Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020

CAS’ COVID concerns Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Faculty Council publishes ‘statement of immediate concerns’ By Alex Sloan

The O’Colly has obtained a copy of a statement issued by OSU’s College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Council, recommending changes in the university’s approach to COVID-19. The statement is dated Sept. 3, and has been distributed amongst OSU faculty members. The document takes the form of a letter, and is signed by the Faculty Council as a whole rather than listing individual authors. The letter is cordial, but the tone is far from congratulatory. In the document, the Faculty Council expresses deep concerns about the developing COVID-19 situation on campus, and in the surrounding community. “Specifically,” the statement reads, “as faculty we feel insufficiently informed about the risks to our health, largely absent from the decisionmaking processes

Logan Biggins The college of arts and sciences released a statement of concerns for OSU, COVID-19 that are now in place, and concerned about the steps being taken to combat the spread of COVID-19 on campus and in the Stillwater Community.” Several concerns are examined in the letter, including transparency, transition thresholds, and COVID-19 testing policies. For each concern addressed, the Faculty Council makes

a recommendation for resolving the issue. The statement closes by acknowledging that there are difficult decisions ahead of the university administration, and requesting more involvement in that process. “In the future,” the statement reads, “we hope that such decision making, particularly relating to mode of instruction, will incorporate input

directly from faculty, staff, and students, as we are the ones being asked to implement and live with the consequences of these decisions.” What follows is a summary of the concerns, and recommended responses to those concerns. The full letter is available for viewing online. Data Sharing and transparency

“We judge the weekly online COVID-19 dashboard updates to be inadequate for keeping the faculty informed,” the statement reads. The letter also calls some data metrics, like the positivity rate reported on the dashboard, “misleading”. The authors argue that the positivity rate reported should be of the tests given that week, but currently reports the positives as a percentage of the total university population. The authors recommend sharing all available data on outbreaks and case rates, positives in dorms and Greek houses, contact tracing efforts, and quarantine numbers. Additionally, they suggest reporting new on campus data twice a week at minimum, and preferably daily. Continued on page 2

'I'm going to be ready':

Despite postponed opener, Chuba Hubbard is fired up for football By Ryan Novozinsky Chuba Hubbard’s mindset is all about adaptability. Whether it’s choosing between holes to run through on the field or responding to adversity on it, Hubbard always seems to make calculated decisions. That’s why the postponement of Saturday’s game against Tulsa didn’t faze the 21-year-old running back. “Whether we play today, tomorrow, next week, five months from now, I’m going to be ready,” Hubbard said in Tuesday’s press conference. “We got to practice a little extra, that’s just better for us to get ready. I’m not really worried about when we’ll play. I know we’ll play eventually, we’ll be ready.” In fact, even while playing during a pandemic and an offseason disagreement with coach Mike Gundy, Hubbard was purely focused on the game at hand. “We definitely grew from (the offseason disagreement) and we’re a better program

from it, but right now we’re just focused on Tulsa and winning that game,” Hubbard said. “We’re a better team from everything that happened.” Hubbard, who rushed for 2,094 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, also noted that many members of his teammates are comfortable playing through the COVID-19 pandemic. “I feel that a lot of people are comfortable,” Hubbard Obviously there are going to be some that aren’t. I can’t speak for everybody. From our team, I know a lot of us just want to play. That’s the biggest thing for us. It’s been a long time. We missed spring ball, we got a little bit in the summer time. Not that the game got pushed back a little I know people are just itching to play. That’s really what’s on our mind. Just getting ready to play and that’s about it.” From Tulsa’s perspective, coach Phillip Montgomery and company decided

Logan Biggins Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard is focusing solely on football amid a postponed opener. The RB had 2,094 rushing yards and 21 TDs in his last season. against playing this week for similar reasons: he wants the game to go on, but wants everyone to stay as safe as possible. “I think for both schools and for both parties, it was more about making sure that our guys have had — and theirs as well — just making sure that we are prepared physi-

cally and mentally to step onto the field,” Montgomery said. “I think with the additional week of work, I think it gives us the opportunity to make sure that our guys are in the shape to do that, and continuing to get practices underneath our belt and preparing our guys to play a game that is different

than a lot of other games. You can’t just step out there and it just happens. I think with another week of work underneath we’re preparing our kids physically to play this game the way it needs to be played.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

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