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Pasadena City College (Photo – pasadena.edu)
PASADENA — ColoradoBoulevard.net:
A socially-distanced and masked demonstration is scheduled for 12:00 – 1:00 pm tomorrow in front of the mirror pools on Colorado Boulevard to protest the PCC administration’s decision to resume face-to-face classes on Monday.
By News Desk
At a meeting of over 200 faculty at Pasadena City College today, the union is to go back ‘when safe’, said President of the Faculty Association, Mark Whitworth.
Last week, the union polled faculty about returning to the college for face to face teaching and 80% of around 500 faculty respondents said they don’t feel it’s safe to return. This was a record number of respondents said ESL professor Mary Erin Crook, VP of the union.
The union is calling on faculty, students, and the public to call in to the PCC Board of Trustee’s virtual meeting tonight at 5:00 pm to speak on non-agenda items about this topic.
Open Regular Session at 5:00 pm
The January 19, 2022 meeting of the Board of Trustees will be conducted via teleconference. The District has two options for providing members of the general public the opportunity to make comment on agenda items or items not on the agenda.
Update – Jan. 20, 2022
> Read More: PCC Trustees Meet Safely at Home While Staff To Resume In-Person Classes.
I’m all for in-person classes, but now is not the time. LA county has had 400,000+ cases since the new year. Deaths are rising and I worry we’ll reach 100 a day within the next two weeks. People advocating for the return of thousands of students who’ll cross with each other are advocating for the spread of covid and increases in deaths. When students return a majority will get omicron and when they’re healthy another set will. And there’ll be a consistent percentage of students out making it more difficult to teach both in-class and to the at-home covid positive students.
I don’t know what the other commentor means about LAUSD doing well with the amount of students they have. There are multiple absences in LAUSD and other districts near Pasadena.
This comment fails to acknowledge that only Faculty Association members are allowed to vote. There are about 400 full-time faculty and about 1100 adjunct faculty who only teach one or two classes. So until you have all the information, your comment can be very misconstrued. The fact is that 80% of voting members voted to delay the full return until after the Covid numbers are manageable or at least deceasing. As well, there are already a number of classes that have been f2f since the beginning of the semester.
80% of 500 respondents is 400 faculty. That’s only 26% of the 1500 faculty at PCC. Let the 26% stay home or drop out of teaching for a period if they don’t feel safe. The majority of faculty shouldn’t be closed down because of their fears. The majority of us want to teach in-person (like LAUSD is currently doing successfully with 600,000 students)
Agree to disagree, Kelsey. We all want in-person classes, but we want safe working conditions for all. Where is your PCC data backing up what you say? You can’t count the absence of a vote a vote. Even an abstention doesn’t count as a no vote.