Statewide Iowa — Students have started moving back to campus at Iowa State University in Ames. Provost Jonathan Wickert, says the fall semester will see things get back to more normal operation after changes for the pandemic.
Wickert says they will have mostly in-person classes, with some online and hybrid classes as well.
Wickert says they in a way have two incoming first-year classes.
He says those second year students will be getting a more full look at what is like to be on campus and have in-person classes. The Board of Regents says masks aren’t required this year but Wickert says they are strongly encouraged indoors. The same goes for vaccinations. Wickert says the faculty have been provided standard statements on masks and vaccination they can cut and paste into their class materials.
Wickert says they have received some petitions from students and faculty asking the school to request that the Board of Regents require masks.
ISU residence hall officials say they’ve had a big demand for people wanting to live on campus and they have opened up another dorm to accommodate them.
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The faculty union at the University of Northern Iowa has filed a workplace safety complaint against the Regents with the U-S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Faculty union vice president Chris Martin, says the lack of mandates is creating an unsafe workplace.
Martin says voluntary mask-wearing is not enough.
Faculty and staff say they’re particularly concerned about COVID risks for those with children under 12 and those with medical vulnerabilities.
