Below is a letter sent to Chapman University administration by a group of over 50 students. In the email is a link to this petition. The University is aware of and watching this petition; it is a method for you to sign this email and express your support.

In short, we are demanding that Chapman:

- Reinstitutes a hybrid option for classes.

- Drastically improve contact tracing methodology.

- Mandate frequent surveillance testing for everyone regardless of vaccination status.

Dear Provost Bouchard, President Struppa, and Dean Price,

Coming back to school this week has been incredibly rewarding, however the resulting explosion of COVID-19 cases has struck fear and confusion into many. There has been a breakdown of information between students, faculty, and administration, and we strongly believe that student safety has been compromised and exploited in the name of an in-person return.

On Wednesday 9/1/21, an open invite film production mixer was held. No measures were taken to vet attendees, and students mingled for hours in close contact. Several attendees tested positive after the event. There were no official contact tracing efforts, and attendees only learned about their exposures through their own efforts.

The administration will be quick to note that this event was outside and that students wore masks, however they mingled for hours without social distancing guidelines.

Students sit shoulder to shoulder in packed classes and are penalized for absences with no online alternative. Those who live with COVID positive roommates are told they are not a safety hazard, and that they should attend class if they’ve tested negative. There are a growing number of students who have had to personally petition teachers to stay home, as they know that their COVID exposure makes them a risk to students and faculty. This caution is not without reason. One group of students with a COVID positive housemate were told to attend class. All housemates tested positive the day after being told to attend class. All were vaccinated.

We are calling on the school for specific and immediate improvements to ensure student safety:

- Provide a hybrid model for students to use at their own discretion. If the University will not make classes safe, it should be in the hands of students to decide if going to class is in their best interest.

- Improve Chapman contact tracing by hiring more staff and increasing the speed of exposure reports. Students should not be hearing by word of mouth or hearsay, as we have been.

- Mandate frequent surveillance testing for all students and faculty, regardless of vaccination status. Current COVID-19 research suggests that vaccinated individuals can contract and spread the virus at rates similar to their unvaccinated peers.

As afraid as so many are to go back online, we are more concerned about the uncontrolled and underreported spread of COVID-19 on campus. The lack of substantial action on the part of the University is unacceptable. Students are quickly reaching the breaking point of their willingness to attend class.

If immediate and drastic measures are taken to ensure community safety, we position ourselves to have a chance at remaining in the classroom.