As K-12 schools and colleges across the country have shifted to remote online education models to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. decided his institution would do the opposite. The religious conservative and prominent Trump ally downplayed the virus publicly, calling the response to the coronavirus an “overreaction” and saying, “It makes you wonder if there is a political reason.”
Falwell has since called students back from spring break and decided to reopen the university partially. Now, the Daily Beast reports that nearly a dozen Liberty students have coronavirus-like symptoms, with three referred to nearby hospitals and eight others in self-isolation. Classes are being taught remotely, but meanwhile, students have still reportedly been interacting on campus in close proximity for meals, study groups, and even recreational sports.
Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, reopened the school’s campus last week. By Friday, nearly a dozen Liberty students were sick with symptoms that suggest Covid-19. https://t.co/dmgBQ27pdZ
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) March 29, 2020
Falwell has argued that his student population is young, healthy, and not at substantial risk for the coronavirus. This could be true on balance, but more young students than you’d think might still be at risk due to preexisting conditions, compromised immune systems, or smoking. More to the point, it recklessly disregards the danger that the virus’s spread represents to others. Professors, staff, administrators, town locals, and others could all face coronavirus infection as a result of Falwell’s foolish decision. And as the virus spreads, it is possible Liberty will be exposed to legal liability.
What’s even worse is how unnecessary it is. It’s easy and straightforward for universities to go to an online-only education model for a couple of weeks or months. It’s what many colleges across the country have done without much trouble.
Modern college education already largely consists of online assignments and digitally submitted essays, and it’s easy enough to post video lectures instead of hosting them in person. (Liberty is already largely offering video lectures instead of in-person classes). So, too, sophisticated software exists for offering exams online. It’d be easy to have students stay at home and complete their semester while self-isolating, rather than congregating on campus and in the local area.
There’s really just no good reason for a university not to go to remote education during a pandemic, out of an abundance of caution. Not when lives are at stake. One would think that this is something a pro-life conservative would understand. But Falwell, who has made a lot of really bad decisions in the running of his school, evidently fails to grasp it.
