<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" > <channel> <title>Cassie Conklin – The Bottom Line News</title> <atom:link href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/author/cassieconklin/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com</link> <description></description> <lastBuildDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2020 17:51:05 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator> <image> <url>https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/cropped-YouTube-32x32.jpg</url> <title>Cassie Conklin – The Bottom Line News</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">63653716</site> <item> <title>Natalie Wagoner, Finalist for Director of Admissions Position, Meets with Students</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/natalie-wagoner-finalist-for-director-of-admissions-position-meets-with-students/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/natalie-wagoner-finalist-for-director-of-admissions-position-meets-with-students/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2020 17:49:57 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[College Life]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18549</guid> <description><![CDATA[Natalie Wagoner, the current Associate Director of Admissions at Frostburg State University, is one of two finalists for the permanent Director position. She met with students on Tuesday, Dec. 8 as part of her interview process in a forum hosted by Dr. Alan Walker, Assistant to the President and Chair]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure id="attachment_18551" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18551" style="width: 204px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner.png"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18551" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/natalie-wagoner-finalist-for-director-of-admissions-position-meets-with-students/natalie-wagoner/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner.png" data-orig-size="497,696" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Natalie-Wagoner" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Natalie Wagoner, current Associate Director of Admissions (photo: Frostburg State University website)</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner-214x300.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18551" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner-214x300.png" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner-214x300.png 214w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Natalie-Wagoner.png 497w" sizes="(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18551" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Natalie Wagoner, current Associate Director of Admissions (photo: Frostburg State University website)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Natalie Wagoner, the current Associate Director of Admissions at Frostburg State University, is one of two finalists for the permanent Director position. She met with students on Tuesday, Dec. 8 as part of her interview process in a forum hosted by Dr. Alan Walker, Assistant to the President and Chair of the search committee for the position. Wagoner is a newcomer to Frostburg having only stepped into the Associate Director of Admissions position in September 2020.</p> <p>Prior to coming to Frostburg, Wagoner worked in numerous capacities at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During her 13 year tenure on that campus, she served as the Dean of Student Services, Chief Retention Officer, Director of Career Outreach Center, and Assistant Director of Admissions, among other roles. She is also an alumni of the University of Saint Francis having earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Business Administration.</p> <p>Her resume, which can be found <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Wagonerresume.pdf">here</a>, reports that Wagoner was successful in achieving “100% staff retention” between July 2019 and September 2020 and developing an “emergency retention plan to retain student enrollment during Covid-19 pandemic” prior to her departure from the institution. For Frostburg State and an Admissions Department that has experienced noticeably high turnover in the last 12 months and is struggling to meet the challenges of the pandemic, Wagoner’s reported achievements could offer a course correction.</p> <p>Wagoner’s meeting with students was not well-attended, perhaps owing to the event being scheduled during the two month winter break. Nonetheless, Wagoner offered a 15-minute presentation before taking questions.</p> <p>Wagoner reports she is a first-generation college student and can identify with many FSU students. “My family and I didn’t know how to navigate college,” she said, “but I think college is so important as a transformational experience.”</p> <p>When asked why she applied for the position at Frostburg State, Wagoner replied, “Why not Frostburg?” She says her husband recently took a position at the university and that she likes the diversity of our campus. “I find that I am a better person, my family are better people, when we are surrounded by people of different cultures. Higher Ed is supposed to be an experience where you leave better than you came,” she said.</p> <p>In terms of her approach to the Director position, Wagoner said that emphasizing virtual tours and “increasing prospective student communication” were top of mind amid the pandemic. A challenge to Wagoner’s goals, however, is that her team is not yet established. “We will be bringing on four new team members in January,” she told students.</p> <p>On the topic of affordability, Wagoner highlighted Frostburg State’s low cost. “Compared to average student loan debt, FSU is lower than the national average,” she said. In a question posed by Vice President of the Student Government Association Jessica Thayer about balancing affordability with perceived quality of education, Wagoner said that as Director of Admissions she would “find ways to demonstrate value by using alumni stories and highlighting their successes” as an indicator of Frostburg’s strengths, despite a low price tag.</p> <p>Wagoner said one of her other goals is to focus on the university’s presence online. “We need more consistent and quality posting on social media,” she said, “and we need to develop communication flow and evaluate new social media platforms.”</p> <p>Looking to the future, Wagoner reports that as Director of Admissions, she would be thinking about post-COVID enrollment growth. “I am a data driven decision-maker and I let data suggest where to go because that’s where we find success,” she said.</p> <p>In terms of unique experiences at Frostburg, Wagoner cited internships as a selling pitch for incoming freshmen. “I worked in career services for five years,” said Wagoner, “and I’ve already reached out to the Director of Career Services here to work together. It’s a mutual relationship and it takes the whole institution. I want us to be reaching out and developing employer partnerships and making those connections.”</p> <p>The previous permanent Director for Admissions, Wray Blair, had been with FSU for nearly 13 years before reportedly retiring in December last year. (Blair’s “retirement” was short lived as he took a position with Ashland University in Ohio within months of leaving Frostburg.) Wagoner says she has plans to be with FSU for “three to five years” and will “reassess from there.”</p> <p>The final question to Wagoner involved diversity, equity, and inclusion; a major theme of Frostburg’s campus culture over the last few semesters. Wagoner reports that she would guide her team to “diversify enrollment classes” and said, “I have seen the work that Frostburg has started to create a more inclusive campus and I want to contribute to that.” She said that being “transparent with our recruited students” is important. “I don’t want to recruit people who we don’t have services for,” she said, adding, “I want to be ethical in our recruitment.”</p> <p>Moreover, as the Admissions Department welcomes four new employees in 2021, Wagoner said, “And as far as inclusiveness, when I hire employees, I hire for the people they serve. I want them to have skills, but I want them to be like the people we serve. I want us to have a dynamic staff that brings multiple perspectives to the table.”</p> <p>Those who attended the open forum with Wagoner have been encouraged to fill out an evaluation form.</p> <p>The second finalist for the position of Director of Admissions, André J. Richburg, chats with students on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The final hiring decision will be made by FSU President Ronald H. Nowaczyk and is expected somewhat swiftly as the campus gears up to recruit the incoming Fall 2021 freshman class.