LSU professors wrote a letter to President William Tate Tuesday requesting he implement previous 2020-2021 COVID-19 policies for the upcoming semester, giving professors the option to teach classes remotely or at lower capacity.
“The situation in Louisiana is more dire now than at any point since the spring of 2020, when LSU went entirely remote because of the dangers posed by the pandemic,” the letter read. “It is unconscionable that you would ask faculty, staff and students for a full return to campus under these conditions when we know these alternative options are available and that they work.”
Professors said the university’s refusal to require vaccines on campus has forced their hand to move online as coronavirus cases explode in Louisiana.
The following professors signed the letter:
- Inessa Bazayev, Paula G. Manship professor of music theory
- Robert Mann, mass communication professor
- Michelle A. Massé, McElveen professor of English & affiliate of Women’s & Gender Studies
- Olivier Moréteau, professor of law, Russell B. Long Eminent Scholars Academic Chair, assistant dean and director of the Center of Civil Law Studies
- A. Ravi P. Rau, alumni professor of physics and astronomy
- Jeffrey Roland, associate professor of philosophy
- Adelaide M. Russo, Phyllis Taylor professor & chair of French studies
- Edward S. Shihadeh, professor of sociology, director, Crime and Policy Research Group
- Daniel Tirone, associate professor of political science
- Meredith Veldman, associate professor of history
The letter in full:
