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Speaker 0 00:00:00 On December 20th, 2021 in the midst of a nationwide surge. And COVID 19 cases due to the Omicron variant Northwestern university announced that the first two weeks of winter quarter 2022 would be held virtually as campus entered a period of quote Wildcat wellness. Now in week three, Wildcat wellness is over and in-person classes have resumed in full. Yet many students remain skeptical of whether campus is safe enough for such a return. And some are beginning to take action.
Speaker 1 00:00:31 I would say I'm not surprised by how the university is dealing with everything, but I'm also not looking forward to in person classes. I think it will mess with my ability to like participate or focus in class. Cause I'll just be thinking so much about like how we are all so close to each other.
Speaker 0 00:00:48 Initial COVID testing data published weekly on the university's website, did little to dispel concerns between December 31st and January 6th, Northwestern reported 909 new positive cases of COVID 19 followed by another 686 new cases between January 7th and January 13th, despite this vice president of operations, Luke for Gora announced in a campus wide email on January 14th, that quote, we are ready to resume in-person classes and activities January 18th. So what has the return to in-person looked like for starters, for Gora stated in the same email that all students are required to complete an on-campus COVID test during week three, after which both the Evanston and Chicago testing sites will return to the regular hours of 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Monday through Friday, the university has also distributed some kn 95 masks, albeit in limited numbers, students living on campus were reportedly given only two of these masks at the start of the quarter with no plans to distribute any to students living off campus. The largest change of course, was in class modality faculty teaching in-person courses can only hold 10% of their remaining class sessions remotely without special permission. And they are not permitted to grant remote access to individual students, including those who test positive or otherwise in isolation or quarantine being in sophomore. Olivia Pierce said the providing a virtual alternative would make the return to in-person class as much safer, and that the restrictions on such alternatives is dangerous to vulnerable students.
Speaker 1 00:02:18 I think that it would make the most sense to have like virtual options and in person options, especially for people who are immunocompromised, like we should never be told that we have to decide between personal health and safety and education. Um, especially when like it's Northwestern has the money and the resources to be able to provide more than one option
Speaker 0 00:02:39 On Wednesday, January 19th, in response to a request for comment, Northwestern's assistant vice president of communications. John Yates told w when you are news quote, we are not encouraging hybrid instruction, but the university does not prohibit faculty from offering hybrid courses, should they wish to and quote, we will continue to monitor campus developments closely and adjust accordingly based on what we are seeing and quote, some students are now advocating for changes to the in-person return plan, aiming to reduce both COVID risk and academic stress. The associated student government Senate will vote Wednesday on a resolution that calls on Northwestern to require all professors to provide virtual alternatives, excuse absences from positive test results or exposure and publish clear COVID absence policies in their class, syllabus, Sesame, sophomore and Hillel, Senator Dhalia Siegel Miller coauthored the resolution and said the clarity around absence policies is especially important for students due to the often lengthy periods of time required to recover after infection or isolate after exposure
Speaker 2 00:03:42 From my own personal experience. I think it's really stressful to enter a class and not really know what happens if I'm absent for 10 days. So it's really important in a time when everybody is so stressed and so overwhelmed with everything that it's just as transparent as possible. Everyone sort of knows what the
Speaker 0 00:03:56 Beyond ASG though, an independent student petition is making the rounds on social media garnering around 1500 signatures from mostly undergraduate and graduate students. The petition demands that virtual classes be extended until the university provides a virtual option for all classes distributes more K in 90 fives and take home rapid tests to all students, faculty and staff, and on campus, positive test results diminish enough that students placed in quarantine housing at 1835. Men are no longer assigned roommates Weinberg fourth year Corbin Treadwell, coauthored, the petition, and they drew from ongoing student movements elsewhere, demanding greater COVID protocols from their schools.
Speaker 3 00:04:34 It was largely inspired by younger organizers that are doing some of the same work in Chicago public schools and in other, um, school districts across the country. And so we kind of followed what already existed. And we were like, I think we could do
Speaker 0 00:04:50 After the petition launched some student activist groups, such as NYU community, not cops and Northwestern graduate workers shared it on social media, spreading it to more campus community members over the weekend, peer signed the petition and said, she believes the planet outlines provides the best solution for keeping all students, both healthy and engaged with their coursework.
Speaker 1 00:05:10 The student presence is obviously most important for in-person class. Um, so I don't know how that's going to go with the coming week, but I do know a lot of people are nervous about attending in person classes. And if people were to not attend, then it would honestly probably be safer for like the faculty who don't have a choice as well as some people who do want to go. So that's why I feel like cabron honestly, is the best option because then it is safer for people who want to go back in person. And we've obviously proven that we can have virtual classes and survive because we've been doing it for a year
Speaker 0 00:05:41 On Monday, January 17th, while classes were called off for Martin Luther king Jr day. And you CNC posted to Twitter, calling for a student walkout and strike of in-person classes saying quote, the demands of the petition signed by 1500 students. Faculty and staff have not been met or acknowledged organizers held an open community space on zoom Tuesday afternoon, where students shared their experiences and anxieties with wild Cal wellness and the return to in-person Treadwell said, they recognize the pressure and risks facing faculty as well, and that they hope students and faculty can work together to make conditions safer for both groups.
Speaker 3 00:06:16 There's so many people like the teacher saying, I have to do physical or in-person classes because that's what they're applying on me, but they're going to have so many students already out with COVID and more and more and more students striking. They're going to reach a point where school becomes so disrupted that it can't function. And I, my hope would be that the relationship between students and faculty is just strengthened. You know, I think that the next solution would be to, um, really include teachers in the disruption.
Speaker 0 00:06:50 It says response for comment included a letter from provost, Kathleen Haggerty, responding to the student petition in it. She writes quote Northwestern's COVID-19 case numbers and test positivity rates are declining as anticipated with the completion of the Wildcat wellness stabilization period and positivity rates among asymptomatic individuals remain especially low. The number of residential students in isolation housing also continues to decline. She continues quote, we are confident in our return to in-person classes and activities at this time, given the declining case numbers, the extensive protocols we have in place and the relative safety of our highly vaccinated campus environment and quote Northwestern has not seen any transmission of COVID-19 in classrooms and quote, a link to the full letter will be posted with this story on our website, w N U r.news at time of broadcast classes remain in person w and you are news will continue to follow the petition and its subsequent actions as they develop from Evanston. This is Alex Harrison, WMUR news.