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/natalie-wagoner-finalist-for-director-of-admissions-position-meets-with-students/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>55</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18549</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Young, healthy, and able-bodied? Consider Volunteering at COVID-19 Test Sites</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/young-healthy-and-able-bodied-consider-volunteering-at-covid-19-test-sites/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/young-healthy-and-able-bodied-consider-volunteering-at-covid-19-test-sites/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 05 Dec 2020 13:36:03 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Opinion Pieces]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18541</guid> <description><![CDATA[On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Garrett County Health Department posted on Facebook that they were looking for volunteers for their community COVID-19 testing dates. On a whim, I filled out the Google form and clicked the selection that indicated I could be available on short notice. Why not? I’m young]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure id="attachment_18542" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18542" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n.jpg"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18542" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/young-healthy-and-able-bodied-consider-volunteering-at-covid-19-test-sites/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n.jpg" data-orig-size="960,720" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n-300x225.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18542 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n-768x576.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n-750x563.jpg 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/129425427_10224500648483473_8323612971119114723_n.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18542" class="wp-caption-text"><em>photo: Cassie Conklin</em></figcaption></figure> <p>On Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Garrett County Health Department posted on Facebook that they were looking for volunteers for their community COVID-19 testing dates. On a whim, I filled out the Google form and clicked the selection that indicated I could be available on short notice. Why not? I’m young (if our college-aged readers are willing to count 30 as young), I’m able-bodied and healthy, and I’m on holiday break with 8 weeks of time on my hands. Within 16 hours, I had a voicemail, “Hi, Cassie. This is Shelley from the Garrett County Health Department. Can you help tomorrow?” I returned her call and promised to turn up in McHenry the next morning, Thursday, Dec. 3 at 9:30 a.m.</p> <p>When I arrived, I was suited up with PPE including a gown, nitrile gloves, an N-95 mask, and a face shield. They took my temperature and asked me a serious of questions about possible recent exposure. I felt safe, as safe as you can feel when you’re about to spend the day coming into contact with possibly infected patients. In Garrett County, Maryland, part of the western Maryland hotspot, the positivity rate is 17.2% and 77 new cases were identified the day I was working the testing center. Their hospital announced this week that 92% of their hospital is full and other regional hospitals are at capacity, too. But, in my blue gown and hair tucked neatly into braids, I would remain vigilant and get through the shift.</p> <p>It is worth mentioning that I have no medical skills. In fact, as I told Dr. Jennifer Lee, the site director, “I have no skills at all.” That might not be entirely true, but she assigned me to a scribe desk where I would take down the name and address of those who came in to be tested. It required a little attention to detail, but I could handle that. The time went by quickly, and by 2:00 p.m. we had tested 145 local residents. As much as I write about COVID-19 and critique local, state, and federal response to it, it felt good to be part of the solution in a new way. It’s not a decision to make lightly; now that I’ve possibly exposed myself, I need to quarantine and be tested. I may have put my family at risk, too, and have to take all the necessary precautions not to spread the virus further.</p> <p>As much help as Garrett County needs, so do others around the state. The Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps is taking volunteers, both those medically-trained and not, to fill spots at testing centers around Maryland. Dr. Rebekah Taylor, a faculty member in the Biology Department at Frostburg State University, has been volunteering at the Allegany County Fairgrounds site helping to direct traffic. Volunteers also serve as runners, helping move ice or restocking clipboards and pens. There are indoor and outdoor positions, and most shifts are 6 hours or less.</p> <p>Some local health departments, like Garrett County, are looking for volunteers on their own by posting via social media. Some paid positions exist, too with Maryland Med Now.</p> <figure id="attachment_18543" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18543" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM.png"><img decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18543" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/young-healthy-and-able-bodied-consider-volunteering-at-covid-19-test-sites/screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2-40-14-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM.png" data-orig-size="946,616" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-12-04 at 2.40.14 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>The Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps website is easy to navigate. There is a training required, but it can be completed in less than two hours, usually. </p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM-300x195.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18543" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM-300x195.png" alt="" width="300" height="195" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM-300x195.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM-768x500.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM-750x488.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-04-at-2.40.14-PM.png 946w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18543" class="wp-caption-text"><em>The Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps website is easy to navigate. There is a training required, but it can be completed in less than two hours, usually.</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Much like the generations before us, like those who went to fight World War II, we are being called to a higher purpose. In our case, we must fight a deadly virus that has killed nearly 300,000 Americans and over 1.5 million worldwide. If you are young, able-bodied, and healthy, please consider giving your time to support our testing efforts and to fortify the response of our frontline nurses and healthcare professionals.</p> <p>To sign up for the Maryland Responds Medical Reserve Corps, follow this link. Note: there is a training required, but it only took 1.5 hours to complete. https://mdresponds.health.maryland.gov/index.php</p> <p>For paid positions, follow this link: https://www.smartrecruiters.com/lab/marylandmednow/</p> <p> </p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/young-healthy-and-able-bodied-consider-volunteering-at-covid-19-test-sites/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>123</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18541</post-id> </item> <item> <title>FSU in Talks with City of Frostburg To Take Over Run-Down City Hall on Main Street</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 18:50:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18465</guid> <description><![CDATA[In late 2019, the City of Frostburg voted to consolidate their police station and City Hall and begin a $3 million renovation of 37 S. Broadway to house the entities. The rationale provided by the City was that City Hall’s current home at 59 E. Main Street was dilapidated and]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure id="attachment_18474" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18474" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18474" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/photo-2-7/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2.png" data-orig-size="345,251" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="photo 2" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2-300x218.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18474 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2-300x218.png" alt="" width="300" height="218" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2-300x218.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/photo-2.png 345w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18474" class="wp-caption-text"><em>The building features baseboard heat at the moment and the wallpaper is peeling in some spots. </em></figcaption></figure> <hr /> <p>In late 2019, the City of Frostburg voted to consolidate their police station and City Hall and begin a $3 million renovation of 37 S. Broadway to house the entities. The rationale provided by the City was that City Hall’s current home at 59 E. Main Street was dilapidated and would require significant financial investment in order to serve the community long-term. What has become known as the “Municipal Center Project” is due to be completed in February 2021 and the current City Hall would then become vacant. However, according to City Administrator Elizabeth Stahlman, Frostburg State University and the city have been in talks for the university to take over the building.</p> <figure id="attachment_18473" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18473" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18473" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12-20-38-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM.png" data-orig-size="419,316" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 12.20.38 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM-300x226.