A current instructor has been in contact with me to share information about CNU’s contact tracing and reporting protocols. It’s not good. (thread)

This instructor teaches multiple sections of a course in which 3 students (total) have so far tested positive for COVID-19. As far as they know, the other class members were not notified of their contact with a positive case.

This was due to the administration’s insistence that the circumstances of the contact (decreased class sizes, mask wearing, some distancing) mitigated the contact, and that they did not want students to panic.

This was also the rationale not to allow the instructor to move their class to fully virtual, as well as to direct the instructor NOT to get tested, and to continue on as usual, according to this employee.

Here’s some proof of their position. Obviously, this individual did not want to be publicly identified. However, this raises some very big questions about the university’s internal handling of known COVID cases which I think deserve answers.

This whole time we’ve been focused on better transparency in the numbers - positive cases, tests administered, students quarantined. But what is missing from the data because it hasn’t been properly identified due to discouraging and irresponsible behavior like this?

This incident also paints a vastly different picture of “careless decision making” and “less than forthcoming” behaviors than Dean Hughes painted in his email to the student body. The ADMINISTRATION of the school is responsible for *practical* measures to keep its students safe.

Publicly blaming students for YOUR policy failures without admitting any of the blame is unacceptable and shameful. Even worse, it appears that the system you are apart of is abandoning the safety of the community in favor of image and reputation.

Combined with the student reporting of lax quarantine and testing standards, it seems like the part of the solution that’s missing isn’t the students. When you fail to do the bare minimum and then are less than forthcoming about who might be at risk, what exactly do you expect? https://twitter.com/gravity_low/status/1315687692282343425

The community (that you’ve taught time and time again to be responsible citizens who have a civic duty to each other) needs forthcoming answers to these questions:
1. Has the university *ever* instructed or advised a student or employee NOT to seek a COVID-19 test?

2. (Once again, since we were never told..) Does the official CNU case count represent ALL positive cases of students and employees reported to the university, regardless of whether they are on or off campus? https://twitter.com/gravity_low/status/1309542984459968514

3. Has the university *ever* failed to notify a student or employee about known or suspected contact with an individual with a confirmed positive COVID-19 test for any reason?

4. Why is there no official university testing? Why are students and employees with known contact with confirmed cases not given a test? At what date will a test be available to anyone who wants one?

5. Are the staff and faculty “giving up their nights and weekends” being properly compensated in return for the work they “didn’t sign up for,” and with hazard pay where appropriate? They don’t deserve to be thrown at a problem caused at least in part by policy failures.

From the stories that we’ve heard so far it seems like CNU is not effectively or faithfully performing its duties, so the community needs to take it into their own hands. To that end I URGE everyone to download the Virginia COVIDWISE contact tracing app: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/covidwise 

The app uses anonymous peer-to-peer technology to perform contact tracing and notification if you’ve been near a positive case. If you’re concerned about privacy GOOD!! Privacy-crazy people have designed this, and it doesn’t belong to any organization: https://twitter.com/jakebgold/status/1291054313234554880

@CNUcaptains I think we’d love to hear something from you other than blue hearts. We’re all going through this together. Nobody has the magic bullet. But we have to be honest with one another - and to get that from students you have to give it as well. (/thread)