exc-5e6d3b8677c35d4616f1bae4
By: Julia Akre, Staff Writer
On March 12, Marian students came to the Franciscan Heritage Fountain with chants and signs to protest the decision to not close campus. The protest began after Marian released an email the day before about remaining open and having in-person classes amidst Coronavirus outbreak.
The message of the protest claimed that the school is not doing enough to keep its student body safe. The protest followed the closing of most schools and colleges in Indianapolis. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) recently confirmed 15 total cases of COVID-19 virus in the state with three positive cases in Marion county. After these results surfaced on the news, the protesting students chose to publicly express their discomfort in face-to-face classes and in remaining on campus.
On the same day, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced new protections that announced statewide public school closings and the cancellation of large events across the state.
One anonymous protester said, “If you look at all the schools [and organizations] that are closing and all the decisions everybody else is taking, I feel we [Marian] should take these too… I’m doing this because I think it’s right…and I think classes need to be canceled.”
The participants created signs that read: “Do what’s right” and “Put our safety first.”
As the roughly 30 participants raised their posters, they chanted: “Do what you wanna, but we don’t want Corona” and “Corona is the worst, put our safety first.”
The group chanted in hopes of bringing a perspective of the student body to the staff members who are enacting decisions for the university.
A constant point of concern among the protesting students is that the virus poses a high-risk threat to students with compromised, or weakened immune systems. Given the size of the campus, students suggest that the virus could potentially attack those at risk in a small classroom setting. Because of our tight-knit community, concerns over sharing of friendly, physical touch, like hugs and pats on the back, were also at the forefront of discussion.
Some students did not look favorably on the intentions of the protest.
One student, who wishes only to be addressed as Grace, said, “There are other ways to deal with it then just leaving class. I think these people just want to get out of class…[without concern for the students] who would be kicked out.”
Another male student who wishes to be anonymous discussed dissatisfaction with the group’s approach.
He said, “I think there is a mass hysteria going on in the whole country… [For college students] unless you have an immune disease or something like that you can get it and recover from it.”
Senior psychology major Maggie Previs said, “The protesters are advocating for the safety for the students, yet they’re congregating in one space and all in close contact with another. So, it’s kind of a big contradictory thing to do.”
Though MUPD responded by shutting down the protest, conversations about how Marian should handle the issue continued.
Sam Miller, a junior history and communication major, said, “A lot of students do rely on the cafeteria to supply their food. They rely on the dorms to supply their housing, but at the same time there is a health pandemic, and something should be done to make sure the students are safe.”
Some students also expressed that the university does not have an adequate system in place for every class to go online. Others worried that online work is not an efficient substitute for hand-on learning.
Nonetheless, on Friday, Marian made the decision to allow the university professors to decide on online or in-person courses for the next two weeks. The university itself will remain open. Students may return home and work online if their professors decided to take the online route. In addition, students are permitted to stay on campus.
How Marian will proceed after the two weeks is yet to be determined. The day before the protest, Ball State University, announced suspension of all in-person classes and events for the remainder of the semester. Other colleges, like Indiana University and Indiana State University are considering staying online for the rest of the semester. Some even made the decision to cancel their commencement and graduation ceremonies. Only time will tell if Marian will respond in the same way.