On Tuesday July 13th, Interim Provost Dr. David Jenks sent an email to the entire student body of the University of West Georgia explaining that the university would have a multi-modal approach, where students would have the option of attending face to face on alternating weeks or could instead opt to take courses fully online.On Thursday, July 16th, he made a complete about face on those remarks, stating that all face to face courses would not be able to taken fully online, and that students would be required to attend the face to face sections of the course.

Georgia has been named one of the top 18 states in the red zone of coronavirus, meaning that last week the state had more than 100 cases per 100,000 people and that 10% of tests have been coming back positive. Georgia has had 131, 275 cases of coronavirus and 3,104 deaths, and these numbers only continue to climb. 

The University of West Georgia is diverse in ages and socioeconomic means. There are people who are returning to school later in life, students who act as caregivers for their parents and grandparents, older faculty members, and students who are immunocompromised or particularly susceptible to covid, and students who have been affected by the economic conditions created by the pandemic. The health and safety of the campus community should be the top priority of the school, and for that reason students should have the option of returning to classes fully online.