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18473 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM-300x226.png" alt="" width="300" height="226" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM-300x226.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.38-PM.png 419w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18473" class="wp-caption-text"><em>The facade to the building at 59 E. Main Street is one of the items that need to be renovated, according to the City of Frostburg.</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Last month, during the City of Frostburg Mayor and Council Work Session, Stahlman told city officials that she was working on an agreement with FSU to take over the property with the hopes of having a lease agreement before their next work session which will be held today, Nov. 12. The lease agreement would come with a promise of a $100,000 grant for repairs, but would require matching funds from the university. <a href="https://youtu.be/LhpmR3mug6Q">Stahlman told Mayor and Council</a>, “I’m working on having an agreement with Frostburg State, but it wouldn’t be the City managing the grant money, it would be the City passing it on to the entity leasing this building.”</p> <p>Bradford Nixon, University Attorney at FSU, wrote in response to a request for confirmation<em>, </em>“it is my understanding that after the city moves into the new municipal building, the city has offered to lease the old municipal building to FSU for $1 per year. This is an agreement reached in principle but no written agreement has been drafted to date.” Nixon’s email, from Nov. 2 goes on to say that “no decision has been made for the use of the building by FSU, but whatever it is used for will require renovations.” Any funds put towards the renovations would come from the capital improvement fund provided by the state legislature to the University System of Maryland, according to Nixon.</p> <p>As of Nov. 2, Nixon said he didn’t know if an agreement would be signed during today’s work session of Mayor and Council, “nothing has arrived on my desk to date. You know what I know,” he wrote by email.</p> <p>The City of Frostburg relocated City Hall to the 59 E. Main Street location in 2003. The building was built circa 1900 and it is unknown when it was last renovated or upgraded.</p> <figure id="attachment_18475" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18475" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18475" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12-20-47-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM.png" data-orig-size="486,368" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 12.20.47 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM-300x227.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18475 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM-300x227.png" alt="" width="300" height="227" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM-300x227.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.47-PM.png 486w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18475" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Several office spaces in the current City Hall feature out-dated fixtures and motifs.</em></figcaption></figure> <p style="text-align: left">However, the arrangement was relatively short-lived.</p> <p>Beginning in 2015, the City of Frostburg began applying for Community Legacy funds for feasibility studies which would explore whether the 59 E. Main Street building could be renovated for a reasonable cost. However, concluding that the location could not adequately meet the city’s needs at a justifiable price tag, Frostburg officials began seriously considering moving back to their former home on Broadway and consolidating with the Frostburg City Police Department as early as September 2016, according to <a href="https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/frostburg-city-hall-might-move-to-police-station/article_79c6bf0a-88e4-57d5-aa88-577b8457d415.html">reporting</a> in the <em>Cumberland Times-News. </em>They paid $17,440 to Murphy & Dittenhafer that year to create a strategic plan for the move, including projected costs for renovating the space on Broadway.</p> <p>In May 2019, the City applied for grants and explored possible bond loans in order to renovate the space at 37 S. Broadway and voted to vacate the 59 E. Main Street location thereafter. In the written rationale for the decision to move City Hall from Main Street, the numerous maintenance and accessibility issues that impact the building are provided with loose corresponding expense estimates. The issues raised in the report have been listed below:</p> <ul> <li>Repair and replacement of facade $$</li> <li>Mold remediation in front office & repair wall $$</li> <li>New storefront for accessibility improvements to meet ADA standards $$$</li> <li>ADA accessible front counter area $</li> <li>New carpet (tripping hazard and/or badly stained) $</li> <li>New HVAC system (continued issues with current system, inefficient, no fresh air) $$</li> <li>Remodel of rear restrooms (ceiling crumbling, etc.) $$</li> </ul> <figure id="attachment_18477" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18477" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18477" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12-20-57-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM.png" data-orig-size="932,513" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 12.20.57 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM-300x165.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18477 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM-300x165.png" alt="" width="300" height="165" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM-300x165.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM-768x423.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM-750x413.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-12.20.57-PM.png 932w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18477" class="wp-caption-text"><em>The building is not considered ADA accessible and will require the installation of an elevator in the long-term. </em></figcaption></figure> <p>Under long-term considerations, the City of Frostburg reported that the 59 E. Main Street building had no air conditioning on the second floor, would need an elevator, needs electric and efficiency upgrades, and would require new windows.</p> <p>Though the City did not provide an estimated cost for the renovations to the location on Main Street, it is assumed that the cost for renovating both the existing City Hall and Frostburg Police Station would be greater than the Municipal Center Project’s nearly $3 million price tag.</p> <p>The City of Frostburg did report, though, that annual building operational costs at 59 E. Main Street exceed $25,000 a year for gas, electric, internet, insurance, normal maintenance, and yearly repairs.</p> <p>Frostburg State University has not announced what they plan to use the building on Main Street for. The university already operates the Center for Creative Writing and Alumni Center out of the <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/budget/facilities.php">Lyric Building</a>, which they took over in 2009, located two blocks up the street from the current City Hall.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <hr /> <p>The Frostburg Municipal Center Project Discussion slideshow from May 9, 2019 and referenced above can be found <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Frostburg-Municipal-Center-May-2019.pdf">here. </a></p> <p>The annual operating costs reported by the City of Frostburg for 59 E. Main Street are below:</p> <p><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18478" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1-03-32-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM.png" data-orig-size="413,229" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-12 at 1.03.32 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM-300x166.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18478 aligncenter" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM-300x166.png" alt="" width="300" height="166" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM-300x166.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-12-at-1.03.32-PM.png 413w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneiusly said the Municipal Center Project was projected to be completed by May 2021. Initially, the project was set to complete in December 2020, but is not projected to be completed in February 2021.