After students expressed concerns about COVID-19 policies on campus, Fresno State changed its COVID-19 contact tracing protocols.
Previously, employees were contacted through campus notifications. Students and other employees were directly contacted only if they were in close contact, within six feet for over a total of 15 minutes in a 24-hour period with the person who tested positive for COVID-19, said Fresno State spokesperson Lisa Boyles Bell.
Initially, the contract tracing protocol was to contact all employees through campus notifications, and only directly contact students and other employees if they were identified as “being in close contact, within six feet for over a cumulative 15 minutes in a 24-hour period – with the individual who tested positive,” Fresno State public information officer Lisa Boyles Bell said.
At the virtual President’s Forum, Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval said the first policies in place required that “the individuals impacted or only the individuals who are near the epicenter will be contacted based on the protocols we have received,” prompting reactions from several students, many who felt that the protocol was not enough.
“I found it very disheartening to find out that the way that they were contact tracing wasn’t anywhere near what most students would consider adequate,” said Nicholas Ctibor, senior business administration major.
The university updated the protocol, which went into effect Sept. 14. It now says all individuals in a classroom where an individual has tested positive for COVID-19 will be notified either through email or through the phone.
“The response protocols are driven by various factors including evolving public health recommendations. Going forward, we have adjusted our protocols,” Bell said. “We will advise all individuals in a classroom if someone has tested positive, regardless of the risk exposure. Individuals needing to be notified are identified through class rosters.”
Concerns over the safety of students are what prompted Ctibor to begin a petition in favor of virtual instruction, which has accumulated over 1,100 signatures.
If a student were to experience symptoms of COVID-19, missing out on in-person classes that may not accommodate virtual learning could cause detriment to their academic experience, Ctibor said.
“That practically forces students to have to choose between going to class for the sake of their grade while sick, or, you know, staying home and being academically punished more or less,” Ctibor said. “Whether it’s intentional or not, students can’t miss a lecture ”” especially 10 days of lecture because of a positive test ”” without repercussions.”
In an interview with The Collegian, Jiménez-Sandoval said that it remains an important point for the university to remain in face-to-face learning.
He said this is because some disciplines require in-person learning due to accreditation guidelines, and also because shifting to virtual learning is not possible instantaneously.
“I’m not able to make the decision of virtual just on the spot, or just because the demand is great, because the overall accrediting agency for Fresno State also has to approve that… Even if I were to say to the accrediting agency that I want to go virtual, they would want to see concrete, credible proof that says your county public health officials agree with you, health code professionals agree with you, the CSU agrees with you, and then the state agrees with you as well,” Jiménez-Sandoval said.
In a campus-wide email on Sept. 15, Jiménez-Sandoval addressed concerns from students, faculty and staff regarding health and safety in-person and said that Fresno State is anticipated to remain safely open after consultation with the county health department.
“We have taken very seriously our responsibility of keeping our campus safe. I must stress that abiding by proven safety protocols is the only way to continue to learn in the face-to-face modality, which is why this has been our focus,” Jiménez-Sandoval said.
He said that the university plans to provide a COVID-19 dashboard to the Fresno State COVID-19 website to provide information about vaccination rates and reported cases.
After the announcement of discussion of consideration for a transition to virtual learning after Thanksgiving, Jiménez-Sandoval said that the discussion remains only a possibility, and that shifting online is not being considered at this time.
“Further discussions will occur in the weeks leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday,” he said. “We believe that, through our prescribed safety protocols, we are able to safely keep our campus open.”
Hadley Ciceroni, senior agriculture business major, said she has enjoyed returning to classes, and that the situation overall requires that all individuals recognize the precautions they must take themselves in order to enjoy the semester. With her experience working in the restaurant industry, returning to campus was not daunting as she was already accustomed to taking precautions daily.
With the continuing discussion on contact tracing and student safety, she said the value in contacting individuals who may have been in contact with a COVID-positive person is not as effective due to the likelihood of other students who do not report their cases.
“There will always be students who are sick and do not report it and students who do not know they have contracted the virus… As we all interact with public places throughout this pandemic, it is reasonable to expect possible contact with the virus, we do not need to be told information we should already expect and be taking precautionary measures against,” Ciceroni said.
Rather, she said the university should focus on improving areas where students continue to see issues in health and safety such as class sizing and spacing.
“I, and presumably others, expected class sizes to be smaller and more spaced out as we returned to campus, and this was not the reality,” Ciceroni said. “From what I have read on social media platforms, this is a large concern for many students ”” and possibly fewer students would be as outraged if this had been addressed.”
Ciceroni noted that in-person learning is simply a different experience for students and promotes active learning. She said options should be developed for all individuals facing challenges both in-person and online.
“A hybrid model is one of the only solutions fair for each side. Throughout the pandemic, elementary, middle, and high schools all embraced a hybrid model of either rotating the days students attended or providing in-person and online options at the same time,” she said. “This proposition may be nearly unthinkable for some professors, but throughout these radically changing times, we all need to embrace new challenges.”
For Ctibor, he said the university should take steps to accommodate students who are facing hardships due to current in-person classes, either because of family members who are at risk or because of concerns for their own safety.
“Students who… have disabilities, who don’t feel safe being in-person should have [the opportunity] to be online, and other students who are concerned about people in their households that have disabilities or who are unable to be vaccinated,” Ctibor said. “It’s not just about us. And it’s not just about ‘are we safe as individuals?’ It’s about the entire community, and that needs to be addressed.”
