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Yikes. Absurd, irresponsible for Columbia to place burden of their ill-considered plan on faculty and grad students. Onus is ultimately on administration, but undergraduates should consider their influence too. Building off of the great points by @quidamabo 1/ https://twitter.com/bwog/status/1287965974155722752
In addition to the problems w/ pitting schools against each other -- this glosses over the unique needs of Dental and Medical education v. the majority of ug and grad studies. Necessity v. preference. (Also, should Business School risk considerations be what we all emulate?) 2/
And risk calculations of the incredible CUIMC students and staff -- many of whom are comfortable (and occupationally dedicated to) interfacing directly with the virus -- are entirely different than those of the rest of the community 3/
"hey! We told everyone this was our plan, soo... you're not makin' us look too good by not wanting to be retrofit into it." Undergrad enthusiasm is the motivator for teachers to throw their concern and caution to the wind in service of their not wants but "needs" 4/
As a senior, this is what worries me. Undergrads are champing at the bit to get back to school, to get back to "normal." Me too. I wish there weren't a *global pandemic!!1?!** But there is. So in-person attempts @ approximating "normal" aren't just irresponsible but impossible 5/
Wanting normal college life is understandable. And it's important to have rooms available for students in need to study online in a safe, productive learning environment. But relying on health sacrifices of grad students and faculty to fulfill this "desire" is inconsiderate 6/
(Not to mention silly/reckless to expect *weekly* testing (cc @vergilophile) be the machinery assured to contain COVID to 60% capacity = tens-of-thousands-of-people community). @MLB has been running for 5 days, testing every other day, whaddayaknow outbreak (17+) well underway 7/
Aw, shucks. Also disappointing to put the lives of faculty, grad students -- and, yeah, us too! -- in danger. I'm with 'em, the pandemic, with over 16M cases worldwide, is a real big disappointment 8/
It also "stands to reason" that to equate individual laboratory research -- currently staggered, @ minimal capacity, with 1 person allowed in a room at a time -- to in-person in-classroom multiple-students undergraduate teaching, is ridiculous and condescending 9/
Ultimately, the cruelty lies in diverting the responsibility to the community members as individuals. No, it's not on us. It is the responsibility of the @Columbia administration to set an example and lead responsibly 10/
And with "the vast majority of faculty and instructors elect[ing] to teach online only," respect those individual decisions you claim to value! 11/
At all stages of this crisis, institutional failure to act, to do what is clearly safest and right -- choosing short-sighted, frantic after-the-fact adjustments over forward-thinking anticipatory measures -- has brought us to the current U.S. calamity 12/
In March, colleges *spread* students across the globe because of 1) liability concerns, and 2) they simply didn't know what to do! -- we all saw the frenzied emails of new safety procedures/assurances leading up to the decision/realization to finally just "get outta here!" 13/
All the latest planning delays show nothing's really changed. The rush to "re-open" hasn't gone well anywhere! @Columbia has a responsibility to its community--both on and off campus--to act w/ and beyond health guidelines to assure the well-being of students and faculty 14/
And as undergrads, we're not immune from blame (or disease) -- we should recognize the difference between what we need and what we want, and understand what the situation demands of us all 15/15