</em></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-in-talks-with-city-of-frostburg-to-take-over-run-down-city-hall-on-main-street/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>4</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18465</post-id> </item> <item> <title>FSU Attempts to Silence Students Who Speak Out About COVID-19, Says Resident Assistants</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 15:11:23 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18451</guid> <description><![CDATA[Note: This reporting features the comments of four Resident Assistants. Owing to Frostburg State University’s threat to indicate “attitude” issues on their employment evaluations if they spoke on the record, each requested to speak with The Bottom Line anonymously. Screenshots of their messages are included within the reporting and TBL]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<h5><em>Note: This reporting features the comments of four Resident Assistants. Owing to Frostburg State University’s threat to indicate “attitude” issues on their employment evaluations if they spoke on the record, each requested to speak with The Bottom Line anonymously. Screenshots of their messages are included within the reporting and TBL can confirm that each student is, indeed, a current RA on FSU’s campus. </em></h5> <p>On October 30, the news of Jasmine, a Resident Assistant left to quarantine in her dorm room despite having symptoms of COVID-19 and ultimately testing positive, a situation that Frostburg State University officials were aware of and failed to quickly act upon, was covered by <em><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/">TBL</a>,</em> and subsequently reported by <em><a href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/11/03/students-at-frostburg-state-concerned-with-recent-covid-19-spike-on-campus/">Maryland</a><a href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/11/03/students-at-frostburg-state-concerned-with-recent-covid-19-spike-on-campus/"> Matters </a></em>and <em><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/frostburg-state-university-coronavirus/2020/11/05/3ba635ea-1f92-11eb-ba21-f2f001f0554b_story.html">The Washington Post</a>.</em> Three days later, in an apparent reaction to increased scrutiny, numerous RAs reported that the Office of Residence Life would now require Hall Directors to indicate “attitude” issues on employment evaluations if RAs spoke to media outlets about the university’s handling of the virus.</p> <p>“I found out Monday of last week from my Hall Director who was giving me a heads up so I wouldn’t be surprised,” said RA #1. “I should be allowed to speak out without losing my job.” RA #1, a student who helped fill in details related to <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/">residents vacating the dorms</a> over concerns for their health wrote that the university “doesn’t want negative press and they’re getting a lot of it. So, they threaten our jobs and we’ll quiet down I guess is their thought process.”</p> <figure id="attachment_18460" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18460" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18460" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/1bd3059c-e8fb-4920-85b1-c8a8ae678d8c/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C.jpeg" data-orig-size="523,243" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C-300x139.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18460 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C-300x139.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="139" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C-300x139.jpeg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1BD3059C-E8FB-4920-85B1-C8A8AE678D8C.jpeg 523w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18460" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Asking to remain anonymous or see their jobs threatened, RAs spoke out against Frostburg’s new policy saying it violated their freedom of speech. </em></figcaption></figure> <p>RA #2, a student leader who is well-liked by their residents, wrote, “Honestly, it makes me feel limited, like I can’t use my voice for good without being worried about losing my job. It’s frustrating and I feel conflicted.”</p> <p>In an email on Nov. 2, Director of Residence Life for FSU Kimberly Hinds-Brush wrote in defense of the new policy, “in the real world, if you bad mouth your employer you could lose your job. With the Resident Assistants, who are employed by Frostburg State University, speaking out against their employer may be noted in their evaluation forms and used as a teaching tool.” It is worth mentioning that RAs do not receive direct financial compensation for their duties, only room and board valued between $5,542 and $7,367 for the semester, depending on which dormitory the RA works in.</p> <p>Hinds-Brush further confirmed that FSU had communicated the expectation that those who spoke out against the university should have that noted in official employment documents. She wrote on Nov. 2, “We did talk about attitude with the Hall Directors today and how that impacts how RA’s are seen by others. And we discussed them covering this topic during the evaluations of the RA’s under the attitude part of the eval.”</p> <figure id="attachment_18462" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18462" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18462" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/8138c7e1-74f9-4bb4-8fde-d5ec79dd1062/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062.jpeg" data-orig-size="474,242" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062-300x153.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18462 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062-300x153.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="153" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062-300x153.jpeg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8138C7E1-74F9-4BB4-8FDE-D5EC79DD1062.jpeg 474w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18462" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Resident Assistants were told about the new policy by Hall Directors, who are also students. </em></figcaption></figure> <p>Hinds-Brush’s Nov. 2 email was obtained through a Public Information Act request issued to University Counsel Bradford Nixon who responded on Friday, Nov. 6. “My understanding is that Ms. Hinds-Brush was attempting to provide a general life lesson about being careful what you say about your employer when you get out into the real world. Her delivery was inartful from what I’ve been told,” wrote Nixon.</p> <p>Inartful or not, the delivery of the news just on the heels of a spike in COVID-19 cases and the initially <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-to-pause-in-person-instruction-until-november-4/">temporary pausing</a> of in-person classes on campus, sent a chilling ripple through the dormitories. (FSU has since decided to finish the rest of the semester online, according to a <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/frostburg-state-to-move-to-online-instruction-for-rest-of-semester/">press release from Nov. 11.</a>)</p> <p>“I feel like it’s honestly unnecessary,” wrote RA #3, a Senior, “I’m just speaking out about how I feel due to me being worried about my safety… it’s called freedom of speech for a reason.” RA #3 wrote that Residence Life never directly contacted them about their previous on-the-record comments nor did Hinds-Brush or upper-level staff provide an explanation for the changes to the evaluation process. “I actually found out through Twitter but got it confirmed by another RA that it was true,” they wrote. Indeed, it appears that Residence Life expected Hall Directors, who are also themselves students, to communicate the change in evaluation protocol.</p> <p>The Resident Assistant Evaluation Form, most recently updated in October 2020, is a standard reporting document filled out at the end of each semester and evaluates RAs in numerous categories including “builds community,” programming, hall safety, “multicultural appreciation,” and conduct. The form, signed by the Resident Assistant and Hall Director, reads that both parties should understand that “a copy of this evaluation shall be filed in the Resident Assistant’s employee file.”</p> <figure id="attachment_18459" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18459" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18459" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/1ed11e3f-b892-401b-bb06-b640097de71c/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C.jpeg" data-orig-size="523,262" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C-300x150.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18459 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C-300x150.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="150" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C-300x150.jpeg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1ED11E3F-B892-401B-BB06-B640097DE71C.jpeg 523w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18459" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Resident Assistants are responsible for fulfilling many duties, including enforcing new COVID-19 guidelines, but are now hampered in their ability to speak out about issues they see in the line of work. </em></figcaption></figure> <p>According to the 2020-2021 Resident Assistant Agreement, RAs are responsible for attending programs twice per month, weekly staff meetings, weekly one-on-one supervision meetings, and numerous departmental meetings each semester. RAs also carry a master and hall office key, take part in Admissions Open Houses and assist with RA staff recruitment. They must “be readily available in the hall, both when on duty on specified weeknights and weekends and other times when not on duty,” complete inspections of the hall prior to leaving for breaks, participate in closing inspections that “may take up to 3 days,” conduct additional rounds in the event of an emergency like a loss in power, and be on campus during peak weekends as determined by the Office of Residence Life.</p> <p>For most RAs, the financial benefit outweighs the significant burden of the position. However, amid the pandemic, the additional responsibilities have made the job more difficult.