Sacrificing Our Principles

To the BUSPH Administration: I am a current BUSPH student writing to express my concern about our school’s decision to pursue a hybrid educational model this fall, and to request that we shift to an online-only model. I plan to submit this concern through the Student Senate so as to remain anonymous. I was hesitant to share my share my views but realized that my views are shared by many of my public health peers, not only at BUSPH but also at other public health institutions. Our decision to pursue the L f A model troubles me for three reasons. First, I believe that L f A is a poor educational model:  1)       L f A has been advertised as a way to give students a choice. However, a hybrid education isn’t simply a combination of an in-person and a remote model; it strips away the most valuable elements of either model. L f A poses challenges for all students involved: a)        The in-person experience will be physically uncomfortable (masks for hours on end, the inability

This is perhaps the most difficult note I have written in my career. It comes out of a deep love for the School of Public Health, a love that has been engendered by 25 years (as of six days ago) of being a part of an institution with a singular mission to use scientific principles and methods to think about public health problems, to teach our students principles to go out and improve the world, and to demonstrate our commitment to public health and social justice by do ing – that is, implementing these principles in our own actions and policies as a school. It is based on a careful analysis of these principles that I have reached the conclusion that led me to convey this message: It is essential that we rescind the decision to hold in-person/hybrid classes and transition immediately to online-only classes, not merely to protect the health of the community and the public, but to restore our ability to carry out our mission as a school of public health. Our decision to hol