BREAKING: LMU moves to online schooling due to coronavirus

BREAKING: LMU Moves to Online Schooling Due to Coronavirus
By Raven Yamamoto and Jonathan Grace

A message from President Timothy Law Snyder stated that LMU will be moving to online schooling until the end of March and has encouraged students to stay home due to the growing threat of coronavirus (COVID-19). 

From Mar. 16-31, LMU will be moving from in-person classes to online-schooling while the University reevaluates its strategy for the remainder of the semester, just after other universities across the country have closed their campuses completely due to coronavirus.

“During this period of online instruction, we encourage students to return home to their personal residences,” Snyder said, in his memo. “We are reviewing campus events, in consultation with their hosts, to determine whether they should be postponed, canceled, or modified.”

According to the memo, there are no “suspected cases” of COVID-19 on LMU’s campuses.

An email notification was sent to LMU parents at approximately 6:15 p.m. Students themselves were not notified until 6:50 p.m. It’s unclear whether or not these emails were sent out at different times or if the delay was due to the University’s automated mass-messaging system. 

Many students are worried about the impact the move will have on their financial situation. 

“Although my family provides for me, I have friends that aren’t as financially stable and shouldn’t be paying the same amount for tuition when they aren’t even in class,” said first-year English major Allen Lam. “This inconveniences all of us because [of] travel expenses and time wasted.”

Some student workers are also worried about whether or not they will be able to continue working on campus.

"I'm concerned if LMU will continue letting me work my three on-campus jobs. The school has an obligation to ensure students’ safety by ensuring that every individual has access to food, housing and if we have online classes: a laptop and Wi-fi,” said Maya Lee, a senior psychology major. “If any of these necessities are jeopardized, LMU will directly be impacting their access to an equitable education.

Students have also shown concern because of how their majors weren’t designed for virtual or online learning.

“I think it's good that they canceled [in-person] classes just so that we don’t spread the virus in general but it also really interferes with art majors’ education,” said first-year theatre arts major Lindsey Howard. “We’re not going to get an actual semester‘s worth of learning because a lot of our stuff we have to learn on campus. There’s no way to do it online.”

Others don’t agree with the approach being taken by the University to prevent the spread of coronavirus. 

“I am very stressed out and concerned,” said junior health and human sciences major, Kayla Quiroz. “I don’t think school should be canceled, but if they are so concerned about the coronavirus, maybe there should be a medical screening.” 

This move is the latest of many precautions taken by the University due to the spread of coronavirus after the cancellations of multiple study abroad programs in Italy, Paris, Asia and Spain. 

Annual events like the Undergraduate Research Symposium and Preview Day will also no longer be held on campus and moved to a “secure, online format.”

President Snyder ended his memo by saying, “I am proud of our university community’s resilience, creativity, cooperation, and continued care for one another as we come together to confront and overcome COVID-19 challenges.”

It is unclear whether or not the University will be issuing any refund or decrease in tuition costs in light of these circumstances. 

Students who are unable to return home must fill out this LMU Resident Status Form to be accommodated by Student Housing. The University has also provided a form for questions regarding the situation. 

More updates and information can be found at LMU’s coronavirus website.