Syracuse University officials have had four months to plan the difficult task of safely bringing students back to campus for in-person instruction this fall.  But less than a month away from the scheduled first day of classes, SU’s plans demonstrate a lack of preparedness and transparency that inspires little confidence in its ability to protect community members both on campus and in the city.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board asks SU administrators: If your infrastructure for preventing an outbreak is already weak, why bring students to campus in the first place and put them at unnecessary risk?

The university has a one-track mind, intent on hosting students for in-person learning despite clear health risks, all the while asking students to pay extra to partake in the risk only weeks before the semester is slated to begin.

To satisfy New York state’s travel restrictions, over 3,000 students from 31 states must quarantine for 14 days at their own cost before coming to campus — news that SU announced only weeks before move-in was scheduled. The university has made little effort to help these students outside of providing a selection of subsidized hotel rooms in the Syracuse area that charge on average more than $1,000 for a 14-day stay. First-year and incoming transfer students can quarantine in dorms on campus and have meals provided to them for a $1,000 fee.

Many students and their families cannot handle this additional financial burden, especially during a global pandemic that has put millions of Americans out of work. Administrators have also poorly communicated the financial resources available to students, including funding from the CARES Act. While the university has little control over the whims of government officials, SU should have offered to pay for on-campus quarantine housing from the very beginning rather than forcing students to make travel decisions contingent on aid they can’t be sure they will receive.

All of these communications came after SU’s deadline for paying its fall 2020 tuition of $54,270, which includes a $2,000-plus increase from the spring 2019 tuition. Offering online instruction with no tuition decrease pressures students to choose in-person courses, highlighting university leaders’ allegiance to profit over student wellbeing. Further, the university locked in students for the fall semester before they knew enough information to decide whether to take a leave of absence or pursue education elsewhere. This comes as no surprise when 65% of the university’s revenue in fiscal year 2020 comes from tuition.

To lessen the financial burden on the student body, SU must, at least, pay for the quarantine lodging of students who receive financial aid. Even if all of the approximately 3,000 students would qualify for such a measure, it would cost SU around $3 million. Considering the university’s combined $232 million budget surplus over fiscal years 2017 through 2019, $3 million for quarantine housing would be a drop in the bucket.

The national outlook on the COVID-19 pandemic has darkened since plans for returning to campus were first formed in early summer. A second wave of infections following re-opening campaigns in dozens of states has since killed thousands. SU was supposed to be prepared for all possible scenarios concerning COVID-19, and the Fall 2020 Open Working Group was supposed to create and communicate the university’s plans with students. Given the limited communications from the university as new developments unfold and generate countless questions, it’s fair to say the group has been ineffective.

The trend of rising virus cases, which SU has nearly ignored outside of its legal requirements to quarantine students, will only continue as students from all over the country congregate on campus. The university’s “Stay Safe Pledge” asks students to be “committed to keeping myself and the Orange community healthy and safe” and lists common measures to fight the spread of COVID-19, such as keeping six feet of distance from others and wearing face masks. But students alone can only do so much.

Bringing these people together into classrooms and residence halls imposes a massive, unnecessary health risk on the student body. The university has placed the responsibility of preventing an outbreak on its students instead of taking accountability for its stubborn insistence on holding in-person classes.

Before leaving their homes, SU is asking students to take a COVID-19 test. University officials have claimed that one will be provided by mail, but officials have still not shared details days after they were supposed to be communicated. The university has given “hot” state students at most two weeks to return to campus, yet has not publicly communicated testing information to the larger student body.

While there can be no expectation for the university to monitor students while they quarantine in New York or other “cold” states, SU cannot expect students to fully comply with these guidelines. These safety measures can be very easily evaded, making the entire SU safety protocol not much more than wishful thinking.

While on campus, SU plans to use 200 rooms in the Sheraton Hotel to quarantine students who have or have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19. Students, faculty and staff should be skeptical of this plan for quarantine housing given the university’s mumps outbreak in 2017 affected more than 100 people on campus, including members of the varsity men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.

The university’s track record with outbreaks on campus begs the additional question: What happens when too many students get COVID-19? What if they need medical attention? While specific responses haven’t been communicated to students — again an example of the university’s poor communication throughout this process — one can assume the university’s burden would be placed on hospitals in the Syracuse area, sapping vital medical infrastructure away from the city.

SU administrators have already stated in virtual information sessions that the university would cancel in-person instruction and move online if its quarantine response infrastructure becomes overwhelmed. University officials have discussed this situation nonchalantly at times, with Terra Peckskamp, senior director of the Office of Student Living, telling students to pack light in case they need to leave on short notice.

An unsuccessful trial-run of in-person instruction does not only mean that students will leave campus before the end of the semester, and that SU may lose an additional sum of money. Any failure in SU’s plan could mean the deaths of students, faculty or staff members. The university’s haphazard communications and preparation — already a failure — do not reflect the severity of the circumstances.

In its attempt to ensure a safe learning environment on campus this fall, SU has outlined its plans for a revised Code of Conduct with severe punishments for those who do not abide by health guidelines. SU has offered little suggestions for safe social activity, only threats of disciplinary action. By threatening students who attend gatherings with suspension or expulsion, SU only pushes these inevitable gatherings further underground, where they can spread COVID-19 without anyone’s knowledge. As students will not come forward about such gatherings if it means potential suspension or expulsion, contact tracing efforts are almost impossible.

It is no secret that social activity is one of the main draws of higher education for many students. Instead of severely punishing students who will inevitably gather no matter the health risk, SU should instead embrace the same policies in place for alcohol safety. If a student becomes ill from alcohol poisoning and needs medical attention, students can seek help without fear of punishment, ensuring that everyone gets the medical attention they need no matter the legality of their alcohol consumption. By putting the same policies in place for COVID-19 and large gatherings, SU can more adequately use contact tracing to minimize the spread of the virus on campus when it does inevitably appear and, more importantly, can make at-risk students feel safe coming forward about possible infections.

SU must also communicate its processes and policies for every possible situation concerning COVID-19. What happens if SU cancels in-person instruction again? What if a faculty member gets sick and can no longer effectively teach? What happens to classes that require in-person instruction? By withholding this information, SU only makes it more difficult for students to focus on their education instead of the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Since university administrators seem bullishly intent on bringing students to campus for in-person instruction, it is their duty to ensure that the fall semester continues as safely as possible, and with no additional financial strain to students.

The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. You can read more about the editorial board here. Are you interested in pitching a topic for the editorial board to discuss? Email opinion@dailyorange.com.

Published on July 27, 2020 at 3:24 pm

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com