From simple location-tracking apps to buttons that measure biometrics, college campuses have amped up surveillance in response to Covid-19
Vassar College student E.L. received a notification on his phone this month with a gentle reminder to turn on his device’s location tracking. The junior, who asked that only his initials be used, is one of the 2,120 students who returned to Vassar’s campus for in-person instruction this fall semester. The message, which came from the school’s official app, referred to PathCheck GPS+, a contact-tracing app created at MIT that is now being piloted at colleges around the country.
“If you download the PathCheck app (iOs/Android), make sure to fully enable location services when it asks, or make the change…
But for many, these groups are their only link to others who have had the virus
Mike Cherim has never had Covid-19 himself. No one in his inner circle of family and friends has come down with the virus. But the 58-year-old New Hampshire resident serves as the administrator of Covid-19 Support Group, a Facebook group with more than 12,000 members, many who have the virus or have recovered from it.
Cherim never meant to become a moderator of sensitive health information. A justice of the peace in New Hampshire’s White Mountains region who also runs a mountain guiding agency, he has no experience as a therapist, a medical professional, or a counselor. Regardless, he started…
