The Midway is providing periodic updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on U-High students, faculty and others in the community. 

University of Chicago students demand tuition cuts

Spring quarter at the University of Chicago began April 6, but hundreds of students are threatening to withhold their spring quarter tuition unless the University negotiates with them on tuition rates, releases the school budget and does not fire faculty or staff.

As of April 3, more than 650 had signed on to a demand saying they would withhold tuition, which is due April 29.

The group organizing the effort, called UChicago for Fair Tuition, wrote a letter to President Robert Zimmer detailing their demands including a 50% cut on spring quarter tuition.

“The University of Chicago, which just raised $5.4 billion in a fundraising campaign, has the financial means and the responsibility to provide relief for us and for our families. We urge the University to recognize students’ and families’ loss in income and address the direct impact of this loss on the ability to pay for tuition, along with housing, utilities, food, transportation and other expenses,” the group wrote in the letter.

Gerald McSwiggan, a university spokesperson, said in a press release that the quality of education would be the same in remote learning so no further adjustments would be made to tuition.

Ways to enjoy Chicago’s Spring while social distancing

With many of Chicago’s popular parks closed, it can seem difficult to find ways to enjoy the warming weather outside.

One safe way to be outside, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to bike alone or with a family member on city streets. Albeit largely deserted, exploring neighborhoods can be a great way to uncover Chicago’s hidden gems which you can revisit after the stay-at-home order is lifted.

Outside of city limits, you can also walk, bike or jog the trails along 70,000 acres of forest preserves in Cook County, which remain largely open during the pandemic. A full list of trails as well as updates and closures are available on the Forest Preserves of Cook County or Forest Preserve District of DuPage County website.

If you can’t, or don’t want to go outside then you can bring some of Chicago’s spring inside by purchasing fresh flowers from a local florist or grocery store. This is also a good way to help local businesses during the pandemic.

World-class arts, music can now be appreciated at home

While live crowds have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Metropolitan Opera, The Louvre, The British Museum and many other centers for arts and music can now be enjoyed at home without a plane, museum or concert ticket.

Musical artists from a wide variety of genres are now streaming concerts and shows online or through social media for free. NPR is keeping a frequently updated list of when and where these shows are taking place.

Many museums are providing virtual tours of galleries on their websites, giving the user the ability to appreciate famous artwork in high definition for free.

To allow users to safely walk the halls of historical sites halfway around the world, Google Arts & Culture teamed up with the authorities of many historical landmarks around the world and is providing a Google Street View-like experience.