Thousands sign SFU students' petition for delayed return to classroom
A petition calling for Simon Fraser University to delay its scheduled return to in-person classes has gathered roughly 2,500 signatures in the four days since it launched.
SFU joined several other B.C. post-secondary institutions in beginning its current term remotely due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 throughout the province.
The University of British Columbia has since delayed its return to in-person classes a second time, with the return to classroom instruction for most students now scheduled for Feb. 7.
In-person classes at SFU are still scheduled to resume on Jan. 24, and that has left many students anxious, according to Jess Dela Cruz, vice president of events and student affairs for the Simon Fraser Student Society.
"There's a lot of students at SFU who are so scared and uneasy (and) have high anxiety about returning to in-person classes on Jan. 24," Dela Cruz told CTV News.
She said she's been hearing from students who are immunocompromised or live with people who are at a higher risk of complications from a COVID-19 infections.
Dela Cruz said the SFSS has been lobbying the university for more remote learning options, as well as better access to rapid testing and N95 masks for students.
She said students have been receiving emails from the university with information about COVID-19 safety, including things like tips on how to wear masks properly and reminders about physical distancing.
Dela Cruz said she finds the emails unhelpful.
"I have a lecture that is 100 people, and there are bigger lecture sizes, up to 300," she said, and wondered how she is supposed to maintain distance from others in such a setting.
"They're requesting us to do these things, but aren't giving us adequate support to do so," she added. "Remote learning is feasible. It's been done before. It's optionable, but SFU is pushing us to go back to in-person and it's extremely frustrating."
In a statement, the university said returning to in-person learning is important, and noted that the perspective articulated by the students signing the petition is not the only one SFU students hold.
"Amongst our student body we know that there are a very wide range of opinions and also preferences," the university said. "We are guided in our decision by public health expertise, our own data on student impact, and this important study on mental health impacts for young people done by the BCCDC."
Dela Cruz disagreed with the university's assertion about mental health, saying the anxiety of feeling unsafe at in-person activities is also detrimental to students' mental health, and is something the university could avoid by maintaining remote learning options.
"The two-week period of remote learning and teaching to start the term was to provide time to put learning and research continuity plans in place" SFU's statement continued.
"Faculty and staff groups have established plans to accommodate potential absences. Our layers of protection, including masks, distancing and hand washing, remain in place, and we have also completed extensive work on ventilation systems."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.