If being humane is not motivation enough, universities should consider the role of racial equity in their reopening plans.
The recent case of Jason Helms, a professor at Texas Christian University, demonstrates one problem with university procedures. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Helms, the father of a young child with a heart condition, requested online teaching assignments for the fall to reduce the possibility of infecting his child.
The request was denied. Several days later, after bad press followed, TCU relented, granting faculty the right to choose how they would teach their fall courses.
But this alarming trend of universities trying to force faculty into classrooms and staff onto campus in the midst of a global pandemic continues. Each day, universities announce outlandish proposals: classes in tents, classes ending before Thanksgiving and pledges for students to sign agreeing not to party. As outbreaks tied to bars in college towns like East Lansing, Michigan, and Columbia, South Carolina and the current surge in Covid-19 cases among young people suggest, these plans are wildly optimistic about the self-discipline of college students.
And yet, universities persist, many motivated by fear of losing tuition dollars. As a colleague at an elite private university told me, "Students are paying $70,000 a year. We're offering them in-person instruction."
While universities like my own and the California State University system have opted for online teaching, many persist with plans for face-to-face instruction. If more universities can't be convinced by public health data, they should consider racial equity.
As a professor and woman of color at a public university with one of the most diverse and vulnerable student populations in the state, I have seen the struggles my students and colleagues experience. From courses that do not reflect our students' experiences to the burden of being the few employees of color on campus, systemic racism thrives in predominantly white universities.
Amid the protests and calls for change following George Floyd's killing, universities have been quick to release statements demonstrating their commitments to racial justice. But at a moment when Black, brown, and Indigenous communities are bearing the brunt of the pandemic, why doesn't the commitment to equity extend to their safety as well?
Universities in the US have a long history of complicity with enslavement of Black people and theft of land from Indigenous people. Recent statements on anti-Black racism and the removal of names and statues of enslavers and racists from buildings and schools suggest intent to undo systemic racism. But these are not just legacies of the past — they're defining the present.
College sports are a notorious site of racial inequities in colleges. Major NCAA football programs in the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 were among the first to open practice facilities, and many are located in states that have lax mitigation protocols and
