With the craziness surrounding the corona virus and the realization sinking in that this is not going to be something we will recover from in a few weeks, many students have looked to their universities for guidance. After all, the university is home for many students, being much more than simply the place where they earn their education. So, when universities went to online learning, asked students not to return to campus and barred those from the dorms that had elsewhere to go, many of us realized at that point just how serious this was.
As the news continues to report on the number of cases and deaths, the symptoms and projected impact, the "over reaction" made by many universities starts to make sense. So, imagine my surprise when I heard that a university right here in the state of Virginia was actually bringing back its students to campus. Unfortunately for the students, this mistake would have numerous consequences.
The week of March 23rd, Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA opened its doors and brought its students back to campus. My first thought was "how could this happen?". How could such an egregious error be made that impacts thousands of people and directly contradicts what numerous scientists (including the CDC) are recommending? This isn't just members of the population that decide not to heed the warnings and decide to go to the beach to party with their friends, this is an institution of higher education.
1,900 students returned to campus from their homes across the country. By Friday, March 27th, nearly a dozen students were sick with covid-19 like symptoms and one tested positive for the disease. After the positive case, president Jerry Falwell Jr. announced that any students returning should self-quarantine for 14 days. Soon, more than 800 had left campus, but no one knows how many students living off-campus returned to their housing.
It seems that the President is to blame for these poor decisions, with criticism coming from not only the general public and public health officials, but also the university's own students and faculty. How someone who would make these kinds of decisions ended up as President of a university is concerning. With such a blatant disregard for the well-being of the public, it makes me wonder what his motives are and what other questionable decisions he has made.
I believe that Liberty University is a prime example of how this situation should NOT be handled. I hope that moving forward President Falwell will see the necessity for closing the doors and limiting interactions to benefit the greater good of the world, instead of thinking only of the university.