By: Michelle Young, Copy Editor
In late December, SFU sent out an email to students explaining there will be a “temporary shift to remote learning” for the first two weeks of class. From this email, it seems SFU is trying to reduce COVID-19 transmission in face of rising cases of the Omicron variant. While I appreciate this step, given the circumstances — SFU should fully commit to an online semester.
BC has been setting record highs of daily COVID-19 cases over winter break. As of early January, there are over 31,000 active cases of COVID-19. Many of these cases include those who are fully vaccinated, meaning vaccination is no longer as effective at preventing severe illness and death from Omicron. However, this isn’t to say vaccines aren’t working — unvaccinated patients still make up a disproportionate amount of hospitalizations. What this means for SFU is that the self-reported vaccination rate shouldn’t be our sole layer of protection.
To put things in perspective, the end of March 2020 gave us a cumulative total of a few hundred active cases — and only essential services were operating in-person. Testing is currently at its capacity, so the numbers we see now are largely underreported — it is estimated that cases are three to four times higher than what we’ve identified.
Fall 2021 was not as carefully implemented as it should have been — students gathered in common areas without masks, were squished together in lecture halls, and people were rarely notified of COVID-19 exposures. Further, guidelines regarding accessibility were left up to professors, leaving many students with inflexible accommodations. This does not give me any faith that SFU is prepared to handle a more transmissible variant on-campus.
March 2020 was extremely stressful, partly because professors scrambled to switch classes online. Now, we have the infrastructure in place for an online semester. Given that COVID-19 infection rates have never been so high, I don’t understand why we wouldn’t be committing to an online semester. There should be no reason for us to switch back to in-person education at a moment’s notice.
Although Dr. Bonnie Henry claims “educational settings are low-risk for COVID-19 transmission,” we also know these environments are generally a reflection of community transmission. If community transmission is high — which it is — it will be mirrored in school cases.
If I knew what to expect in the days ahead, I could breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t want to commit to my courses with the possibility of switching back to in-person — risking contagion — after the deadline to drop classes. Those who prefer on-campus learning likely want to know what to expect from their semester too, so they can plan accordingly. This also goes for housing — students need to know as soon as possible whether the rest of the term will be remote so they aren’t wasting resources in finding a place to stay.
I acknowledge in-person learning doesn’t work the best for everyone — courses with lab components and the toll of isolation are issues with remote learning. However, in-person learning isn’t perfect either — and it shouldn’t be the only answer. SFU could work towards a hybrid model for lab courses, contained in small groups and should open in-person counselling so the option is available. A fully in-person term leaves immunocompromised students with few options for their education, and they shouldn’t be neglected simply because some students dislike remote learning.
We know enough about COVID-19 to understand it spreads incredibly quickly, especially in crowded indoor settings — like SFU. An incubation period of about 14 days means there’s plenty of opportunities for COVID-19 to spread before it is diagnosed.
In the midst of rising cases, students need more than hesitation and half-measures from the university. We should be doing all the things we can to make the safest decisions. Given what we know, there is no reason for ambivalence regarding the Spring 2022 semester.
