Monday, Sept. 14, student representatives from several Virginia universities met over Zoom to discuss their reactions to colleges’ reopening plans for the fall semester. The forum was organized by New Virginia Majority, a non-profit organization based in Richmond, and featured representatives from Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, George Mason University and the College of William and Mary. Organizer of the New Virginia Majority Kalia Harris introduced the forum’s purpose and explained her work with New Virginia Majority and the Virginia Student Power Network, another advocacy group connecting student activists from across the state. She began the forum by illustrating COVID-19’s severity on university campuses since they began reopening during late August and early September. Harris than emphasized the importance of hearing directly from students as they experience COVID-19 response plans firsthand at their respective institutions. After Harris’s introduction, VSPN Director Ibby Han provided an overview of student activists’ movements and demands throughout Virginia and contextualized these demands by reminding viewers of rising case totals at several universities across the state. “… THIS IS A REALLY URGENT PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. WE’RE NEARING OVER 2,000 CASES ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES STATEWIDE. I DON’T THINK THIS CAME AS A SURPRISE TO ANYONE. WE KNOW THAT COLLEGES, COLLEGE CAMPUSES, DORM LIFE, WOULD ALL BE INCUBATORS, AND FRANKLY, SUPER-SPREADER LOCATIONS, FOR THE COVID-19 VIRUS.” “… This is a really urgent public health crisis. We’re nearing over 2,000 cases on college campuses statewide,” Han said. “I don’t think this came as a surprise to anyone. We know that colleges, college campuses, dorm life, would all be incubators, and frankly, super-spreader locations, for the COVID-19 virus.” Read the full story by The Flat Hat HERE.
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