Hunter
07/02/20
An open letter to returning UI students from three dozen instructors published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette describes their fear, frustration, and anxiety as the fall semester approaches.
“We’d love to say that we’re eagerly anticipating meeting you this fall,” the letter begins, “but we have to be honest. We’re scared”
The instructors say that the plan laid out by administration to implement social distancing is unrealistic. Quoting the letter, “Our university has promised that classes will only be held in classrooms that can accommodate twice the number of students, to allow for safe distancing. We can attest to the fact that those classrooms don’t exist. There aren’t enough classrooms on campus to support that plan, much less space in the hallways and corridors where you’ll be waiting for your classes to begin. All of this violates the CDC’s six-foot social distancing guidelines.”
The letter addresses the firing of fifteen faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, departments being told that they could not fill positions that they say are needed to adequately educate students, and faculty with pre-existing conditions and small children concerned for the health and safety of themselves and their families.
When a virtual town hall was held June 1st for faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a self-identified woman of color expressed concerns about coming back to the school for fear of getting sick, and was told by a dean that she was expected to return or risk losing her job. The letter says, “Not only did the dean dismiss this lecturer with his language, he also asked a woman of color to sacrifice her body for her job, a glaring injustice given the reality of systemic racism in America.”
The joint letter ends by asking students to join them in asking the administration why they’re treating essential faculty as “their most disposable employees.”
The letter can be seen in its entirety on the opinion tab at www.thegazette.com.