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Hey, @Illinois_Alma. We need to talk about this.
You are causing immeasurable harm to a student and his family for no good reason. Here's why (and, the rest of you--SIGN THIS): https://www.change.org/p/vice-chancellor-for-student-affairs-dr-danita-m-b-young-readmit-ivor-chen-to-the-university-of-illinois
You are causing immeasurable harm to a student and his family for no good reason. Here's why (and, the rest of you--SIGN THIS): https://www.change.org/p/vice-chancellor-for-student-affairs-dr-danita-m-b-young-readmit-ivor-chen-to-the-university-of-illinois
1.) Your messaging going into the fall semester was confusing. I was told, multiple times by the official Covid testing hotline, that I only needed to test if I wanted building access.
If I'd believed that, I'd be in the same position. Lucky me, to have been burnt by you before.
If I'd believed that, I'd be in the same position. Lucky me, to have been burnt by you before.
2.) The requirement for graduate students to test regardless of their presence on campus is ridiculous. When I brought this up during (later) calls, one suggestion given was that I could move in with my mom. I'm in my 30s.
The university is infantilizing its grad students.
The university is infantilizing its grad students.
3.) One mass e-mail is not sufficient notification of anything. I have missed e-mails before. Between professional e-mails and student e-mails and academic listserves and useless Massmails, the odds of missing one non-personalized e-mail is extremely high.
4.) The University absolutely should not be requiring those who are not setting foot on campus property to test. It shouldn't be incentivizing those who are sheltering in place to congregate!
Punishing someone for sheltering place and protecting their family is cruel.
Punishing someone for sheltering place and protecting their family is cruel.
5.) The University is not considering structural vulnerability in its decision. Deportation is not an appropriate outcome for an action that didn't put people at risk. It is not an appropriate response to misunderstanding confusing rules.
6.) The University approved Ivor's exemption for the Spring semester, tacitly saying that they agreed that his reasons for not testing were valid, and that he could be exempted.
Dismissal from the University is not an appropriate response for failing to fill out a web form.
Dismissal from the University is not an appropriate response for failing to fill out a web form.
The University of Illinois, @Illinois_Alma, should be ashamed of its actions. It should immediately re-admit Ivor and compensate him for expenses incurred during this time.
If the University doesn't, then it should be excoriated internationally for mistreating its students.
If the University doesn't, then it should be excoriated internationally for mistreating its students.
I would also like to add that I think that @Illinois_Alma should replace/reorganize its entire OSCR office.
I'd like to refer to this exchange, which occurred on Reddit:
I'd like to refer to this exchange, which occurred on Reddit:
Non-compliance e-mails were going out to students who were in compliance with University guidelines.
Their response: "It said if you'd testing you could ignore it. You have to read all of your e-mails to be taken seriously as a student."
Their response: "It said if you'd testing you could ignore it. You have to read all of your e-mails to be taken seriously as a student."
1.) That's utterly inappropriate. Have you ever e-mailed faculty?
2.) If one read that and believed that they were in compliance, they could, perhaps, come to the conclusion that they could ignore the e-mail.
2.) If one read that and believed that they were in compliance, they could, perhaps, come to the conclusion that they could ignore the e-mail.
Also, OSCR has a history of allowing institutional racism to exist in its ranks. Again, from Reddit:
It is now replicating and reinforcing institutional racism and xenophobia targeting Asian and Asian-American students (at a time when said groups are experiencing a surge of targeted violence) by inflicting an unjust punishment that could result in deportation.
(As a source for my above claim: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/12/asian-hate-incidents-covid-19-lunar-new-year/4447037001/)
I don't think that this is necessarily coincidental. I think it's racist, and I think that OSCR needs to be investigated, reorganized, and, in all honesty, probably restaffed. This is rotten from the ground up.
