Of course everyone is free to leave Yale if they so choose - in fact I know of a family from SC whose child transferred from Harvard(!) to Clemson this year for this exact reason, and the kid is 1000% happier. True story. And its sort of my point - the smarty-pants schools are shooting themselves in the foot. I'm sure they will survive but its going to have an impact, just like k-12 closures and remote learning is going to have an impact.
My oldest is a college kid at a top liberal arts college and their 2020-21 school year was like this (all online, lockdowns/roving campus cops writing up students without masks, expulsions for "illegal gatherings") and it was a disaster. Students and parents revolted and eventually the board stepped in to right the ship. But she basically got zero out of her freshman year of college. This year has been as close to normal as can be and it's been like night and day.
My HS junior has excellent grades and resume and wont even look at any school that is north of Virginia or west of Texas. He's seen these same things happening to his sibling and older peers and is not willing to risk it.