KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Over 200 students, parents and alumni of Kalamazoo College have signed a petition meant to move all fall semester classes online.
The petition, launched by the campus newspaper The Index, demands that the campus cancel all of its in-person classes instead of implementing its current plan. It states that having online classes would be better in the interest of public health.
“Waiting one week, two weeks, three weeks, or until after in-person orientation and classes officially begin will only increase the number of students who travel to Kalamazoo and spread the coronavirus, only to have the term inevitably cancelled due to an inadequate, under resourced plan for reopening,” the petition states. “Western Michigan University is already drawing thousands of students into town for a similarly flawed reopening, and as we know from months of fighting this virus, every new case matters for our community’s health.”
The petition also cites other campus decisions as its reasoning for moving online. It says that larger universities have failed in their own reopening plans and that Kalamazoo College is sure to see new cases, as well.
“All of these policies are highly recommended by the experts who have studied campus reopening plans based on months of accumulated evidence about how the virus is transmitted, and yet the prestigious universities who have recently attempted to implement these expensive policies, such as the University of Notre Dame and UNC Chapel Hill, have failed,” the petition states. “Locally, Hope College caught 38 positive cases in their baseline test ahead of reopening, of which five were already on campus. Maybe their plan to quarantine those students will work, at least in the short run. But Kalamazoo College has not chosen to implement any of these measures.”
Therefore, the petition states that the reopening plan will only create more harm in the long run.
It also demands a response by college officials by Tuesday, August 25.
Vice President for Student Development at Kalamazoo College Sarah Westfall told MLive on Tuesday that the campus is working hard to maintain safety on campus by working with health officials at the local, federal and state level.
The petition can be viewed at this link.
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