Submitted by student Lexi McCoy
I am writing to you today regarding my concerns and other classmates of classes staying in-person after the return of spring break.
I would like to remind you of a year ago, nearly to the day, of when the University of Wyoming sent us out for spring break for two weeks rather than one. Within the next week, it was announced that the campus would be shut down, classes would go completely online, and since I was in the dorms at the time, I would be forced to move out of Orr Hall by the beginning of April. As we know, this was a plan very suddenly planned, forcing professors, faculty, and students to adjust to this new way of living their daily lives through a computer.
Once again in November, plans were rapidly changed with essentially no warning that students were recommended to leave as soon as possible once receiving their negative COVID-19 test result.
And now here we are, a year later from the initial shut down, and the Board of Trustees is discussing to continue in-person classes after spring break. I would like to remind you, though, that the reason we didn’t return for classes after spring break last year was the possibility of having a mass outbreak of the virus on campus.
Of course, we do know more about the virus and UW staff now qualify and many are being administered the vaccine, but this still doesn’t change the fact that the university seems to enjoy leaving important decisions until the last minute.
I am the type of person that always has a plan; I plan when I am going to go home to see family, I make plans months in advance for the summer, but what the board doesn’t understand is that many of us already have plans. This discussion is taking place a little over two weeks before our “spring break” and have yet to make a decision.
Many students have made the decision not to return to Laramie after spring break as some have already sublet their apartment, and many students did not return because it doesn’t make sense to have in-person classes for two months to be sent right back home. Students were already prepared not to have a spring break this upcoming spring, but what seems to be a constant theme throughout the university’s decisions, they wanted to save money.
If the university has been trying to keep the student’s best interest in mind, they should make a plan and stick to it. I understand the pandemic has made things difficult to predict, but I’d recommend they keep their current Spring 2021 Plan in place. With this short of a turn-around, they shouldn’t even be considering this.
They seemed very concerned about students causing an outbreak just two months ago if they left Laramie, but now, they are encouraging students to leave then return to campus. This is hypocritical and could be avoided if they tabled this discussion.
For once this year, let’s please stop throwing students around and expecting us to roll with the punches and stick to our word.
