The University of Maryland does not offer timely testing to the students it decided to reopen its campus to. In a global pandemic where time is of the essence, students have to wait up to 7 days to get a test through their school. President Pines and the the University of Maryland said they would do all that that they could to keep students, staff, and our community safe. Under this promise, they continued to charge full tuition to students. With COVID-19 cases spiking again in the state of Maryland, President Pines is turning a blind eye to the perpetually growing problem of COVID-19 so that he, along with the Board of Regents and our school, may profit through this pandemic at the cost of student safety. We as the students and taxpayers who pay the University of Maryland's fees should not tolerate this. Our health is more important than their bottom line. 

On-Campus Living

After the pandemic hit, the University of Maryland altered the leases of students residing on campus. For every year before the pandemic hit, the apartments South Campus Commons and Courtyards were considered on-campus housing. Following the 2020 spring semester's evacuation of all on-campus living after the pandemic struck, the school reclassified these apartments as off-campus housing. In the new addendum inserted into every on-campus resident's lease (including Commons and Courtyards), they force the liability of any potential COVID-19 exposure onto the students choosing to return to campus. Students living in residence halls were offered the chance to get out of their leases if they did not feel comfortable risking their health to live on campus. This opportunity was not afforded to the students living in the newly-defined off-campus housing of South Campus Commons or Courtyards apartments. 

Testing

In order to receive a free test through the school, students must register at least 2 days before their appointment. Testing is only offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so often students will have to wait 5-7 days in order to get a test. If a student has been knowingly exposed to an infected individual or is suffering through symptoms known to be associated with COVID-19, they are told to wait. The University of Maryland stopped mandating any level of recurring testing for students living on or off campus. Their "get one if you need one" testing policy is not supported by the system they currently provide. Should a student want to receive a timely on-campus test, like in the case they find out they were exposed on a Tuesday night, a student would have to use their own insurance to pay for both a test and a physician visit. Otherwise, they must wait 7 days until they are eligible to participate in the next school event. How is this safe? Even if you need a test, the school will not give you one. We deserve accessible, timely testing from the school we pay full tuition and rent to. They imposed the potentially fatal risk of COVID-19 onto the students paying to be here, and then disregarded our need for testing once their quarantine housing nearly filled. We have not had mandated testing since then. 

Living in Maryland

Cases are spiking again in the state of Maryland, showing no signs of decline any time soon. In Prince George's County, the University of Maryland refuses to be a cooperative community member. The negligence of the Board will permit students to spread their potential infection around to businesses, neighbors, and other students who are striving to protect each other from the pandemic set to kill 300,000 Americans by next week. Without adequate testing, we will never truly know how our school has contributed to the state's growing toll. That works in the interests of the University of Maryland, who are already gearing up for a spring semester with more in-person classes and more on-campus residents. When many of us return to our homes in two weeks for Thanksgiving break, we will be bringing back with us the undiagnosed sicknesses of our campus. The school sent out a gracious reminder that they will offer testing before we are sent home, but they have made their stance loud and clear: testing is not necessary. We have seen this strategy employed, and we have seen it fail dreadfully. 

Call to Action

Tell the University of Maryland and our President Darryll Pines that their choice to risk student and community lives through inaccessible testing is unacceptable. We need leadership that cares about student safety more than meeting a bottom line. We are a public university, whose checks and fees are paid for by the tuition of students and taxpayer dollars of the Maryland community. Please put our money to good use and provide accessible testing to students whenever they do need them. There are lives at stake. Please think about those you are willing to risk for the sake of your yearly profit. We do not want any more unnecessary deaths thanks to our school's resistant inaction.