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January 15, 2022 - 6:07 PM
An online petition addressing the well-being of Okanagan College students is gaining momentum.
Students Luna Morris and Kelly Macintosh are in the dental assistant program and started the online petition with now more than 200 signatures because they are concerned for students’ safety with the majority of classes being in-person.
“We did three weeks online, then we transferred to all in-person. With cases rising and people in our building testing positive, it’s a very worrisome environment to be in-person all the time when we don’t need to be,” Morris said.
Through the petition, the students are hopeful the school will transition classes online when possible and implement additional safety measures.
“Vaccinations aren’t required, the only thing mandatory is to wear a mask indoors,” Macintosh said. “I’ve heard from students in our program that they are worried, they are concerned about coming to class, but there’s no option, so they end up coming to class no matter what.”
The Okanagan College director of student services James Coble confirmed the school operates under the guidance of public health experts, provincial health officer, Interior Health, and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training.
The guidance received from public health officials and the ministry indicated that a structured learning environment with generally high vaccination rates, mask mandates, and daily health checks create a campus with a low risk of transmission, Coble said.
“We believe we’re doing what we can to ensure the safety of students when they arrive,” Coble said.
A small number of programs are still offered online, however, for most programs, students can’t complete the entire course online.
“We’ve been told that in-person learning is safe. We are a low transmission environment, and a relatively safe environment,” Coble said. “With all our safety and protections that creates low-risk transmission and that’s why we’re in-person.”
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On Jan. 12, the University of British Columbia announced the majority of programs would continue to be delivered online until Feb. 7.
“We will continue to assess the situation from the perspective of our students, faculty, and staff,” a UBC media release said.
The school recommends that all students plan to be on campus in February for in-person learning.
At this time, managers and supervisors are encouraged to be flexible and allow remote work, where academic or operational requirements permit, the release said.
Morris and Macintosh hope that the college will consider students' concerns with in-person learning.
“It feels like teachers are really pushing for students to be in-person, and if you don’t come in-person you’ll fall behind, and students are showing up sick,” Morris said.
“We feel like the students aren’t being heard,” Macintosh said. “Our program is in a brand-new health and science building, it’s an amazing facility, and it’s part of the reason I drive over an hour every day to get here to use the clinical setting, but I can’t help but feel like that’s a priority over the students' well-being at this point.”
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