Protest planned at Columbus State after 150+ faculty petition for more COVID protocols
Columbus State University professors and students will hold a demonstration Friday protesting what they call unsafe working and learning conditions after faculty and staff petitioned the University System of Georgia asking for more COVID-19 protocols.
According to the petition, sent on Aug. 3, 173 signers believe that the current COVID-19 guidelines create unsafe conditions on campus. Out of that group, 163 members are faculty and 10 are staff members, Dr. Lydia Ray, the executive officer of the CSU faculty senate, said.
In the petition, faculty asked USG to issue a mask mandate, allow provisions for social distancing in classroom and to let faculty decide the mode of instruction.
Friday’s demonstration from noon to 1 p.m. will be led by the CSU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, according to a news release. Participants will call for a vaccine mandate, allowing faculty to move their classes temporarily online and more rigorous testing, reporting and contact tracing, in addition to the petition’s demands.
“Teachers who have been exposed to Covid-19 are being forced to either teach in person in the classroom or to stream their lectures from home into a classroom,” Brian Schwartz, president of the CSU chapter of AAUP, said in the release. “Students are required to attend and watch, though (they] can’t even ask the teacher a question, because our classroom technology won‘t allow for the kind of interaction that online teaching does.”
What’s in the petition?
The petition cites information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the faculty’s reasoning:
The CDC’s recommendation that institutions of higher education wear masks, practice physical distancing, contact trace and test for COVID if they don’t require the vaccine.
A CDC study that demonstrates fully vaccinated people can become infected and sick from the delta variant and spread the virus to other people, which led to them updating recommendations for vaccinated people to wear masks indoors.
The CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker that shows Muscogee County with a high level of community transmission.
The petition also cites the USG policy on immunizations, which states that during an epidemic of any disease preventable by immunization and when an emergency has been declared by Georgia health authorities, rules and regulations regarding the disease may be required.
It also states that since instructors are expected to treat students equally, regardless of vaccination status, then they should treat all students as if they’re unvaccinated in order to protect the community as a whole. The COVID-19 Response and Updates page on the University’s website instructs faculty and staff to not ask about vaccination status.
Acting USG Chancellor Teresa MacCartney responded to the petition with an open letter on Aug. 20 stating that USG is strongly encouraging people to get vaccinated and wear masks inside campus facilities.
“Other health and safety efforts are ongoing,” reads the letter. “I want to stress campuses are building upon the lessons learned over the year and remain flexible as we move forward with the new academic year.”
The letter was vague and doesn’t address any definitive action USG would take to ensure safety, Ray said, but faculty expected this.
“None of us really expected that our petition would have a big impact,” she said. “Nonetheless, we wanted our voices to be heard. We wanted the chancellor to know that we do not trust the USG’s decision-making regarding COVID.”
Last week, MacCartney and Ray met to discuss the health and safety of the students, faculty and staff, said Lance Wallace, the associate vice chancellor for communications at USG. MacCartney’s letter indicated that the Board of Regents has the sole authority to govern the state’s public colleges and universities, and Ray said McCartney promised to present the petition to the Board.
“But from our conversation, two things became clear to me,” Ray said. “One is that it is not an individual decision — it is a decision of a group of people. And most likely they will not make masks mandated.”
How is CSU handling COVID cases, protocols?
CSU will have weekly mobile vaccination clinics on campus throughout September. CSU’s COVID-19 Response Team will also track cases through a self-report form on the CSU website and through contact tracing.
According to CSU’s COVID tracking website, there were 36 positive cases on campus as of Aug. 30. Muscogee County has reported 1,288 new cases in the last two weeks, with 20.6% of tests being positive, according Tuesday’s DPH data update.
Since classes started again this fall, Ray said faculty members have told her they’ve seen mixed results of students wearing masks in class. She said her classroom is small and doesn’t allow for social distancing. Multiple students have opted to join class virtually because they felt sick and have previously attended her class unmasked, Ray said.
Most of the faculty Ray has spoken with are afraid and frustrated, she said, adding that she doesn’t understand why leaders can’t give priority to public health based on scientific facts and CDC recommendations.
“I have heard from several people who remember the polio epidemic days,” Ray said. “They have told me they still remember how the whole nation stood united to fight against polio. During this global pandemic, why can’t the nation be that united?”
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