</p> <p>“I just feel like FSU expects us to keep everyone safe from a deadly virus,” wrote RA #4 who lives in the Upper Quad. “we have all these new rules to enforce and many of my residents have gotten COVID and I just don’t know why this all falls on us.”</p> <p>However, despite being stretched thin this semester due to new COVID-19 related responsibilities, most say they need the gig.</p> <p>“If they canceled my RA contract, I would probably end up staying in a dorm or staying home,” wrote RA #3. “Being that I pay for most of my tuition on my own, I wouldn’t be able to afford off campus or Edgewood.”</p> <p>RA #2 said the same, “I don’t think I would be able to afford the change in my bill if I were to lose my position as an RA so I’m not sure where I would move.”</p> <p>“Unfortunately, I cannot afford to live off of campus and I would have to consider if I returned to school because money is a big issue for me,” wrote RA #1.</p> <figure id="attachment_18461" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18461" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18461" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/aca6e5e5-bcaf-4b80-b536-afc4d208f727/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727.jpeg" data-orig-size="538,310" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727-300x173.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18461 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727-300x173.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="173" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727-300x173.jpeg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACA6E5E5-BCAF-4B80-B536-AFC4D208F727.jpeg 538w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18461" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Amid a pandemic-induced budget crisis, RAs say that FSU is silencing them in order to prevent further financial decline rather than properly addressing COVID-19 in the dormitories. </em></figcaption></figure> <p>All four RAs agree on something else, too; that the university’s decision to note “attitude” issues on their evaluation forms has everything to do with the declining reputation of the institution and its handling of COVID-19.</p> <p>“I think they’re doing this so they won’t look bad,” said RA #2. “If we know it’ll effect our standing as RAs then maybe we won’t be as vocal about the issues on campus.”</p> <p>“I think FSU wants to silence negative opinions because if people get behind us then they’ll lose money,” wrote RA #1. “That’s all that matters to our administration is money.”</p> <p>RA #4 wrote, “it’s obvious that all of this is to try and get us to keep it quiet about what’s going on in the dorms. They need our money and they will do whatever they have to do to get it.”</p> <p>“I honestly think they’re doing this due to the simple fact that they’re trying to protect their name and image,” wrote RA #3.</p> <p>By email, <em>TBL </em>asked Hinds-Brush, “will RAs be penalized for speaking out about their experiences, particularly with COVID-19?” She forwarded our question to two members of her staff with one annotation, “WTF,” but never responded to us directly or answered the question. Neither Nixon nor Director of Communications Liz Medcalf answered that question either.</p> <p>—————</p> <p>All of the documents pursuant to the Public Information Act request, provided by University Counsel Bradford Nixon, can be found <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/RA-Eval-request.pdf">here.</a></p> <p>The Resident Assistant Agreement which outlines responsibilities of RAs can be found below:</p> <p><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18455" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/ba1cee04-3811-40aa-9748-4acb68da22c1/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1.jpeg" data-orig-size="750,958" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1-235x300.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-18455" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1-235x300.jpeg" alt="" width="201" height="258" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1-235x300.jpeg 235w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/BA1CEE04-3811-40AA-9748-4ACB68DA22C1.jpeg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px" /></a> <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18456" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/8ecf1d62-2b0d-49ef-a92f-5406b22dffa4/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4.jpeg" data-orig-size="750,957" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4-235x300.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-18456" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4-235x300.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="255" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4-235x300.jpeg 235w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8ECF1D62-2B0D-49EF-A92F-5406B22DFFA4.jpeg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a> <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7.jpeg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18457" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/5815e3bb-a01a-486c-9cdc-9ea080715ac7/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7.jpeg" data-orig-size="750,957" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7-235x300.jpeg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7.jpeg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="alignnone wp-image-18457" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7-235x300.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="256" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7-235x300.jpeg 235w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5815E3BB-A01A-486C-9CDC-9EA080715AC7.jpeg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-attempts-to-silence-students-who-speak-out-about-covid-19-says-resident-assistants/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>186</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18451</post-id> </item> <item> <title>“We’re Gonna Win;” AFSCME Union Holds Rally at Frostburg State Following Layoff Announcement</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2020 14:55:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18401</guid> <description><![CDATA[On Friday, Nov. 6, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 239 held a rally on the Frostburg State University campus following the announcement of layoffs by President Ronald H. Nowaczyk’s administration. The union and FSU had been in negotiations about salary reductions due to an]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On Friday, Nov. 6, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 239 held a rally on the Frostburg State University campus following the announcement of layoffs by President Ronald H. Nowaczyk’s administration. The union and FSU had been in</p> <figure id="attachment_18407" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18407" style="width: 190px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18407" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/img_5388/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-scaled.jpg" data-orig-size="1707,2560" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS REBEL T5","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1604630237","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.00025","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_5388" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Jake Klaus, Blair Knouse, and Danielle Dabrowski stand around as the live-streamed rally carries on before them. (Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-200x300.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-683x1024.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18407" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-200x300.jpg 200w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-750x1125.jpg 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5388-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18407" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Jake Klaus, Blair Knouse, and Danielle Dabrowski stand around as the live-streamed rally carries on before them. (Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>negotiations about salary reductions due to an over $8 million budget shortfall. However, talks went sour in mid-October and FSU ultimately decided to lay off 12 university employees, many who are low-wage earners and many who have been employed with FSU for 20+ years.</p> <p>The event, live-streamed due to a spike in local COVID-19 cases, featured numerous speakers including AFSCME Local 239 President Danielle Dabrowski who works at FSU as the Director for Veteran Services, FSU Student Government Association Chair Delanie Blubaugh, AFSCME Maryland 3 member Sean Santmyire, UniServ Director for educational associations in Allegany and Garrett counties Evan West, President of the Northeast Council of AFL-CIO and President of AFSCME Local 112 Donna Edwards, and President of AFSCME Council 3 Patrick Moran. The event was moderated by Melanie Lombardi and Blair Knouse.</p> <figure id="attachment_18403" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18403" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18403" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/img_2096/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096.jpg" data-orig-size="720,480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"7.1","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS REBEL T3i","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1604621596","copyright":"","focal_length":"29","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.01","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2096" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096-300x200.