Jul 06, 2020 15:00:00

A situation in the United States that more than three-quarters of university teachers 'oppose to the university reopening plan'

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Georgia

Institute of Technology is one of the prestigious prestigious schools in the United States, ranked 7th in the world university overall ranking engineering category . At the Georgia Institute of Technology, more than 800 professors were found to be disagreeing with university authorities' plans to reopen the school and the policy of not requiring a mask to be worn.

Statement of Academic Faculty of Georgia Tech on the COVID-19 Crisis and Fall 2020 Semester
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjyLGfLIncWtm8fntduj3mMhZhhGtF2khGYHNJdZIXu1xBhg/viewform

Georgia Tech won't require students to wear masks on campus. Faculty aren't happy-CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/georgia-tech-reopening-no-masks/index.html

Georgia Tech Professors Revolt Over Reopening, Say Current Plan Threatens Lives Of Students, Staff | Georgia Public Broadcasting
https://www.gpbnews.org/post/georgia-tech-professors-revolt-over-reopening-say-current-plan-threatens-lives-students-staff

In areas where the epidemic of new coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) has subsided, closed schools, workplaces, and commercial facilities have been gradually reopened, and people's lives are being restored. However, in the United States with the highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world

, it is confirmed that the number of new COVID-19 infections per day has exceeded 55,000 on July 2, 2020, and the prospect of convergence I'm in a situation where I can't touch.

Meanwhile, Georgia Institute of Technology teachers jointly announced on July 2nd, 'A Statement from the Georgia Institute of Technology's Faculty on the COVID-19 Crisis and the Fall 2020 Semester,' raising concerns about its plans to resume. Expressed The statement was signed by 827 university professors as of July 5, 2020. According to Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), a local public broadcasting station, Georgia Institute of Technology has a total of 1100 faculty members, including auxiliary staff, and more than three-quarters of the total You have signed the statement.

In a statement, the Georgia Institute of Technology faculty members said, “Our university is preparing for the resumption of the fall 2020 semester. However, the resumption plan issued by the university authorities is based on extra-curricular guidance and our The feedback was very limited, and we have a plan by the Georgia Institute of Technology to disregard the evidence-based opinions and increase the health risks to faculty, students and staff. I asked the university authorities to take the following four measures.

• Giving independent authority to the Georgia Institute of Technology president to take measures to protect the health and safety of the community surrounding the university.
・In order to reduce the risk of infectious diseases, remote lectures should be used as the basis for classes in the fall 2020 semester.
• To allow students access to on-campus laboratories and other specialized equipment, even if the number of students on campus is limited.
・Wearing masks everywhere on campus, conducting large-scale COVID-19 tests, and thoroughly following contact with new infectious diseases.

Of the 50 states in the United States, 31 states, including Georgia, do not require wearing masks in public places. Based on the decision of the state government, it is said that teachers and students will not be required to wear masks even in the Georgia Tech University reopening plan.

Professor Seth Malder, who teaches chemistry and biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology, denounces the policy of not requiring a mask to be worn, which poses a significant health risk to the Georgia Institute of Technology community and is irresponsible. Since the state government cannot decide that Georgia Tech's safety is the highest priority, Professor Malder and his colleagues have asked the university's board of directors to transfer decision-making power to the president.

“We have had frequent meetings with faculty members to find the best teaching policy. In addition, our faculty members are preparing to restart the campus,” said Angel Cabrera, president of Georgia Institute of Technology. I also pay close attention to aspects other than education.”

Randall Engle, who has been teaching psychology for more than 20 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said, 'I want to continue working, but I also want to live at the same time. I will be 74 years old this fall. If any one of them was infected with COVID-19, that alone would put me at risk for COVID-19.'