Dear President Thomas Parham & Chancellor Joseph Castro,

The school’s statement of intent to continue to in-person instruction was released on December 31st, a day when in Los Angeles there were a staggering 27,037 thousand reported cases. This high level of transmission will result in more sickness, death, loss of income, medical bills, long COVID, which will all impact the community for years to come. This is the most transmissible variant by far and evades immune defense from vaccine and prior infection. Its spread is so rapid that even the lower percent of severe cases will overwhelm hospitals. This is a collective threat to those of us who were always more likely to be hospitalized, though it remains a lower individual threat for those who were always more likely to fair better. We ask that the considerations be made to protect the most vulnerable, and not take the stance that the pandemic is over, spread is inevitable, and the deaths of the weakest is unavoidable. The university has the keys to our future success, but is not setting us and our loved ones up for safety. The power dynamic is such that if we do not feel safe our only choice is to suspend our studies. The university is putting us in an impossible position. The MFT department students have asked to remain online since the change was announced last semester. It has been a fully virtual program that has protected us, and that safety has created a positive learning environment. We ask for it to remain so for the spring semester along with the 20% of programs that remain virtual.

Pandemic fatigue is real and understandable, but policies guided by this put others at risk. Though CSUDH has made plans for increased testing it is likely many of the cases will spread though Omicron’s shortened incubation period where one can test negative one to three days before and still infect others. Many in the MFT program may not be able to access testing on campus being evening students. Furthermore, it remains unclear if there will be contract tracing on campus to track the movement of the virus and warn those who have been exposed. The protocol and support for those students in isolation and quarantine when exposed to someone who has tested positive, as well as testing positive themselves remains unclear. Additionally, insufficient ventilation in classrooms that have been used all day by other students who may or may not be testing, vaccinated, or wearing quality N95 masks properly, increases the risk of exposure to those of us coming in for evening classes. Though sanitizing is a good idea, it is unlikely to stop the spread of COVID. The risk lies in the transmission through the eyes and the respiratory tract. The fear, anxiety, and inevitable infections will have a detrimental effect on our learning. Graduate school is difficult enough without the reality of COVID infections on campus.

Even before Omicron the school was planning to be in person this semester. The issue now is not how for many people it is less severe than Delta, the issue is that its transmissibility is so great that in a school setting there are guaranteed outbreaks and breakthrough cases. Many of us in the MFT program live off campus and are in contact with at risk individuals. It is a certainty that some of us will get COVID by attending in-person classes this semester, and that we will spread it to others. Many of us in high-risk multigenerational households, we implore you to reconsider having the MFT program on campus this semester. We do not want to have protected our loved ones all this time to then have them be exposed to COVID. We do not want to be forced by the university to have to make a choice between our health, our family’s lives, and a master’s degree. The MFT students voiced our concerns repeatedly last semester to remain online for the spring and were not heard. We ask you to please listen to these concerns and offer a virtual option for those of us for whom this pandemic is an existential threat.

The notion that those with Omicron are “fairing well” is problematic. They are not dying in mass on ventilators, but more than 1000 are dying each day. More still are receiving subpar medical care in overrun hospitals. And more still are suffering and scared at home trying not to infect their entire families. The reality of long COVID or mild COVID cannot be summed up by the sentiment that one is “fairing well.” The NIH defines mild illness as those who experience fever, cough, sore throat, malaise, headache, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of taste and smell, but do not have breathing issues. Students experiencing these symptoms are unlikely to learn well and are likely to suffer. We do not want this generation, and this community of future mental health workers to be physically and mentally affected by infection for years to come. We are in a global mental health crisis and those of us who are going to do this work deserve to be given a chance to come out of this pandemic having been protected by our school so that we can meet this need.

Many students in the MFT program who save each semester to afford to pay the tuition. Many of us do not have insurance and cannot afford medical treatment for even mild COVID. Likewise, long COVID is a risk of any COVID infection where the debilitating symptoms can last for months and even years. Any COVID infection, no matter how mild, carries with it real risk. Those of us who have limited access to medical care are at a great risk and getting care or government assistance as an uninsured individual for long COVID has been illustrated to be extremely difficult. We do not want to see this community suffer because we decided to get an education at an institution that put our safety and needs second.

Lastly, the idea that a COVID mitigation policy can be decided on the basis that most will fair well is harmful. There have always been those who were asymptomatic. It was never them we were protecting. We aim to protect those who are not going to fair well. We, the students in the MFT program are those at higher risk being older, working multiple jobs, and living in multigenerational households. We are vulnerable and we are asking for you to listen and allow us to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community. Part of our work is advocacy and so we use this letter to help you to understand that staying virtual is what we need. We ask you to listen, and we ask you to act to protect us, our mothers, our professors, and our community. This decision to go in person will affect people’s lives for generations. You have the opportunity to save lives, reduce illness, and create a sense of safety for your students. We humbly ask you to consider continuing virtual learning for the MFT program in the spring 2022 semester.

Sincerely,

The MFT Program Graduate Students