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A thread of remaining questions on the fall semester @UMassAmherst. Follow @CollegianNews for our continued reporting.
First and foremost, has the University caused housing and food insecurity by making this decision? If so, how many students are without a home during a pandemic? How will much will they support students, as promised in the email?
Second, despite changing the housing decision for on campus students, there are still thousands of students living off campus with little or no regulation. Will @TownOfAmherst become a dangerous place to live? How will this effect its residents?
Next, according to the @RAPMUnion, hundreds of students are losing housing and jobs 3 days before move in. How will the University protect their students and staff? Are they abiding by their contract with the union? Follow upcoming stories by @mckenna_premus and @will_katcher.
A great question brought by Collegian alumni, @KathrineEsten: Will students have access to the @UMassLibraries? In the email, the chancellor said that off-campus students will not have access to facilities. How will students write theses / take classes without library resources?
Assistant News Editor @sophieegardnerr is asking if students, who lost their housing deposits, will get their money back now that they aren't allowed to live there?
The eternal question: What will the @UMassAmherst budget look like this year? Are they taking a financial hit from this decision?
A big question on many minds is, "Why now?" We are 18 days away from the first day of classes. Why did @UMassAmherst make the announce so soon to the start of the semester?
And what about testing? Keep an eye out for an in depth look into how the University plans to give symptomatic and asymptomatic tests to students. Story to come.
Additional questions remain about what student life will look like with all of these changes. How will RSOs recruit / retain members? What is it like to be a student living through a pandemic? We will paint that picture.
Part 1: UMass Racial Justice Coalition and UMass for Black Lives just presented demands to hold the university accountable to being anti-racist. @KSubbaswamy and other admin responded to the demands and included this statement:
Part 2: "I am sure you and the student coalition members appreciate what an extraordinarily busy and difficult time this is for universities as we plan and prepare for the fall semester in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic."
Part 3: What changes will @UMassAmherst make to insure that BIPOC students are supported, safe and prioritized? Will UMass take steps to becoming an anti-racist campus?
@ UMass community, what am I missing? Reply below!
