/The Sunflower WICHITA STATE’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896
MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020
@sunflowernews
VOL. 124 • ISSUE 47
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@thesunflowernews THESUNFLOWER.COM
We’re moving to weekly These are unprecedented times we’re living in. The Sunflower will move to a weekly print schedule during the in-person class suspension period to keep our readers informed. New issues will come out every Monday excluding during spring break, and can be found on-campus and at some off-campus venues such as Kirby’s, Reverie, Fairmount Coffee and Wichita public libraries.
No, your in-person instructor can’t make you take an online midterm this week BY MATTHEW KELLY
With in-person classes on hiatus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wichita State instructors have two weeks to adapt all course content for remote delivery. Students and instructors alike may be wondering what this extended break means for in-person classes that had midterms scheduled for this week. In short, there will be no class-related activities at all — even online — for classes that normally meet in person. “That means no in-person class meetings, no online interactions, no assignments,” David Eichhorn, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, wrote in an email to LAS faculty and staff. “If you are teaching an online class you may continue teaching that class as normal. If you are teaching a hybrid class, you may continue online instruction for that class, but not in-person.” Students are encouraged to report to department heads, deans, or the provost if class activity is not put on hold during the break. “I understand the frustration of faculty who teach in-person classes and who are now going to lose a week of class,” Faculty Senate President Jeff Jarman said. “But the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students is more important than that one week of class.” Jarman said instructors should be understanding of the toll an extended break could take on students. “Lots of people were going to give midterms, and now for many students, it’s two weeks in between their last academic activity and when they might have a midterm,” he said. “As faculty, we all just have to be aware of that reality and help our students succeed in class in spite of the global pandemic.” University President Jay Golden has said that after two weeks, the university will reevaluate whether classes should start meeting in-person again or remain online-only. He said canceling in-person classes for the remainder of the semester is not out of the question. In an email to staff, Dean of the Institute of Innovation Jeremy
Wichita State students react to class cancellation, online switch
Patterson acknowledged the unpredictability of the situation. “When communicating to students we need to emphasize that this is temporary, but we should be prepared for this to be in place for the whole Spring semester,” Patterson wrote.
BY NOAH MERRELL AND LINDSAY SMITH
Wichita State announced Thursday evening that in-person classes will be suspended next week and moved to online-only for at least two weeks after spring break. Campus will remain open but students living on campus are encouraged to go home over the break. The message was sent out as a text and email alert to students, as WSU followed suit with other state universities in calling off in-person classes as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the globe. University President Jay Golden told The Sunflower that WSU will reevaluate its options periodically, but it’s not out of the question that classes will remain online-only for the rest of the semester. Students expressed conflicting opinions on how this closure will affect their day-to-day life. Arleth Uranga, a senior biology major, said the announcement left her with many questions. “I wonder if people are going to go back home,” Uranga said. “I’d like to know how labs would continue." She said she’s also curious how tests will be administered. Even though Uranga is full of
I understand the frustration of faculty who teach inperson classes and who are now going to lose a week of class. But the health and safety of faculty, staff, and students is more important than that one week of class.” — Jeff Jarman, Faculty Senate president
According to a university FAQ, the Media Resource Center has started training a group of more than 50 faculty, referred to as “Online Faculty Fellows,” who are “serving as resources to their peers” to help with course design and Blackboard usage. “There are those of you who are fully immersed in this world of distance, remote teaching. And those of you who have less experience. I am appealing to the former to support the latter,” LAS Dean Andrew Hippisley wrote in an email to his college. Moving online will sacrifice the quality of certain academic offerings, Engineering Dean Dennis Livesay admitted to faculty and staff in an email. “There will be loss, and our instruction will admittedly suffer, especially in design and lab classes,” Livesay wrote. “We are working on access to digital engineering software, but there will be issues given licensing and hardware requirements. I ask that faculty communicate with students early next week to inform them how the course will continue.” Across all of WSU’s academic colleges, instructors are being encouraged to reach out to students early this week to explain how they should prepare to proceed with their coursework after the break.
questions, she said that overall, canceling in-person classes was probably the best decision the university could have made. “I think it’s the best preventative measure,” Uranga said. Freshman science student Sydney Stroh said that even though she expected the cancellation, it annoyed her nonetheless. “I did expect it because everyone else around the states are canceling schools,” Stroh said. “But you know, it’s annoying because then I can’t be in class in-person.” Stroh said she doesn’t think the cancellation and switch to online is necessary. “I don’t [believe WSU should have canceled] because I think people are stressing over it more than they need to be,” Stroh said. President Golden told The Sunflower he hopes that people who think the online-only approach is an overreaction are right. “I do. I hope that there are no more cases and I went one step maybe additionally for protection,” Golden said. “That would just mean that there are no more cases and none of the students, faculty, staff, or community are put at risk.” SEE REACTION PAGE 2
For more about the university’s response to COVID-19, see pages 2-4 For the most up-to-date news, go to thesunflower.com
WSU is stocking up on devices, but what if you don't have access to Wifi?: 'We don't have any way to address that' BY MATTHEW KELLY AND AUDREY KORTE
SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER
Interim Chief Information Officer David Miller speaks about supplying students and faculty with laptops as classes switch to an online-only structure. Miller spoke to The Sunflower on Friday.
Thursday’s announcement that Wichita State will convert all classes to an online-only format on Monday, March 30, has the university community preparing for the vast array of logistical challenges that lay ahead. WSU has purchased 200 Chromebooks and 200 laptops to loan to students and instructors who don’t have the technology they need to access online classes. WSU Interim Chief Information Officer David Miller said the devices, which are currently being shipped, will cost the university a combined $94,000. “We want to try and make sure that we're being as responsive to the needs of the students as we can,” Miller told The Sunflower on Friday. "We're kind of guessing as to how
many devices might be needed here. We're just trying to prep to be prepared, and so hopefully it will be enough." WSU President Jay Golden said that after two weeks, the university will reevaluate whether classes should start meeting in-person again or remain online-only. He said canceling in-person classes for the remainder of the semester is not out of the question. That doesn't bode well for students who don't have access to a reliable internet connection. Miller said that's not something WSU can help students with. "We don't have any way to address that for them," he said. "The reality is, we're not going to be able to solve every problem for everybody. I mean, that's just the honest answer." Campus is to remain open while in-person classes are suspended,
but WSU is encouraging students to stay home. Miller said devices will likely be split up between WSU's academic colleges based on enrollment size. "The college would basically be in charge of the actual distribution of those once they hear from a student that they don't have any device available," Miller said. Associate Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management Carolyn Shaw said colleges that use specialty software are looking into options for how students can have access to these programs under changing circumstances. Miller said that due to limited supply, new laptops and Chromebooks are only for people who have "nothing else available to them" to access classes. SEE TECHNOLOGY PAGE 2