To President Carr, Provost and Vice-President Academic Whitelaw, and the whole Concordia Administration, 

With the Fall 2021 semester just around the corner, Concordia students at large do not feel like the safety measures and accommodations put in place by the University are enough to ensure a safe and successful return to campus for all. 

Communications from the University have been marked by a concerning amount of ambiguity. As the representative body of all undergraduate students, we at the CSU have been receiving many messages from students voicing their concerns about the return to campus. While many of us are looking forward to returning to campus, there are also many of us who feel unsafe and anxious about returning to in-person learning amidst the beginning of the fourth wave which will be dominated by the Delta variant. Even as vaccination rates are going up, we need to make sure to prevent a highly likely spread of Covid-19 this Fall semester and to mitigate the negative impacts on our University community. Therefore, we believe that students, faculty, staff, and the Concordia community at large needs to be provided with better safety measures and accommodations. 

We commend the University’s decision to implement a mask mandate in classrooms, an issue that many students had been worried about. However, considering current scientific research confirming the high transmissibility of the Delta variant, this is not enough. There are many students who cannot come to campus safely for a variety of reasons. In this, we ask the University to remember that students are not just students. We are also workers, parents, primary caregivers, and come into contact with many people outside of the University community, even when we try to limit our contacts as much as possible. We have different access needs, have different health profiles, and we come from different countries with different access to vaccines.  

Many universities have been using the term “legitimate health concerns” as the standard necessary to request accommodations. However, this implies that the University alone has the authority to decide whose health concerns are valid. A student experiencing immense anxiety about returning to campus needs to have said anxiety in itself be counted as a valid and legitimate concern. The mental health of students should also be a priority, and not just when said student has access to mental health care to receive a “legitimate” diagnosis. 

University is supposed to be a time and space where we build positive experiences in our educational and social engagement. The anxiety caused by inadequate safety measures will without a doubt overshadow a potentially valuable opportunity for building a safe and positive learning experience for the Concordia community. 

Considering all of these concerns, we call upon Concordia to implement the following: 

Safety Measures on Campus 

• An on-campus vaccination site. 
• Clear guidelines on contact tracing that inform students when there are cases within the Concordia community. 
• Clear guidelines on distancing. Social Distancing should be enforced. 
• Access to clear information about the Quebec Vaccine Passport   
• Clear guidelines on how the Quebec Vaccination Passport applies to on-campus restaurants, bars, and extra-curricular activities, and active enforcement of these guidelines. 
• If a vaccine mandate were to be implemented, it is essential that the infrastructure and procedures put in place for that purpose do not further exclude those who are unable to be vaccinated due to health or religious reasons, but that alternatives such as regular testing are put in place to ensure their ability to participate. For those who have not been vaccinated, the University must allow a reasonable and fair allotment period for individuals to receive the vaccine with consideration for their particular time constraints and logistical barriers (e.g. international students), as well as suitable accommodations that ensure students who aren’t vaccinated within said timeframe can continue their classes in an online format without having to switch or drop courses. The CSU is only in favour of a vaccine mandate if these conditions are met and accommodations are provided. 

Accommodations 

• Students ought to be given the choice of whether or not their circumstances allow them to return to campus, whether they have been vaccinated or not.  

• Standardized online course options (made possible by class recordings and alternatives to in-class participation) are a much more efficient way to address accessibility needs of students. Ad-hoc individual requests for accommodations in place of standardized online course options are unsustainable given the amount of paperwork and time required to process, increasing the workload of faculty and staff as well. 
• Providing online options for all courses will not only ensure that students will be able to continue and finish their studies without interruption, but also relieve pressure on faculty and staff from having to process additional requests or grievances from students needing additional accommodations.   
• Recordings of all classes, both those held in-person and those held online to ensure accessibility to classes for all students. Including but not limited to: students who are self-isolating and international students who are unable to enter Montréal due to travel bans and/or delays in immigration procedures. 
• Alternatives to in-person participation grades. 

Communications & Decision-Making 

• Student Representation and participation in all decisions regarding Covid-19 safety measures, including but not limited to any decisions on lifting a mask mandate. 
• Better and more transparent communication to students. 

While the Quebec government has asked universities to return to  in-person learning in the Fall for most courses, Concordia still has a choice in how it wishes to accommodate and support students, faculty, staff, and the Concordia community as a whole. Just last week, we saw Concordia taking charge by mandating masks in all indoor spaces and classrooms, exceeding the government guidelines in place at the time, a decision we commend highly. This is a valuable first step in ensuring a safe return to campus.  

The government of Quebec explicitly states that “Colleges and universities determine the format of courses (e.g. in person, hybrid, distance education) and students choose accordingly. However, colleges and universities are advised to ensure flexibility for students with medical issues.” Therefore, students to be given a choice in the format of courses as well as be given ample options for accommodations depending on their circumstances. It is the responsibility of the University to ensure that every student has access to the learning format that best fits their needs. 

We believe that the accommodations and safety measures put in place so far do not ensure a safe and equitable return for all and that the Concordia administration must do more to serve their students and the whole community. Given that many of us, particularly first years, are looking forward to returning to campus, we must do so in a way that gives serious consideration to everyone’s safety. 

Signed, 

The Concordia Student Union