An Instagram page has been created in response to OCU’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, criticizing the school’s approach to online classes and closing campus.
On March 11, OCU students received news that the school would be closing campus and moving to online classes for two weeks after spring break, in response to the spread of COVID-19. On March 19, another email went out officially alerting students that classes would be online for the rest of the semester and all school events would be cancelled.
In response to these changes, someone created an Instagram account with the username @occupyocu. With five posts and 24 followers at presstime, the page offers a series of demands for the university to compensate students affected negatively by the changes. Additionally, multiple posts have specifically criticized the shift towards online classes and call for students to boycott their classes until demands are met.
The first post was made on March 12, one day after the initial announcement. In this post, @occupyocu demands the school cancel classes for the semester and students get a refund for their education.
“OCU, a school that prides itself on its small class sizes and personable professors, is trading a hallmark of their educational experience for screen-based learning. OCU is taking a complicated route that will put its students behind when the simplest solution is this: CANCEL,” the post reads.
The most recent post, posted on March 16, called for students to boycott their online classes in protest. No new posts have been made by the account since then.
In the comments of the page’s posts, many students have criticized the account.
“this isn’t worth the fight. people are dying. the university is flawed, but they are trying their best. nobody knows how to deal with this,” user @ocumemes2022 commented.
@occupyocu has defended their stance in the comments, saying the university’s treatment of coronavirus and online courses has been detrimental to the students’ finances and mental health, stressing them out with online classes during a crisis.
Karenna Mudd, acting sophomore, was one of the students to respond to @occupyocu’s original post. Mudd said she believes the university is already working to address many of the demands made by the Instagram page.
“I agree that I think we should get a refund, but to my understanding that’s already been talked about and in the works,” Mudd said.
Austin Lamb, accounting senior, was approved by the housing office to live on campus for the two weeks of online courses after spring break. However, Lamb said he had to cut his stay at the university short and move back home due to OCU’s handling of on campus dining and housing.
“I filled out the housing extension form for the two weeks after spring break, before they had announced that it was continuing indefinitely, and I returned Sunday night, and come Monday I was going to go to the cafeteria and eat, and it was just completely locked up,” Lamb said.
On Friday, March 13, an email was sent out by LaVetra Stevenson, residence life coordinator, elaborating on dining hours for the Market at Alvin’s, Chick-fil-A, and the caf. The email also said the next week’s dining schedule would be sent out sometime in the next week. On Tuesday, March 17, a separate email was sent by the OCU Communications Team saying that dining would be provided in Shdeed Lounge in the form of boxed meals.
Lamb said he was frustrated by the confusion regarding dining and agreed with @occupyocu’s criticism of how OCU has handled coronavirus and the move to online classes.
“I definitely agree with the fact that they shouldn’t have kicked us out so suddenly, without warning,” Lamb said.
Mudd said one way OCU could improve its approach to coronavirus and online classes is through improved communication. Lamb said OCU could improve its approach by allowing students to stay on campus with less stringent requirements.
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