Women’s and Gender Studies Department urges SU to rethink current COVID-19 policies

In light of Syracuse University’s announcement that masking is now an individual decision on our campus, we, as a feminist community, want to offer a counter practice grounded in feminist ethics of care, disability justice, accountability and the notion of collective access. We believe that health is more than an individual choice or decision and we understand health as part of a larger ecology of care and responsibility toward each other and to our larger communities.

We reject the language and ideologies behind the notion that only the “vulnerable minority” are the members of our society who must take extra precautions to stay safe. We believe that people should not be required to declare their health status in order to ensure their safety. Instead, we want to prioritize the knowledge and tools that we have collectively gained throughout the (ongoing) pandemic. This helps us recognize that we’re all connected, so that we share the responsibility to keep each other safe.

COVID-19 not only poses a threat to our collective well-being but consequently, it also directly impacts our access to education. We are troubled by the responsibility placed on individuals with higher health risks to ensure equal educational access . We are literally putting the burden for their well-being on them alone. Furthermore, we see the implicit or explicit requirement of health and individual vulnerability as practices that perpetuate power inequities. They further privilege those who appear “fit” and “strong” while enabling them to show or deny compassion and concern for those required to disclose sensitive information.

Individualizing issues of health during an ongoing public health crisis appears to relinquish institutions of any responsibility in ensuring the health and educational access of all members of their community. SU is a prime example of this because it encourages faculty to welcome a laissez-faire approach to masking in educational spaces and check on students when they are unwell. The university’s current policy suggests that faculty be responsible for mental health care work. I feel as though faculty have not been provided adequate, specialized training or compensation for this additional labor and time.

We urge the SU community to join us in thinking about and enacting a feminist ethic of care and disability justice by:
1. Wearing masks for ourselves and others in our classrooms/shared spaces
2. Limiting public presence once a member of the SU community is exposed or diagnosed with COVID-19
3. Continuing to advocate for access to free covid testing for students, faculty and staff on campus, and testing as frequently as possible
4. Eating before or after, rather than during, events and classes
5. Educating others that wearing masks during a pandemic is a matter of ensuring equity, justice and care

Beyond public health policy and the university’s official policy, we urge ourselves and each other to create and act upon principles based on communal senses of justice, equity and care that recognize and prioritize that we all share responsibility for ensuring continued health and equal educational access in our communities.

Statement by The Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.