I’ve thought about this carefully, and unless something changes dramatically, I do not believe this can be done safely, without potential for deaths among students or faculty.

My cosmology class is not worth dying over — or killing over. https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200508/unh-all-state-colleges-rsquointendrsquo-to-open-to-students-in-fall

A major barrier is the bathrooms: even with the entry door propped open, touching the stall doors is risky. Especially with some colleagues sending kids to day cares and then coming to campus and people commuting from *three different states* daily. https://slate.com/business/2020/05/bathrooms-coronavirus-work-reopen.html

I’ve discussed with colleagues and several of us are ready to spend extensive time this summer learning to teach our classes virtually.

I do not think it is responsible of me to encourage students to come to campus and risk themselves and others for my class.

There is still so much we don’t know about this disease. But I do know that people my age have been dying suddenly from strokes. My worries about myself aside, if I bring something home to @MrProfChanda ...? I don’t know what I would do.

Cosmology isn’t worth dying over.

I also appreciate many administrators at UNH, but I don’t appreciate the president sending out an email that spoke as if we are servants to the students and to their whims. We have a responsibility to ask, regardless of what makes students happiest, what keeps them and us safe.

What will it do to the students if one of their classmates dies? If their professor dies? Will you just tell them “but it’s worth it because you got the amazing on campus experience”???

The way to make things “safer” for the rest of us is to increase the contact hours and exposure of our cleaning staff.

As I said, my class is not worth dying over — and I don’t just mean students and faculty here. I mean cleaning staff and their families too. And admins.

Importantly, if tenure track faculty don’t stand up for what’s right here, contingent faculty and teaching assistants will be forced to go along with what institutions want, and this will screw admins and grounds staff.

The situation is both better and worse than this. They ARE addressing the needs of vulnerable students by expecting faculty to teach two versions of the class (more work!) for the same pay, and pressuring us to do it from campus:
https://twitter.com/moto_librarian/status/1259517996118261761?s=21 https://twitter.com/moto_librarian/status/1259517996118261761

Other physical barriers: we don’t have enough classrooms to accommodate the same schedule with social distancing in place. I can’t hold office hours without a classroom because it won’t be safe in my office, and the classrooms are already always busy!

No idea what they will do if there’s an outbreak on campus.

My cosmology class is going to be awesome, whatever format it is offered in.