Over 250 people sign statement of support for the AAUP’s open letter to Georgia Southern community
September 4, 2020
STATESBORO — Since the publication of The American Association of University Professors’ (AAUP) letter criticizing Georgia Southern’s COVID-19 response, 260 faculty members of 13 different universities and colleges have signed a statement of support, supporting their demands of fully remote learning, increased transparency in testing data and expanded coronavirus testing for the Georgia Southern community.
“The Georgia Southern situation is particularly urgent and life-threatening, but the same issues — adequate testing, transparent reporting, and the prioritizing of student, staff, faculty, and community health — exist across the USG campuses and call for immediate action by Presidents and the Chancellor,” said the statement.
The statement of support can be found here.
Since penning the letter, Georgia Southern officials have not reached out to any members of the organization.
“The university has not reached out to any of the current AAUP officers, nor have they contacted me,” said Rob Yarbrough, associate professor at GS, current member and former president and treasurer of the AAUP.
“This coordinated, statewide action on behalf of employees, students, and alumni in the [USG] is incredible,” wrote Leticia McGrath, assistant professor at GS, on Twitter.
“I have signed this petition, and I hope my colleagues, students, and fellow members of the communities of [USG] institutions will do the same,” Jordan Dominy, associate professor at Savannah State, tweeted.
In the letter, the Georgia Southern chapter of AAUP urged the university to request University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley to shift all instruction to fully-online.
“It is not hyperbole to suggest that the lives of Georgia residents living in these locales are in the hands of USG Chancellor Wrigley and the Georgia Southern administration,” the AAUP said in the letter
The letter requests more flexibility in how professors teach their courses, asking that accommodations be extended to students and faculty who feel unsafe being on campus rather than just those with medical documentation indicating them as high-risk.
“This micromanaging of faculty teaching by the University System of Georgia enforced by the Georgia Southern administration serves as both a threat to public health and a violation of academic freedom,” said the AAUP.
The AAUP also called for expanded, more-accessible testing as well as daily and more in-depth case reporting.
“We hope that the reporting will soon display critical data including the number of persons quarantined and percent positive test rates,” the AAUP said.
Timothy Tolentino • Sep 7, 2020 at 8:20 pm
Can we, the faculty, staff and students at Georgia Southern University, see the number of of faculty, staff, and students who have tested positive for Covid-19 each day?
Can we see the number of Faculty, staff, or students who are hospitalized each day?
Can we see the cumulative number of faculty or staff or students who have tested positive for Covid-19?
The answer to all of those questions is no.
Does Georgia Southern University have the capability to report these numbers? Of course they do.
The fact that they are not reporting them shows that they have made the choice to censor the information they distribute to those of us who have the right to that information.
When looking at the spread of a virus or bacteria within a population, one needs to know the number of new cases each day. One needs to know the number of deaths each day. One needs to know the cumulative numbers.
By releasing the information only once per week, those in charge keep the people in the dark for an entire week and prevent them from being able to come to any conclusion within that week.
By only releasing the weekly average numbers for the current week and the previous week, those in charge conceal information about the rate of increase or decrease in the number of cases.
There is no way to produce a mathematical model of the rate at which this virus is spreading among our campus with the limited and censored information that is released once a week.
Is this how we educate? By showing our students that we lead by censorship and fear? Do we really want our science majors to learn that our professors who have PhDs in Biology and Chemistry and Engineering are incapable of looking at the numbers objectively and making logical choices?
Darrell Doster • Sep 6, 2020 at 12:44 pm
As a staff member @ Georgia Southern, I support the AAUP. The Administration doesn’t care about the health or safety of the staff on the Statesboro campus!!
Terry Ross • Sep 6, 2020 at 8:29 am
Educators unwilling to go with science?
Jim Harris • Sep 6, 2020 at 8:07 am
Thanks in great part to the University not properly enforcing social distancing and mask wearing, Bulloch county has one of the highest covid-19 infection rates of any county in the nation. If being one of the most infected counties in the nation is not a sufficient reason for the university administration to order the university to go entirely online, then it is pretty clear that this is not going to happen under any circumstances. Those administrators are now complicit in the unnecessary deaths of citizens of our county.
Scott Shaw • Sep 6, 2020 at 5:46 am
I’ll expect a refund.
Logan Hill • Sep 6, 2020 at 3:00 am
The virus isn’t going anywhere. We can’t love in a bubble forever, eventually we have to move on with life. Everyone is wearing masks so in person learning shouldn’t be a problem. The reason it is spreading is the bars. Making class online isn’t going to stop that. We paid for tuition thinking it would be in class. I am in nursing school. YOU CANT LEARN HOW TO BE A NURSE ONLINE. Y’all already screwed me over last semester don’t do it again. Let us live our lives and go to class!!!!!
Eric A. Evans • Sep 5, 2020 at 7:20 pm
How do I sign the petition?
Keith Joyce • Sep 5, 2020 at 7:08 pm
I don’t think an English professor needs to see the numbers. The people of Statesboro can see to their own health. We don’t need politicians or academia to assist us. Some students need to learn. Some need to stay home. Some professors need to work. Some may be independently wealthy and can sit idle.
Cheri Hagler • Sep 5, 2020 at 1:51 pm
Stop playing games! This virus is a fucking joke! You think y’all teachers and professors are in control but you will go down! Georgia is ready to open up! Get with the program! You and big pharma are communist teachers and that isn’t wanted here! Take your Islamic propaganda and get the hell out of our schools! Our kids will be fine in school with no masks! Enough is enough of the colleges professors teaching communism to our children! Open the damn schools!
Delaney • Sep 5, 2020 at 12:54 pm
I legitimately do not understand how Georgia Southern could let this get as bad as it did. Cases arrived to campus as early as the first day of operation move-in for Greek Life. In my opinion, the university wants to “encourage,” in-person classes in order to justify charging full tuition for students. Yes, a fully online experience is not ideal for a lot of people including myself; I am in my senior year and would love to have a “normal,” experience, but the safety and health of our students and staff should be taking priority, not the financial gain. Don’t even get me started on how off-campus services like The Blue Room claimed they were closed last Thursday, but reopened a couple of days ago and hasn’t said a word. This “wash-over,” or “herd immunity,” mentality will get us nowhere.