Syracuse University’s plan to bring students back to campus is an irresponsible money grab that’s callously ambivalent toward the lives of students and Syracuse residents.

The university should not resume on-campus instruction this fall, as doing so puts both students and residents of the city of Syracuse at risk for contracting the coronavirus. The city’s residents don’t deserve to become sick, or to die, in the name of SU students.

I live in Syracuse, and I recently began my fifth year of education at SU. I’m familiar with our student body and its culture. The suggestion that the lives of my neighbors, friends and family will hinge upon the “honor system” of SU students is terrifying. If SU actually cared about the residents of the city of Syracuse, the administration would reconsider bringing students back to campus.

The university has done very little to produce creative, empathetic and equitable solutions to the dire problems that COVID-19 poses. Students and residents deserve more, and ought to demand more, from the institution that so often prioritizes profits over people.

What are the lives of Syracuse residents worth? SU recognizes anti-Black racism in the campus community, yet is setting the table for a virus — one statistically proven to affect Black communities worse than others — to wreak havoc upon the city of Syracuse, a city where Black residents are estimated to make up nearly 30% of the population.

Residents of Syracuse played by the rules when they were ordered to quarantine. Why should they be punished now, all so SU can profit off students in a time of unprecedented economic hardship?

While SU has a penchant for ambivalence toward the city of Syracuse and its residents, its proposal to bring students from every state and dozens of countries onto one campus is a powder-keg waiting for a spark.

The time is now for SU to quit treating the virus like an inconvenience that can be simply side-stepped. The university must begin to recognize the magnitude of potential despair that a return to campus could create this fall.

SU has already suspended students for disobeying quarantine and social distancing mandates, making the likelihood of an outbreak in a dorm painfully obvious. If there is a large outbreak on campus, the university would immediately pivot to online classes.

At that point, what would SU’s decision to bring students back to campus have been for? So we can all be online in the same city?

More likely, the plan to resume on-campus instruction is an attempt to justify SU’s absurd cost of attendance. The university is attempting to use the physical campus to delude students into feeling as though they’re still getting an authentic “Syracuse University experience,” albeit one that lacks any discernible extracurricular offerings and still charges for room and board.

SU even found a way to monetize the at-home COVID-19 test kits. By exploiting its students in a time of need and by jeopardizing the wellbeing of Syracuse residents in pursuit of profit, the university has shown its true colors.

What is the life of an SU student worth? Approximately $76,859.

Patrick McCarthy is a graduate student in the magazine, online and digital journalism program. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at pmcca100@syr.edu. He can be followed on Twitter at @pmcopinion.

Published on August 16, 2020 at 5:26 pm