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An internal document from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents demonstrates how corporate entities in Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) with schools are working to make campuses less safe this fall. #COVIDCampus
This document, FOIA'd by @kellyjellyo, shows Chris Wilson, the president of @Corvias, putting legal pressure on @BORUSG to keep P3 dorms at or near capacity despite COVID-19 risks. https://drive.google.com/file/d/11lWmKX2qEWN8XptriKP-ewHSs1-BNQQD/view?usp=sharing
What is @Corvias? They are the private company to which the University System of Georgia leased student housing at 9 of its schools back in 2014. (More on this later). https://www.corvias.com/news/corvias-campus-living-enters-public-private-partnership-board-regents-university-system
In a May email to the Board of Regents, @Corvias declared its intention to interpret CDC guidelines in a way that allows dorms to be filled to near-maximum capacity. They admit that this will likely increase infections and community spread.
Why is @Corvias pushing for student housing density levels that will increase transmission? Money.
Aside: it must be nice to be able to choose, after the fact, what risks you did and did not agree to take on when making a monetary investment!
Why are private companies running dorms at public colleges in Georgia? Because of this poorly worded referendum from 2014: https://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Private_College_Buildings_Tax_Exemption,_Referendum_1_%282014%29
Fellow Georgia residents know that this state loves a poorly worded referendum! This one made us trailblazers in a brave new experiment of...letting private corporations monetize students at public institutions of higher learning.
This AP wire story about the P3 dorms plan describes how Georgia's plans far outstripped other state's tentative steps towards privatizing student housing. https://www.savannahnow.com/article/20140405/NEWS/304059874
A prescient detail: "At the start of these partnerships, universities may find themselves negotiating the things students care most about: amount of rent, which dorm they can live in and what happens to traditional arrangements like students serving as resident advisers."
I guess we can add, "how dangerous dorms are during a deadly pandemic" to that list of bargaining chips.
Anyways, @BORUSG and other state politicians weren't worried at the time, as demonstrated by this strong statement attributed to no one in particular: "Georgia officials say they plan to maintain some control over rent and daily operations."
Now, according to this agenda for a @BORUSG meeting about this email, their control amounts to picking 1 of 3 options:
1. Lease out all P3 beds regardless of risk
2. Pay @Corvias for any unleased P3 beds
3. Negotiate with @Corvias on any alteration of housing plans.
1. Lease out all P3 beds regardless of risk
2. Pay @Corvias for any unleased P3 beds
3. Negotiate with @Corvias on any alteration of housing plans.
These options are all very bad! And @BORUSG seems to have chosen the worst one--students are moving into dorms across the state as we speak! But these choices are the natural and predictable consequence of turning your public colleges and universities into revenue generators.
The "risk" has to go somewhere. @Corvias has refused it. So have the @BORUSG and the administrators at these schools. They want to push it to students, staff, and faculty.
But the impending public health disasters at and around @BORUSG schools will not be caused by individual choices made by students, faculty, or staff. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/colleges-are-getting-ready-blame-their-students/614410/
It will also not be the inevitable result of COVID-19. It will be the consequence of decades of choices at the state and federal level about how to fund higher education.
Also, @Corvias's twitter is locked down completely. This isn't important, but I find it very sinister!
