Student leaders at UNC held a meeting on Friday to discuss their concerns about COVID-19 spread on campus. They expressed frustration at the university leadership for not taking action to better curb virus spread.

UNC Student Body President Lamar Richards called an emergency meeting of the Campus Presidents’ Council to discuss university COVID-19 policies and concerns about increased cases on campus. The council is comprised of diverse student groups across campus including Student Government, Black Student Movement and the Campus Y.

Earlier this week, Richards and the Undergraduate Executive Branch issued a message to the Carolina Community. The message demanded university administration institute mandatory weekly COVID testing for all students, improve testing infrastructure and a vaccine mandate for all community members.

“The value of the safety of our community is not open for negotiation,” the statement reads. “It requires a commitment — unconditionally and unrelentingly — to the pursuit of intentional safety measures that effectively, accurately, and transparently support the health and wellbeing of our community — of our students, of our faculty, and of our staff — not that of our institution’s public image.”

Other recommendations in the message included an outdoor mask mandate at large public gatherings like sporting events and a requirement for hybrid education in all classes.

The Campus Presidents’ Council unanimously approved the statement and recommendations to university administration. Senior Advisor to the Student Body President Greear Webb said passing the motion outlines what administration should do and he hopes it forces the university to take action.

“We should have been planning and preparing for something like this, especially right when school began as cases were increasing, not decreasing,” Webb said. “I don’t want to put all the burden on students by any means or professors, but on the university to provide those technologies and be in favor of such policies so we can get a plan of action going.”

Richards directed his recommendations toward UNC administrators and invited Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz to attend the meeting. Guskiewicz and other invited administrators were not in attendance.

In a letter to the Student Body President, shared by UNC, Guskiewicz wrote some leaders were out of town for the meeting. He declined to attend because he said Richards is “more interested in generating publicity than producing meaningful dialogue.”

Guskiewicz touted the university’s high vaccination rate and the continued COVID-19 testing.

“We’ve planned for this. We will continue to adjust and respond to this virus as necessary,” Guskiewicz said in a statement on Friday.

UNC spokesperson Joanne Peters Denny echoed the Chancellor. She said in a statement after the meeting the students’ comments “grossly misrepresented the University’s detailed, multi-layered safety plans that were designed based on the advice of our top infectious disease faculty, public health experts, the Orange County Health Department and the input of our campus.” Denny added, “the Chancellor values student input and will continue to work directly with student leaders in the best interest of the campus, but he will not participate in publicity stunts.”

Student Body Vice President Collyn Smith said he was disappointed but not surprised that the administration didn’t show up at the meeting.

“There’s no way that we can pretend we are in a comfortable or normal space right now,” Smith said. “It really feels like that’s what administrators did today: prioritize their comfort and their image, over being in a space to truly be accountable to students.”

Smith said he is frustrated because there is a disconnect between student demands and what he sees as misguided optimism from UNC’s administration.

“There is no other word than frustrating. Being set up again, and again and again and brought along,” Smith said. “When we make these tiny pieces of incremental progress, we take five more steps backwards with that one step of progress.”

As students shared their concerns about the university’s COVID-19 response, Richards said he believes it is time for real leadership to step up.

“I think today solidified the belief that leadership means something very simple, it means showing up,” Richards said. “I hope that the public and more importantly our administration learns from this moment. There is no perfect solution, but there is a perfect answer and that’s listening.”

For full information about the university’s COVID-19 response click here.


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