21 Aug UIC United Faculty Statement on Campus Health, Safety, and Re-Opening
UIC United Faculty is eager to serve our students and effectively engage in the incredibly important project of education. That said, we have no confidence that the campus is reasonably safe. We do not have confidence that the Administration’s plan will sufficiently provide for a safe reopening, let alone sustain a healthy open campus for the fall semester. The UIC administration is relying on Illinois Board of Higher Education recommendations that were not endorsed by faculty experts on the committee, who have issued an alternative ‘best practices’ report.
- We are troubled by the lack of confidence members of the support and custodial staff have with the current plan and their ability to carry it out to an adequate degree with the personnel and equipment at their disposal. We aren’t prepared to risk their lives.
- We are concerned that the current testing and tracing program will be insufficient to stop an outbreak on campus from spreading widely and back into the various communities where we and our students work and live.
It appears that the current plan meets only minimum standards, with decisions prioritizing opening rather than saving lives and preventing illness–which should take precedence over all other concerns. We should never put our students, staff, faculty, and all of their families at unnecessary risk.
