Many John Jay faculty and staff understandably fear reopening under current conditions. We believe Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez, President Karol Mason and their administrations must ensure a safe reopening by authorizing any member of our community to stay remote until COVID-19 transmission rates in the city return to relatively low levels and students coming to campus document fully-authorized vaccination status. Recently, the Chancellor has undermined the college's reopening plan, defying the CDC's 6’ spacing guidelines for mixed populations of vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, seemingly ignoring the threat of the Delta and coming Lambda variants. Transmission rates locally are 9 times higher now than in June. We insist on frequent testing of in-person students and enforcement of universal masking. “Safety first" means making a return to campus voluntary for all faculty, librarians, and professional staff. If you agree, please sign the statement below.