Tell Brooklyn College President Anderson & VP Gilbert: We Need a Safe Return
Members of the campus community have expressed serious reservations about coming back to the Brooklyn College campus under current conditions. Given the surge of the Delta variant in New York City, it is more important than ever for the Brooklyn College administration to prioritize a safe return to the College. Despite good intentions, the campus is simply not ready. Staff and faculty have reported problems with routine maintenance, crashing wifi, ventilation issues, temperature control issues, and a lack of transparency on the reporting of positive cases on campus. Please urge President Anderson and VP Gilbert to consider and implement the following demands:
Allow professional staff who do not need to be on campus to work remotely if they request it. Including the option of 100% remote work without medical documentation. This helps ensure the safety of essential workers on campus, students, and other faculty and staff.
Permit remote instruction until the State guidance concerning student vaccinations can be met and in-person students are fully vaccinated. As per CUNY’s student vaccination deadline, this would be until October 7 at the earliest.
Push CUNY to require a negative COVID test within 72 hours while the rate of community transmission is high. This is especially important as unvaccinated students who are not enrolled in in-person classes can still access campus services and spaces.
Produce a publicly accessible list of every room and working/learning space on campus that addresses: the ventilation plan for that space; the occupancy limits under physical distancing protocols; the fall usage and anticipated occupancy for that space (i.e. 3 classes meeting here, with enrollments of 18, 22, and 26).
Publicize the protocols for determining “close contacts” when someone on campus tests positive, what the procedure is for contact tracing and notification, protocols for quarantining positive cases and close contacts, and protocols for academic continuity in the case of positive cases and/or quarantines.
Use the Federal Pandemic Relief monies to hire appropriate levels of maintenance, technical and repair staff to complete the necessary safety, ventilation, and repair tasks.
Disclose how Federal Pandemic Relief funds are being spent on the BC campus.
Meet with appropriate DOE staff to make plans to ensure the safety of BC staff and students, and DOE students, given different vaccination expectations for the high school students taking classes on the BC campus.
