Dear Members of the Otis College of Art and design community,

The fast spread of the Omicron variant and the evolving COVID-19 situation worldwide has triggered numerous issues that impact the well-being of individuals across the globe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this variant has accounted for more than 58% of US COVID-19 infections in the week ending Dec. 25. The daily number of new cases in Los Angeles County has approached 40,000 in the last seven days.

Meanwhile, this number could be substantially underestimated due to asymptomatic infections.

Therefore, our claim is: Except for Studio courses(E.G. Life drawing, fashion studios…etc.), which are held on campus, other cultural classes, such as various LAS courses, SHOULD BE conducted through ONLINE instruction to reduce the risk of infection for students, teachers, and faculty.

Otherwise, following the reunion of holiday breaks and return-to-campus, we anticipate an increasing number of POSITIVE Covid cases, which can further induce lots of uncertainties of Omicron (and potentially new variants) and subsequently pose CRITICAL THREATS to the health and well-being of our community.

We ask that Otis College make necessary adjustments to its plan to truly ensure the health, safety, and well-being of all members of our community and its surrounding communities. Similar to the method of various peer institutions, such as most campuses within the University of California system.

We SHOULD NOT be forced to choose between our EDUCATION and our HEALTH. So we believe it would be a good option to make the LAS courses fully online. And it makes sense to keep the Studio course as remaining taught offline on campus. We believe that it is more prudent to make the adjustment immediately and give our community more time to plan and react. We all hope to have a safe and effective learning community for all staff and students without any negative outcomes.

Please sign this petition to support our proposed plans and/or urge the College to make changes to its current plan. Please also share this petition as widely as possible. We sincerely appreciate any possible help from you! Thank you for reading!

Sincerely,