Gonzaga University, particularly the School of Law, needs to protect students from unnecessary COVID exposure. Students are being denied virtual attendance options, thus forcing their hand to attend class in person while infected to maintain their attendance requirements as set forth by the ABA and not be reported when they try to sit for the bar exam. Students who have been in direct contact, such as sitting next to someone with a positive case, have not been contact traced or notified by the school. Many of us have had to be notified of positive cases of fellow students via social media posts. 

Spokane is currently experiencing an incredibly high number of COVID-19 infections and deaths, as per the New York Times tracking data. In addition to cases local to Spokane County, we are also in close proximity to Idaho, which just recently implemented crisis standards of care state-wide due to a massive surge of COVID-19 cases. The excessive numbers of patients needing treatment have flooded surrounding hospitals, including those in Spokane county. 

Virtual attendance needs to be offered for students who test positive and/or are awaiting test results in order to protect the rest of the students, faculty, staff, and visitors of the law school.

Staff and faculty need to be provided concrete methods to enforce the masking policies inside the academic buildings, including correcting others whose masks do not cover their mouth and nose at the same time.

Through the American Bar Association, law schools are able to apply for extensions to variances of teaching methods to accomodate for schools in places with high COVID numbers. Gonzaga University has a duty to protect students, and utilizing this extension would enable them to do so without losing accreditation or having attendance concerns for graduates wishing to sit for the bar exam.

Contact tracing needs to be appropriately conducted in order to ensure anyone who is exposed gets tested. Students need to be provided clear directions regarding how to notify the school of a positive COVID-19 test result or exposure, there needs to be accessible live staff available to guide students through the testing and quarantine process, and students in classes with assigned seats need to be notified of positive cases that they have been in contact with.

Above all else, the students need clear, consistent communication from the University regard COVID-19 policies, practices, and updates. Knowledge is power, and keeping our entire community well-informed with accurate information can enable us all to be as diligent as possible in keeping ourselves and others healthy. 

Many of us are heavily involved in the greater Spokane community, and we feel a strong duty to protect public health. Some of us are parents with children enrolled in local schools. Many of us are employed and have close contact with members of the community. Members of the GU community are high risk, or are regularly exposed to others who have low survival rates of a COVID-19 infection. This community that has welcomed GU students with open arms deserves our best efforts to keep them safe during these unprecedented times. We love Spokane, we love Gonzaga, and we truly wish to do our part to protect public health in Spokane county and the surrounding area.