CALGARY -- Aidan Doyle-Frish says one of the best parts of studying psychology at Mount Royal University is the intimacy of the classes.
"MRU is pretty similar to high school,' he says. "I do like the small classrooms and I like the teachers – they are very personable."
But those small classes are keeping MRU open, when most other post-secondary schools are shutting down because of coronavirus concerns.
The University of Calgary is virtually empty right now as Friday’s classes were cancelled.
It was a similar scenario at the University of Alberta and the University of Lethbridge – that’s where Corey Nelson studies.
"I think it’s good to shut down the school, just for now," he says. "We don’t want the risk of spreading the disease especially since there are so many students living on campus."
The U of C, U of L and U of A all hold classes with more than 250 students.
On Thursday, provincial health authorities made that number the threshold to cancel events to contain the spread of COVID-19.
However, MRU’s classes are smaller – so school is still in session.
University administrators say they are following the advice of Alberta Health Services and are working with the ministers of advanced education and health.
Doyle-Firsch, however, says MRU should do the same as larger universities and shut down.
"I think all the schools should follow," he says. "I’m thinking eventually it will get the point where we all have to shut down for two weeks. Prolonging it is stupid."
Meanwhile, there are no plans yet to suspend class for K-12 schools across the province, even though Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick have taken that step.
Calgary’s public school board has, however, cancelled parent-teacher interviews and any performances or events that could include parents, community members or students from other schools.
