HANOVER – About 100 Dartmouth College professors signed an open letter to the administration Friday, asking the college to reconsider its decision to bring students back to campus next month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Evidence from other institutions and from our own experiences at Dartmouth convince us that we cannot maintain a safe campus and wider community with a large number of students arriving from all over the country, even with the extensive procedures and clear expectations as outlined in the College’s plans,” professors wrote in the letter, which was shared between faculty members at the college Friday morning.
The letter, which was addressed to Dartmouth Provost Joseph Helble and President Philip Hanlon, comes just two days after Helble said in a community discussion that the college plans to continue with its reopening plan, but that college officials are waiting until next week to announce a return date as they monitor COVID-19 infection rates at other colleges and universities.
Other schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have made the decision to move all classes online after seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases in and around their campuses.
In the letter, Dartmouth faculty members wrote that bringing students back to campus “dangles the dangerous notion that (students) can and should hold onto parts of a deeply ingrained set of expectations,” which will likely cause COVID cases to rise.
They also argued that the “highly restricted residential experience,” won’t resemble the normal Dartmouth College experience, and that the threat of isolation or contracting the virus could have negative effects on students’ mental health and learning.
The return to campus could also have serious effects for professors who, “may be placed in uncomfortable, unsafe and even irresponsible positions,” the letter reads. Professors wrote that they’re worried about college staff who will be forced to be on campus when students return, and some of whom live in residential halls.
And they said COVID cases potentially could spill over into the Upper Valley, outside of campus.
“However, developments at other institutions confirm that a small amount of unsafe activity can lead to a rapidly growing and dangerous COVID outbreak that could endanger the health and well-being of everyone on campus and the wider Upper Valley community, and threaten our ability to carry out Dartmouth’s mission,” the letter reads.
Dartmouth spokeswoman Diana Lawrence on Friday afternoon indicated that the college is continuing to assess the situation.
“We appreciate hearing from faculty members regarding their position on bringing undergraduate students back to campus in September,” she said via email. “Dartmouth will continue to be in touch with stakeholders, and focused on all available data, as we finalize a decision about the fall.”
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.
Update: This story has been updated with reaction to the letter from Dartmouth.