Since residents of Graduate and Family Housing heard the news about our university’s plan to turn vacant graduate housing, Corry Village, into a COVID-19 quarantine zone, many have been in a state of shock. The plan has already raised the anxiety levels of students who must consider not only their own safety and welfare but also that of their family and friends. Many have joined the Mayor’s Council to sign a petition, along with an open letter, demanding that UF Housing management provide a defensible argument for a plan that ignored the community’s interests.
No doubt aware of the plan’s sensitivity, housing officials kept it secret until residents happened upon it after inquiring about why empty apartments were being furnished. What is most baffling is why UF Housing would ignore the specific health risks this quarantine setup presents to students and families living in Graduate and Family Housing, some of whom have compromised immune systems. Many do not have health insurance or access to medical care. The housing units share ventilation and have hallways that are less than 6 feet across and are difficult to use while social distancing. Tenants are entitled to safe and private dwellings and my neighbors and I do not feel like UF's plan takes our needs into account.
It is mystifying why the housing office did not consult its current residents. Because Graduate and Family Housing houses students from diverse backgrounds, including overseas students, there is a ready-made, well-educated sample of opinion at hand, and some students might have offered solutions or ways to mitigate their concerns. The only plausible explanation is that the housing office preferred a fait accompli, believing that it is easier to defend behavior once it is done than to engage in messy consultative politics. Few would deny that the present pandemic has upended our lives, but who would have imagined that it would have undermined the university’s core principles or even the Bill of Rights? The Third Amendment states that: “No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” I’m sure that the original framers, chiefly James Madison, would have allowed some latitude in our interpretation of the words “soldier” and “owner.” In any case, all we are asking for is to be consulted.
Early research shows that the pandemic has increased stress-levels in frontline workers, so it is reasonable to assume that others, including graduate students, have been similarly stressed. Most graduate students work hard for their departments, assisting in teaching, applying for grants and furthering their research; they should be able to do so without worrying about whether it is safe to go home. Some international students and other minorities are feeling particularly marginalized or excluded by UF’s cavalier decision.
Even the fifteenth-century Venetians, who gave us the word "quarantine" (forty days), knew that newly arriving ships must quarantine some distance offshore to stop the plague from spreading to the city. Surely, we have learned a thing or two since then.
We call upon the University of Florida to do better and for all interested parties to support our petition.
Miaad Hassan is a PhD Candidate in Political Science and a resident of Corry Village.
