We are asking Loyola University Chicago, as members of the Rambler community, to be the leading organization in taking precautionary measures to avoid the spreading of the COVID-19. If something that history has shown us, as in with the 1918 Spanish flu, is that prevention is of maximum importance. We are not making a call out of panic, rather, we are trying to avoid a situation where panic will be inevitable. Therefore, we ask Loyola to move classes to online/remote instruction effective immediately. As former Trump Homeland Security advisor, Tom Bossert, puts it “School closures, isolation of the sick, home quarantines of those who have come into contact with the sick, social distancing, telework and large-gathering cancellations must be implemented before the spread of the disease in any community reaches 1 percent”. 

Many students do not feel comfortable coming to class and are either exposing themselves to uncomfortable situations or risking missing important class material. Some professors have already taken initiative and have gone ahead and started online instruction, others are ready to move their classes online but waiting on administrative orders. Meanwhile, some professors continue to enforce harsh attendance policies and explicitly voice their unwillingness to move classes online. Therefore, we ask Loyola to normalize and enforce online instruction until there are clear signs that the COVID-19 situation is under control in the US.