When University of Idaho President Scott Green announced on July 16 classes would be moved completely online after fall recess, I was a little shocked and very confused. I didn’t see a point in having students, faculty and staff return to Moscow if they were just going to go back to learning remotely for the latter part of the semester.
As if to add to my befuddlement, it was announced on July 28 UI would remain unwavering in its decision to move forward with in-person classes. The world was, still is, in the middle of a pandemic and the United States is nowhere near seeing the end of it, especially in Idaho.
The message coming from Green earlier in the summer was one that said the Vandal community will be well prepared to conquer any threat COVID-19 could throw at us, drenching the fiery division that the virus has intensified in our communities.
Now Green is adding more fuel to the flames. On Aug. 18 he sent out an email titled “Our Success Begins with Your Leadership” detailing our responsibility as Vandals to keep the university open for in-person classes.
“For our campus to remain open, we all need to take responsibility by showing our leadership, taking action when poor decisions are being made and looking out for the health of our fellow Vandals and those in our community,” Green wrote. “To be clear, if we fail, we will close the campus and students will be sent home.”
That last bit was highlighted with bold letters, as if to emphasize the future we all know is coming. Whether we are all sent home before or after fall recess is not the largest issue on my plate; that is for sure.
The messages coming from Green are no longer “Our success hinges on our ability to be thoughtful and flexible,” something that Green said in an email on May 22.
What I am now understanding from his more frequent mass emails is something along the lines of if people cannot adhere strictly to the rules and regulations put in place by university leadership, they will be rejected. This was clarified in an email on Friday.
“Frankly, if you are not willing to support our university and those who want an in-person instruction environment, you should not be here, and we will take the necessary steps to remove you from our community,” Green stated.
The flexibility Green preached seems to no longer be as large a part of the picture as it was in earlier months. The flexibility we see now is coming from the professors teaching students in-person and online simultaneously.
Along with all of the new normalcies, like social distancing, constantly worrying about wearing a mask, protests of all kinds everywhere, trying to figure out how to balance work life with home life and so many other complicated stressors, the last thing the Vandals need are mixed messages coming from their leadership.
Anteia McCollumcan be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @antxiam5
Colleen McNutt
Your article is superb. I hope they get the message!
Shimrra Shai (Michael Moldenhauer)
Then there should be a boycott. Anyone who can't get all their classes taken 100% online and has the ability to drop this semester should drop it instead of sitting for virus. Hold them to their word by MAKING it as online as possible.