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18403 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096-300x200.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096-360x240.jpg 360w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2096.jpg 720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18403" class="wp-caption-text"><em>SGA Student Affairs Chair Delanie Blubaugh spoke in support of renegotiation between FSU and AFSCME in order to avoid layoffs. (Photo // Cassie Conklin)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Dabrowski, the first speaker, said she is “deeply sad” because of FSU’s decision to issue an ultimatum to staff regarding salary reductions and layoffs. She accused the FSU administration, who she says used “bullying tactics,” of issuing layoff notices to people well-known in the Frostburg community, meanwhile Nowaczyk and his Executive Cabinet members are not local. She says FSU’s administration is “attempting to continue to destroy a community who has suffered from layoffs from many different companies in the recent past.” Indeed, local employees of CSX and Verso have lost their jobs over the last year due to corporate restructuring and decline in manufacturing. Dabrowski spoke on Nowaczyk’s refusal to continue to negotiate, despite staff, faculty, and students all passing resolutions through governance bodies compelling his administration to reconsider layoffs. “According to the President, he does not want to layoff anyone, but refuses to discuss how we might make that happen,” Dabrowki said, “instead, we received written notice from the administration that they will not rescind the layoffs and will not discuss anything other their final ultimatum.” Further, asked Dabrowski, “w</p> <figure id="attachment_18404" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18404" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18404" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/img_2011/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011.jpg" data-orig-size="720,480" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"9","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS REBEL T3i","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1603739511","copyright":"","focal_length":"18","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.005","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_2011" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011-300x200.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18404 size-medium" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011-300x200.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011-360x240.jpg 360w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_2011.jpg 720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18404" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Melanie Lombardi, a staff member in the Communications Department recently celebrated 20 years at FSU and received a certificate for her service. She received a layoff notice, nonetheless, and helped moderate the rally. (Photo // Cassie Conklin)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>hy is FSU the only entity in the state issuing layoff notices? Why is every other school in the University System of Maryland still negotiating in good faith wile FSU is issuing ultimatums? Why is FSU the only university trying to hurt employees making under $70,000 a year? Why is FSU the only university that won’t consider furloughs, though other campuses are?” Dabrowski concluded, “we need the university to come back to the table and find a solution.”</p> <p>Blubaugh, who spoke on behalf of SGA, said that the student leadership recognizes that the university is in a tough position due to the pandemic, but “there is another way for us all to get through this.” She said that, “as a collective, we are all going through a tough time,” but that the campus should find strength in our “loyal, dedicated employees and passionate students,” rather than turning employees away. Blubaugh said, “the student government lends their full support to renegotiation” and that “there is always another way.”</p> <figure id="attachment_18410" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18410" style="width: 190px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18410" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/img_5420/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-scaled.jpg" data-orig-size="1707,2560" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS REBEL T5","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1604630999","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"1000","shutter_speed":"0.00025","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_5420" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Danielle Dabrowski in her AFSCME Local 239 gear. (Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-200x300.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-683x1024.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18410" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-200x300.jpg 200w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-750x1125.jpg 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5420-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18410" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Danielle Dabrowski in her AFSCME Local 239 gear. (Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Santmyire, speaking as a representative of AFSCME Local 3641, apologized for the “careless and reckless administration” of FSU for balancing their budget “on the backs of their workers.” He committed his chapter’s support to Local 239 saying that “obviously someone does not care about your families, your well-being, your safety, and your community,” but that he and his chapter members would “do whatever” they can to support FSU’s laid off employees.</p> <p>West, a former educator who serves as the UniServ Director representing 1,300 public school teachers in the westernmost counties of Maryland, spoke in solidarity with his “brothers and sisters” of the Frostburg Local 239 chapter. West, a 1993 alumnus of FSU who donates regularly to the Frostburg Foundation, says he “loves” the university but is now “ashamed at what the administration of Frostburg State is doing.” He says the ripple effect of layoffs will be devastating for the local community and reminds the FSU administration, “there would be no Frostburg State University without the community of Frostburg.” West said that his union members are in solidarity with AFSCME Local 239 in demanding that Nowaczyk’s administration return to the bargaining table.</p> <p>Edwards, a union organizer with a career spanning five decades, serves as the President of AFSCME Local 112, a statewide Department of Human resources union with over 4,000</p> <figure id="attachment_18408" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18408" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18408" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/img_5394/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-scaled.jpg" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS REBEL T5","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1604630258","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"320","shutter_speed":"0.00025","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_5394" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>(Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-300x200.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-1024x683.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18408" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-300x200.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-768x512.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-360x240.jpg 360w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5394-750x500.jpg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18408" class="wp-caption-text"><em>(Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>members, said that while Frostburg may seem isolated geographically, that AFSCME was taking this fight statewide and it would “go viral.” She said President Nowaczyk “would not be able to hide up in the mountains.” She said that Western Maryland would “not stop until the employees win.”</p> <p>Moran, the President of AFSCME Council 3, which spans the length of the state, said that the two issues being addressed were “greed and a lack of concern” by Nowaczyk’s administration. He said, “it looks like Frostburg doesn’t care about the local economy because they’re willing to lay off people,” after citing the numerous jobs lost when the Verso paper mill closed in 2019 and the 50% reduction in rail workers at CSX in Cumberland. Moran said that “Frostburg is going to have</p> <figure id="attachment_18409" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18409" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-scaled.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18409" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/img_5417/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-scaled.jpg" data-orig-size="2560,1707" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"1.8","credit":"","camera":"Canon EOS REBEL T5","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1604630565","copyright":"","focal_length":"50","iso":"100","shutter_speed":"0.00025","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="IMG_5417" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>(Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-300x200.