Laura Antunez/Staff Writer
Today, FIU’s faculty and staff began repopulating by department. A message sent out by FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg on September 23, states that the goal is to have every office on campus start the repopulation process in a way that facilitates social distancing. Despite President Rosenberg’s optimistic tone, it is still too early, and somewhat unnecessary, to begin repopulating the university.
In his letter, Rosenberg starts off by saying that despite 2020 being a “challenging journey,” that he was optimistic regardless. Although it appears there will be extensive measures to protect all staff, no one should be forced onto campus against their will, especially if the job can be done just as well at home.
“I’m glad that at least limited services will be available in-person/on-campus,” said resident and president of Bayview Hall council, Brian Levine. “Though I do think it should be voluntary for anyone to have to come to campus.”
The Coronavirus has led to a lot of problems and many of us are eager to get back to “normalcy”—whatever definition that may carry from now on—but it is not the time to get hasty.
We have seen better than any other country, and even every other state, what happens when we make hasty decisions that prioritize money over human lives.
It seems to not have taken long for everyone to forget that Florida was the global epicenter of the virus just a few months ago. If catching the Coronavirus was an olympic sport, Florida would be bringing home the gold, and Ron DeSantis would be our olympic coach.
Not to say that Rosenberg and DeSantis are on the same level. In his message, Rosenberg continuously emphasizes safety, saying that there will be extensive measures put in place. Staff will have to use the Panthers Protecting Panthers app, and they must wear masks at all times, unless alone in their office.
The real problem with all of it is the underlying obsession with opening way sooner than we should. It has caused a massive mental block amongst political and school officials alike. Rather than spending the summer creating innovative ways to improve remote learning, many schools tried to make plans to repopulate, which immediately failed and led to remote learning, regardless.
We can’t keep making the same mistakes. We need to mimic what other countries have done to contain the virus, and that was prolonged periods of strict isolation and social distancing. Student learning and safety should be at the forefront of how FIU handles the pandemic, not just repopulating. Repopulating isn’t going to solve problems, but merely sweep the problem under the rug.
I’m not saying it’s not a good idea. It’s just too early, and ultimately it should be individual workers’ decision to go back, and they should face no repercussions if they choose not to. Maybe in December, if the case number continues to be low, our offices could begin the repopulation process.
Overconfidence was our downfall just a few short months ago when we presented with over 15,000 cases in a single day. My only solace is that one of the final things in the message said that they will continue to monitor cases and “adjust [their] plans as necessary.”
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Featured image by Jernej Furman on Flickr.
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