This really sucks for U of I students in light of how much the school changed attendance policies during 2020-2021 because of covid. The administration was willing to force students who wanted to come to class to attend remotely because of the remote risk to student health, but they're not willing to accommodate now that there's a much scarier threat looming over the physical space of the campus.

Unpopular opinion I'm sure. Without knowing who the killer is or why these murders were committed, I don't think we can predict with any certainty which threat is objectively more dangerous to the student body. But this is a frightening situation for students and parents alike, and one that students might feel relatively more helpless against. (Students could get vaccinated and take other measures to reduce the risk of a serious covid infection; they may feel more helpless in protecting themselves against a person who murdered four people in their beds at night.)

Not trying to make shit political, just sharing my thoughts based on how I know they handled remote attendance during covid with oftentimes overly precautious policies.