Students, teachers, and staff at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) have been anxiously waiting for information about how the fall 2020 semester will be handled in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Today, an update was sent out by Chancellor Sartarelli stating that the university would be implementing safety precautions for the return to campus in the fall. This means that even without a viable cure or vaccine, we're going back to school in the fall. This petition hopes to change that decision.

Many of us are wholeheartedly against returning to campus for classes before there is a viable cure or vaccine for COVID-19. Even with heightened safety measures such as social distancing and increased cleaning and sanitation, there is no way to be certain of a virus-free campus population. There are numerous students, faculty, and staff members who are at a greater risk for illness and death related to the virus. There are numerous students, faculty, and staff members who live with people who are at a greater risk as well.

The economic factors are not lost on anyone. We know that universities need money to function and that online classes do not equal the income that in-person classes do. That being said, creative solutions must be implemented in extreme circumstances such as deadly virus pandemics.

Also note the strain that students and faculty feel when having to shift from in-person to online classes mid-session. We felt that anxiety and exhaustion this past spring when the virus hit and also in the fall of 2018 when hurricane Florence kept us out for over a month. Would it not be wiser to prepare for online classes from the start rather than having to readjust again when there's a resurgence in virus cases?

Please sign this petition if you believe continuing with online learning at UNCW is imperative for the overall health and safety of students, faculty, staff members, and all of their loved ones at home.

Here is the update we got today: https://uncw.edu/news/2020/06/message-from-chancellor-sartarelli-planning-update.html