FSU college students and college present concern about campus COVID-19 well being and security protocols

By Mitch Rapp On Aug 26, 2021

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (WCTV) – As the first week of school at FSU continues, concerns about the safety of teachers and staff alike are growing.

Some professors say they fear their health may be in jeopardy, while students say they want to get back to normal.

“If we want to return to normal and actually interact, we have to stop other people from getting sick, we have to stop getting sick, and we have to stop making each other sick,” said FSU student Kimasia Ayers.

FSU students and staff say they want to return to normal, but the uncertainty about how to deal with the mask log makes things difficult.

“It has been difficult to understand exactly how to respond,” said Matthew Lata, president of the United Faculty of Florida at FSU. “We can tell them we expect it, we can put a mask on them, but not ask them to do it.”

This uncertainty built a wall of fear in some faculty members.

“There is a lot of fear and a lot of anger. They are very different cities with a different classroom, what happens in different classroom apartments for different departments, ”Lata explained.

Some classrooms may have ten to twenty percent of the students masked while others have close to a hundred percent, numbers some students are okay with.

“It’s up to the person, that’s how it should be. You shouldn’t impose a strict rule on anyone, ”said FSU student Christian Crespo. “Because at the end of the day we are all human and we all want to pay attention to safety and all that, but we also want to do what is comfortable for us.”

While other students ask for more empathy.

“My grandfather has pneumonia and Covid and he’s really old so it’s like nobody cares that much.

Research assistants planning a march on Thursday to raise awareness of their fears had the same concerns.

“I want to open a conversation where people can hear their concerns and raise those concerns to the administration and other students and faculty,” said FSU Graduate Assistant Union Transitional President Roxie Brookshire.

The GAU, faculty, and students are all trying to strike a balance to meet the governor’s mandate while making everyone feel comfortable.

The march of the GAU to raise awareness of the Covid protocol begins on Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Legacy Fountain on Landis Green.