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-1024x683.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18409" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-300x200.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-768x512.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-360x240.jpg 360w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5417-750x500.jpg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18409" class="wp-caption-text"><em>(Photo // Delanie Blubaugh)</em></figcaption></figure> <p>a tough time going down to Annapolis this legislative session and telling lawmakers that they cut jobs in the middle of a pandemic.” Moran affirmed that Maryland Senator George Edwards, Delegates Wendell Beitzell, Michael McKay, and Jason Buckel sent a letter to the University System of Maryland asking for financial support for the university as they simultaneously cut jobs. “It is a crime, an absolute crime, that this is happening,” said Moran, “but the administration will all move on after slashing and burning and hurting the local economy.” Moran mentioned health and safety concerns of his union members, too, given the spike of COVID-19 cases on FSU’s campus. Moran ended, “we are going to win. We are going to win because we’re on the moral side, the side of the 99%. We’re gonna work together, and together we will win.”</p> <p>AFSCME Local 239 can be found on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AFSCMELOCAL239">Facebook</a>, and the recording of the rally can be found <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AFSCMELOCAL239/videos/687058288616273">here.</a></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/were-gonna-win-afscme-union-holds-rally-at-frostburg-state-following-layoff-announcement/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>753</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18401</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Allegany County Elevated to COVID-19 “Red Zone” According to Governor Hogan</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/allegany-county-elevated-to-covid-19-red-zone-according-to-governor-hogan/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/allegany-county-elevated-to-covid-19-red-zone-according-to-governor-hogan/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2020 15:48:57 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18330</guid> <description><![CDATA[On Sunday, Nov. 1, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that Allegany County has now been elevated to a COVID-19 “red zone.” In Maryland, “red zone” refers to counties with 25 new positive cases per 100,000 population, according to Hogan’s spokesperson Mike Ricci. The term is also used in documents prepared]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure id="attachment_18331" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18331" style="width: 284px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18331" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/allegany-county-elevated-to-covid-19-red-zone-according-to-governor-hogan/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o.jpg" data-orig-size="2006,2048" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Infographic provided by Governor Larry Hogan. As of Nov. 1, Allegany County is now in the “red zone” for COVID-19.</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-294x300.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-1003x1024.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18331" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-294x300.jpg" alt="" width="294" height="300" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-294x300.jpg 294w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-1003x1024.jpg 1003w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-768x784.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-1505x1536.jpg 1505w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o-750x766.jpg 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123455299_3818898034821600_2109755470286250406_o.jpg 2006w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 294px) 100vw, 294px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18331" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Infographic provided by Governor Larry Hogan. Figures reported are state-wide. As of Nov. 1, Allegany County is now in the “red zone” for COVID-19.</em></figcaption></figure> <p>On Sunday, Nov. 1, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GovLarryHogan/photos/a.909053089139457/3818898024821601">Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced</a> that Allegany County has now been elevated to a COVID-19 “red zone.” In Maryland, “red zone” refers to counties with 25 new positive cases per 100,000 population, according to Hogan’s spokesperson Mike Ricci. The term is also used in <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/exclusive-white-house-document-shows-18-states-in-coronavirus-red-zone-covid-19/">documents</a> prepared by the White House Coronavirus Task Force, but should not be confused with the Maryland distinction, describes areas that report both new cases above 100 per 100,000 population and a diagnostic positivity rate above 10%. Maryland, as a state, is considered to be a “yellow zone” by the federal government with new cases between 10-100 per 100,000 population and a diagnostic positivity rate between 5-10%. In his announcement, Governor Hogan wrote that both Allegany and Dorchester counties had now exceeded the “red zone” thresholds.</p> <p>According to the announcement, the daily positivity rate in the state climbed from 3.44% to 3.61% overnight with an increase of 864 cases. In Allegany County, cases have risen significantly over the last two weeks, with the two largest-ever caseload announcements coming on Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Friday, Oct. 30.</p> <p><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/">In a statement</a> on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Governor Hogan’s Communications Director Mike Ricci said that the Governor’s Office had noticed increases in the county and that “most of the new cases in Allegany are linked to Frostburg State.” Frostburg State University released a statement in response saying that the Governor’s spokesperson’s assertion “runs counter to FSU’s information and that presented by the Allegany County Health Department.” In an article in <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1322251612170190849/adhEhaU5?format=jpg&name=small"><em>The Washington Post</em></a> on Friday, Oct. 30, Director of Communications for FSU Liz Medcalf reported that approximately 25% of all cases in Allegany County were linked to FSU. <em>TBL </em>reached out the the Allegany County Health Department for verification of Medcalf’s statement, but as of press time, they have not responded.</p> <p>Regardless of the percentage of cases in Allegany County attributable to FSU, the cases on campus have climbed to an extent that prompted officials to halt in-person classes through Wednesday, Nov. 4. Brady Health Center and FSU news wrote to the campus community late last week to report that 12 positive tests were confirmed between late Tuesday, Oct. 27 and mid-afternoon Wednesday, Oct. 28 which represented a 60% increase in cases overnight, pushing the total active caseload to 32. Medcalf told The Post, “it doesn’t seem to be community spread, but we’re still working on contact tracing” and that FSU plans to resume in-person classes on Wednesday.</p> <figure id="attachment_18332" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18332" style="width: 475px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18332" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/allegany-county-elevated-to-covid-19-red-zone-according-to-governor-hogan/screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1-20-00-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM.png" data-orig-size="1914,990" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-01 at 1.20.00 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-300x155.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-1024x530.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18332 " src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-1024x530.png" alt="" width="485" height="251" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-1024x530.png 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-300x155.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-768x397.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-1536x794.png 1536w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM-750x388.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.20.00-PM.png 1914w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18332" class="wp-caption-text"><em>On Saturday, Oct. 31, the Allegany County average case rate per 100,000 doubled the rest of the State of Maryland | source: Maryland COVID-19 Dashboard</em></figcaption></figure> <p>The spread of COVID-19 in rural counties, like Allegany County, has been a trend over the last month. According to <em><a href="https://dailyyonder.com/rural-counties-have-5th-consecutive-week-of-record-setting-covid-rates/2020/10/27/">The Daily Yonder</a>, </em>a nonprofit civic news outlet that covers rural issues, rural counties in the United State have experienced five consecutive weeks of record-setting COVID-19 rates. They report that rural counties accounted for 91,961 new infections last week, a 13% increase over the previous week. Moreover, COVID-19 related deaths are up in rural counties, growing by nearly 20% in the last week.