province is preparing to welcome students in the fall. I t's not that administrators Ca- nadian Mennonite University are downplaying the severity of the coronavirus — far from it — but considering the relatively small size of its student body, its spacious campus, small class sizes plus all the precautions being put in place, pres- ident Cheryl Pauls believes they'll be able to provide a safe learning envi- ronment for everybody. Of course, people with underly- ing illnesses and compromised im- mune systems may not feel com- fortable attending indoor classes but CMU has them covered, too, with full online options. One of the primary safeguards is locking every building so they can only be accessed with a student or faculty swipe card. "We can do full contact tracing of everybody who is in the buildings. With that, there's a lot of control," Pauls said. At the same time, Pauls says the southwest Winnipeg campus is also creating a lot of "breathing" space so students will be spread out a minimum of two metres apart when they're studying, eating or just clearing their heads. "When you're paying this much attention to health and safety, you can feel like the world is caving in on you. We're being very intention- al of having space for everybody's well-being, whether that's visual arts, yoga, running, cycling or cross- country skiing. We're doing a lot for their mental and physical health. Right now it's easy to feel like they're living in cages," she said. Of course, hand sanitizer will be available everywhere and ev- erything in common areas will be cleaned religiously. Other changes designed to cre- ate more distance include using an old gym and meeting rooms as classrooms. While the look and feel of the campus is being changed, Pauls says it's critical students feel like they're part of the process and solution. "In this time, people need a lot more personal boundaries and breathing space. We are being very intentional how we educate and train the students in what this means so they get it and know what to do. From masks to distanc- ing, we are able to make collective health and safety a communal re- sponsibility," she said. Pauls and her team follow the daily COVID-19 press conferenc- es held by Dr. Brent Roussin, the province's chief medical officer, and are prepared to amend their plans should the need arise. "If we have to turn on a dime overnight, we can do it. We're not being cavalier about this," she said. CMU, which has about 600 full- time students and 35 full-time facul- ty, offers degrees in arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, business, communications and media. There are usually around 20 in- ternational students enrolled at CMU but Pauls said she doesn't ex- pect there to be more than one or two this fall. Music students will be the most affected because so much of mak- ing music involves your breath, whether that's singing or playing wind instruments. For example, instead of having more than 40 members of a choir standing in several rows in close proximity to each other, classes will be reduced to four students in a very large room. This way, they can be 10 metres apart and sing with their backs to each other. "We won't be doing any live per- formances because we can't have audiences. It becomes a different kind of workshop rather than be- ing performance-based," she said. CMU will also take advantage of its natural surroundings to make learning as safe as possible. For ex- ample, instead of having students work closely together in science labs indoors, they'll spend more time doing field work outdoors in Assiniboine Forest. For more information, visit cmu.ca CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY Space & safety at CMU APPLY NOW Prov.ca/Apply E D U C AT I O N . FA I T H . C O M M U N I T Y. CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY Register now for Fall 2020 in-person classes CMU PHOTOS Canadian Mennonite University is working to ensure students at its southwest Winnipeg campus have plenty of space to distance themselves. CMU has also converted an old gym and meeting rooms into classrooms. " — Cheryl Pauls, CMU president When you're paying this much attention to health and safety, you can feel like the world is caving in on you. We're being very intentional of having space for everybody's well-being.

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