Cal Poly Continues In-Person Class Despite Omicron Criticism | News | San Luis Obispo

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Despite nearly 800 students testing positive for COVID-19 in the first week of the winter term, Cal Poly has no plans to move its classes online, according to university president Jeffrey Armstrong.

At a Jan. 11 meeting of the Cal Poly faculty senate, Armstrong defended his administration’s decision to start the winter term in person, telling faculty he was faced with “an ugly orchestra of choice. “, but believe that the classroom is still the best setting for teaching.

click to enlarge File photo courtesy of Cal Poly PRESIDENT SPEAKS Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong addressed the increase in COVID-19 cases on campus and criticism of his policies during the a faculty Senate meeting on January 11.

“We know this omicron is more contagious, but it’s also milder,” Armstrong said. “I also believe that our deans and department heads… we have housed professors who have vulnerabilities. Vaccinated individuals without vulnerabilities – the risk is extremely low.”

Cal Poly is standing out among public universities in California by continuing to teach in person despite the omicron wave. A majority of University of California campuses and at least 11 Cal State University campuses have delayed in-person classes to start the term, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Armstrong noted that Cal Poly’s omicron plan was approved by SLO County Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein and claimed those other campuses are also facing increases in COVID-19 cases.

“Being virtual is not a quick fix,” Armstrong said. “Virtual courses do not stop the spread of omicron to other universities. … We also have significant negative consequences of virtual learning for our students.”

In his comments, Armstrong rejected recommendations from a Cal Poly faculty-led petition signed by more than 3,500 members of the campus community that called for changes to the school’s omicron policies, including by giving teachers more flexibility to organize virtual lessons at their discretion.

“We are sticking to our plan,” Armstrong said. “I cannot make decisions based on petitions or on anxiety.”

Under current policy, Cal Poly teachers can teach up to 25% of their classes through Zoom without official permission. However, many professors have already used this quota, as a recent faculty survey found that 60% chose to teach remotely the first two weeks of the term, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In response to this issue, Armstrong said any affected professor can speak to their department heads to negotiate future accommodations on a case-by-case basis.

“It’s a complicated situation. It’s hard to have one size fits all [solution]”Armstrong said.

Armstrong also rejected another request for a specific petition asking the school to require the use of N-95 or KN-95 masks in classrooms and to provide these masks to members of the campus community. Armstrong said he would commit to providing the masks to teachers who wanted them.

“N-95, KN-95 [masks are] not necessary for our situation, ”Armstrong said, citing county public health boards for using surgical masks.

Senate faculty members took turns on Jan. 11, bombarding Armstrong with questions and criticism about the school’s reopening, with one describing the past two weeks as “a mess.” Students infected with COVID-19 are falling behind in their work, a member said, and there is no clear communication from administrators on how to welcome them.

Students also find it difficult to navigate the neighborhood. On January 6, Mustang News reported that Cal Poly no longer had isolation beds on campus for infected students and began housing them in SLO hotel rooms, even offering $ 400 gift cards. University Store for students who have moved to isolate themselves. There is frustration and confusion among students about epidemic protocols, according to Cal Poly ASI president Tess Loarie.

“Students just miss large amounts of class and don’t get clear instructions from anyone – this is certainly the biggest complaint from students we’ve received,” Loarie told the faculty Senate on Jan. 11.

As the term progresses, Cal Poly will continue to regularly test unvaccinated students for COVID-19, and has set a deadline of January 20 for students to receive their booster shots. Armstrong concluded the meeting by stating that his administration remained “open” and listened to the campus community.

“It’s easy to guess or criticize – and it’s appropriate and I welcome it,” Armstrong said. “However, it is an inescapable reality that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and that there are no perfect solutions.” ??

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