The Administration of UC Davis has overreacted in extending online classes to the end of January. As of January 6th 2022, UC Davis has a combined vaccination rate of 98%. With the biweekly Covid testing and masking policies, the school is well equipped to handle the rising Omicron cases. Extending online education will prove detrimental to the education of students during the winter quarter. Online classes do not provide the same kind of educational engagement as in person classes and it is in the best interest of the students to receive in person lectures, labs and discussion groups during January. 

Given that:

UC Davis has a 98 percent combined vaccination rate, well above herd immunity means that the overwhelming majority of students should be able to safely attend classes.

UC Davis requires masking in all campus buildings so the Virus should be well contained in indoor halls, discussion rooms and labs.

UC Davis requires all students to take the symptom survey and to report positive cases of Covid so any outbreaks can likely be contained. 

Yolo County has a vaccination rate of 88 percent for all people above age 50 and 86 percent for all people over 65, meaning the majority people in the higher risk age groups are vaccinated.

Students are required to get a negative Covid test before attending class meaning Covid cases should not spread heavily due to in person classes. 

UC Davis had a very successful fall quarter with low positivity rates hovering under .25 percent. This shows that the university is well equipped to handle in person classes during the pandemic. For the unvaccinated or immunocompromised UC Davis students, some form of hybrid education should be implemented, that is an improvement over the current system. With that understood, the overwhelming majority of UC Davis students can attend classes safely, and faculty can teach classes safely. UC Davis would greatly benefit from in person instruction.

Stop pretending that online classes provide the same kind of quality UC education as in person.