In the initial chaos of the COVID-19 outbreak and the shelter-in-place orders that followed, the lives of all of us in the Knox community were thrown into the air. We, the Knox College YDSA, immediately established a mutual aid fund and developed a petition to serve our community, fearing that its most vulnerable members would be left behind in this destabilizing time. Together we raised over $2,000 in two weeks and worked to exert pressure on the administration to meet the demands of its community. Though many of our initial demands have been met––an official relief fund has been established, and room and board refunds for the spring term are being processed––there are many members of our community who remain uncertain about their future health and financial security.

In addition, the circumstances surrounding our community have drastically changed. The recent decision to deliver the entire term remotely came as a shock to many students. More and more students every day receive notice that their spring and summer internships have been cancelled, which is extremely concerning for juniors and seniors who are in the midst of launching their professional lives. What came as an even bigger shock was the recent announcement that 55 Knox College employees would be laid off, many with no guarantee of returning in the fall. Departments across the board face hiring freezes and budget cuts, and beloved parts of our institution have had their continued existence called into question. The Knox College senior administration must make good on the promise that they are vital members of our community, and to serve as a valuable ally to those in need.

Looking within our community, we see faculty, students, and staff everywhere struggling to make ends meet. Many of them form part of the 22 million people in the United States now unemployed, the number rising each day, drawing from an ever-shrinking pool of unemployment benefits. Wages from on-campus jobs which would normally have gone to cover food, housing, prescriptions, and other direct needs are now lost. Many Knox students have gone home to parents and loved ones who have been fired from their jobs, and many are wondering if they will even have the choice to return to Knox in the fall. In the meantime, they must try to learn in an unfamiliar online setting, cut off from their peers and enmeshed in unforeseen anxieties. Students, faculty, and staff alike face immediate hardships that are exasperated by glacial responses from the administration. For students, these hardships are bolstered by outstanding balances of student debt incurred in their time at Knox, as well as the general costs of attending college. For the 55 college employees that have just lost their jobs, the harsh reality of life in the time of COVID-19 is now compounded with the pressing need to find new employment as quickly as they can.

In this time of crucial need, we cannot only consider the immediate members of the Knox College and Galesburg communities, but others as well. This includes our future members: the high school seniors and other prospective students who want to attend our school, but are now unsure if they will be able to. They await clear messaging from the administration, and a guarantee that they will be free to pursue the excellent liberal arts education our institution offers without danger of financial ruin. We also recognize that there is a large portion of the community which has been forcefully separated and disappeared: the inmates at the Hill Correctional Center in Knox County.

The city of Galesburg, and by association Knox College, directly profit from the 1,698 men who are housed there. The prison provides employment and economic improvement for Galesburg residents; in addition, inmates are used to supply labor for local services without receiving compensation. Galesburg’s use of prison labor means that it also has a responsibility to provide for the wellbeing of the inmates. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in U.S. prisons, where grossly inadequate measures are being taken to avoid the spread of the disease, and the delay of trial dates means that many inmates will languish in these conditions for far longer than the time they were supposed to be held. Already, 2 inmates of the Hill Correctional Center have tested positive for COVID-19. In this pandemic, we must meet our basic moral obligation to the health and well-being of all members of our community, including the incarcerated.

The Knox College administration has been given a unique opportunity to meet this exact obligation. The Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison is calling on colleges and universities throughout the state to provide emergency housing for incarcerated individuals at high risk for COVID-19 infection. We demand that President Amott and the senior staff meet this call to action and provide IL-CHEP with the emergency housing their volunteers need. We call on them to cooperate with IL-CHEP presently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and to build a working relationship with the organization for any of its future goals or needs.

Finally, in light of the struggle of all members of the Knox and Galesburg communities in this trying time, we the Knox YDSA make the following immediate demands:

1. Knox College will commit to providing hazard pay and personal protective equipment (PPE) for all college employees unable to work remotely (namely Dining & Food Services and Building & Facility Services).

2. As one of the largest employers in the city of Galesburg, Knox has a responsibility to its community to protect its workers and their families. That is why Knox College must commit to rehire all employees laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible after the reopening of the school.

3. With over 22 million Americans having already lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the financial security of many current and prospective students is now in flux. To recognize this reality and further the mission of making our school accessible to all, President Amott and senior staff will:

1. Commit to increasing grants and scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year

2. Issue a tuition freeze for the 2020-21 academic year

3. Take a voluntary pay cut for the 2020-21 academic year, directing those funds instead to increased grants and scholarships to students in need

4. Knox must acknowledge the current economic situation in distributing the official relief fund. These funds must remain open to all members of the Knox community: students, faculty, and staff. The school must be fully transparent regarding the processing and fulfillment of requests from the fund. Requested funds must be delivered directly to recipients in full, without being redirected to any outstanding balances or debts on their accounts. The administration must guarantee that it will fulfill every request made by a community member to cover basic living costs, including but not limited to:
   
   - Food
   - Housing
   - Health and medicine, including mental health services

5. Knox College will support the Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison and open up available unoccupied housing for its emergency relief program. The college and the city of Galesburg reap political and financial benefits from those incarcerated in the Hill Correctional Center. No prison is equipped to handle the social distancing and shelter-in-place requirements necessary in this dangerous time. That is why Knox must answer the call IL-CHEP has put out support incarcerated individuals in the state of Illinois.