Reopening Plans for Georgia's Public Universities Are Under Fire from Students and Faculty

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Though the coronavirus is still, as President Trump put it last week, a “thing,” universities around the country are opening for the fall semester, albeit with an array of restrictions in place that are intended to tamp down the virus’ spread among students and faculty. But those restrictions seem to be particularly lax at public universities in Georgia, where students and faculty have been protesting a reopening plan predicated on in-person instruction, and which critics feel does not adequately address several potentially hazardous areas of student life.

One such area is student housing, which came into focus last week after uncovered documents revealed that a property-management company called Corvias tried to pressure the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia to ensure there are no limitations on dorm capacity this fall. In response to the letter, the Board of Regents considered directing Georgia State University to remove a 75-percent-occupancy cap on dorms controlled by Corvias.

Though the documents don’t reveal what, if any, action the Board of Regents ultimately took in response to the letter, they add weight to critics’ contention that the university system may be prioritizing profit over the health of its students as it plans to reopen campuses with in-person instruction, even as the pandemic ravages the state. On May 13th, when Board of Regents Chancellor Steve Wrigley announced in-person instruction would resume in the fall, 555 new coronavirus cases were reported in Georgia. On Sunday, the state Department of Health reported 2,839 new cases, and a seven-day average of 3,227. The USG lost $300 million in revenue during the spring and summer semesters and, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, estimated it would lose close to $500 million if its institutions converted to all-online classes in the fall.

The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Georgia Tech student Kelly O’Neal, include a May 29th letter from Corvias President Chris Wilson to the Board of Regents. Corvias manages dorms at nine of the 26 higher-education institutions controlled by the University System of Georgia (USG), and in the letter, Wilson informed the Board of Regents that they do not have a contractural right to prevent, or even to discourage, students from living in these dorms.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/georgia-public-university-dorm-covid-19-precaution-masks-distancing-corvias-1039809/

[House of Roberts]

1. "...potentially hazardous areas of student life."

I'd say not enrolling for fall classes is the best alternative to being put in harm's way. If on-line classes at one school aren't an option, try another school. You don't have to sit idle, and you don't have to sit in a classroom either.