TU moves remainder of fall semester online

By: Meghan Hudson, Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Brendan Felch/ The Towerlight

Towson University has moved the remainder of the fall semester online following increasing concerns of virus spread. Resident students will be moved off campus.

“As president of Towson University, my greatest priority and responsibility is to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff,” said TU President Kim Schatzel in a campus wide email. “So, for the remainder of this term all instruction will be remote. We will begin working with our residential students to move them out of residence halls and continue their classes remotely.”

However, there are some exceptions that will allow limited face-to-face instruction to continue.

“There will be some exceptions to allow continued face-to-face instruction and research in the College of Health Professions, Fisher College of Science & Mathematics and the College of Fine Arts and Communication as well as some graduate programs,” said Schatzel. “Those colleges and programs will be finalizing plans and communicating to affected students, faculty and staff in the next few days. Our research initiatives, always guided by the highest standards for safety, will continue as well.”

Students living on campus will be refunded for their housing and dining plans. More information from Housing and Residence Life will follow.

Many students have expressed concern toward their peers who continue to party or gather despite the pandemic.

“I currently live in an apartment close to campus and from what I have experienced in my community, everyone is staying safe,” said TU student Jasmine Garrett. “However, I work in the mall and often drive through Uptown after work and it’s like nothing changed. I see people going to bars all the time and it’s really scary because it feels like people my age think they’re invincible.”

For Garrett, the University moving online comes as good news.

“I think that as many problems as it brings, school should definitely be moved online,” she said. “It has become clear that Towson has no real plan to keep students safe. However, more than that, students have no interest in staying safe.”

Most students seemed to have expected the remainder of the semester to move online. In a poll conducted by The Towerlight last week on Instagram, of 99 responses, 93% of people believed that classes would remain online longer than the first week. 

“It’s something that we all expected at this point,” said TU student Samantha Hernandez. “The idea of going to school in person wasn’t realistic considering how many cases there were over the summer, and nobody has shown compliance with social distancing.”

President Schatzel concluded her email by thanking those who have supported her and the University during this time.

“This has been a most difficult decision for me, but the safety of our campus community must be our priority and our utmost concern,” said Schatzel. “We have made this decision based on science and data with the support of our experts on campus, in the USM, and public health professionals.”