</p> <p>According to the <a href="https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/?fbclid=IwAR0hWpTWI9TD59IivmkCk-elNqhD8_CNka8qSrWkn_A1UoihkW-0wrkI4CI">Maryland COVID-19 dashboard</a>, the overall testing volume in the state has remained fairly steady throughout the last two months. However, it is worth mentioning that Allegany County is the only county in Maryland that does not have a state-funded free testing center available to residents. This realization prompted FSU SGA President Noah DeMichele to send Governor Hogan <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-leadership-calls-for-more-accessible-covid-19-testing/">a letter on July 31,</a> just before the semester began, to request one. The <a href="https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/frostburg-officials-want-state-run-testing-facility/article_7f6be406-45a2-52e6-b2ff-40b784d59929.html">City of Frostburg Mayor and Council</a> followed suit in mid-August asking Maryland’s Chief Executive for a free testing site. Both requests were denied.</p> <figure id="attachment_18333" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18333" style="width: 555px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18333" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/allegany-county-elevated-to-covid-19-red-zone-according-to-governor-hogan/screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1-21-23-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM.png" data-orig-size="1894,970" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-01 at 1.21.23 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-300x154.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-1024x524.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18333 " src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-1024x524.png" alt="" width="565" height="289" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-1024x524.png 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-300x154.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-768x393.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-1536x787.png 1536w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM-750x384.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-1.21.23-PM.png 1894w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18333" class="wp-caption-text"><em>According to the State of Maryland COVID-19 dashboard, 34.2% of Allegany County residents have been tested. Allegany County has a population of 70,416, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.</em></figcaption></figure> <p>As part of their monitoring, FSU has conducted two rounds of universal, campus-wide COVID-19 testing, as well as a surveillance testing program that administers 200 tests every other week, paid for by Allegany County CARES Act funds. Nonetheless, students have sometimes been referred off-campus for testing because of “finite resources,” said Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Jeff Graham during a call with students on Thursday, Oct. 29. Thus, without a state-funded testing center and a campus health center unable to provide additional testing, FSU students have had to sometimes pay out of pocket to learn their COVID-19 status. One, a graduate student in the Counseling Psychology program, said that local providers didn’t accept his insurance through Kaiser Permanente, and that he drove to Gaithersburg, Maryland to be tested because he couldn’t afford the <a href="https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/frostburg-lab-to-offer-covid-testing-to-public/article_68dbd5fe-a5c8-546a-94c7-8838d12bb52e.html">$100 testing provided by Aeon Labs</a> at the local PharmaCare headquarters in Cumberland. Governor Hogan has not announced any plans to expand free testing to Allegany County.</p> <p>The Allegany County Health Department makes COVID-19 caseload announcements on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AlleganyHlthMD">their social media</a> page on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. FSU is expected to update their <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/fall2020/COVID-Testing.php">testing dashboard</a> regarding the most recent round of surveillance testing on Tuesday.</p> <p> </p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/allegany-county-elevated-to-covid-19-red-zone-according-to-governor-hogan/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>39</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18330</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Nowaczyk and Travis Issue Joint Statement Regarding Concerns About COVID-19 On Campus</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/nowaczyk-and-travis-issue-joint-statement-regarding-concerns-about-covid-19-on-campus/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/nowaczyk-and-travis-issue-joint-statement-regarding-concerns-about-covid-19-on-campus/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2020 22:27:08 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18343</guid> <description><![CDATA[In response to a request from The Bottom Line, Frostburg State University President Ronald H. Nowaczyk and Vice President for Student Affairs Artie Lee Travis issued the following joint statement. The question posed by TBL was, “A number of students and their parents have talked about their decision to move out of the dorms]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In response to a request from <em>The Bottom Line, </em>Frostburg State University President Ronald H. Nowaczyk and Vice President for Student Affairs Artie Lee Travis issued the following joint statement.</p> <p>The question posed by <em>TBL </em>was, “A number of students and their parents have talked about their decision to move out of the dorms and spend the rest of the semester at home. They are concerned for their health and feel that campus is not safe after the significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases this week and the decision to pause in-person classes.</p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <p>We are reaching out to ask if Frostburg State University has anything they’d like to say in response to these concerns. Moreover, numerous students have said they’re going home with, or without, accommodations from their professors. Given the shift to online instruction this week and the potential for that period of time to be extended, will the Office for Academic Affairs be making any changes to grading, or will they issue a statement regarding accommodating students at this time?”</p> <p>Note: The Office for Academic Affairs has not issued a statement in response.</p> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Joint Statement from President Nowaczyk and VP for Student Affairs Travis: </strong></div> <div></div> <div> <p>We understand the caution anyone has about choices made during the pandemic. It is a difficult time, and we appreciate any concerns that are raised. We encourage anyone to reach out to us with comments and questions. We established the <a href="mailto:fall2020@frostburg.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">fall2020@frostburg.edu</a> email earlier this year to specifically allow concerns to be sent to us. We have assisted more than 200 people specifically through their use of that email.</p> <p>As we shared with the FSU community yesterday, since the pause was announced on Thursday night, early indicators have shown our steps are having the desired effect, including preliminary results from last 14-day period of FSU-administered testing results, which show a positivity rate among those tests of 5.64%. Additionally, FSU has been able to identify that many of the current cases had been in common social circles. Further evaluation will occur to determine the level of spread beyond those circles.</p> <p>The response we took was a measured one and appropriate based on our pandemic plan and our monitoring of COVID indicators. Our discussions with the Allegany County Health Department likewise indicate our measured response was appropriate. If the uptick in cases on Thursday, as early signs are indicating, was an isolated spike, our hope is to return to our previous instructional modality this upcoming week, but only if our indicators confirm that.</p> <p>From the moment that we made the reasoned and measured choice to offer the fall 2020 term in a hybrid-style, FSU was aware there would be challenges. Our efforts to mitigate risks and provide an altered, but substantive educational experience have not been perfect. Much is still not known about the virus and so much of what happens hinges on individual behavior during this very difficult crisis. Overall, the efforts of the vast majority of our students have been very encouraging. And the feedback and responses from many have been appreciative of FSU’s efforts to provide an in-person educational opportunity, especially when so many of their peers at other schools have not had the same experience.</p> <p>What is also clear is that across the campus, the administrators charged with the return to campus have prepared and placed in effect a plan that has continued to adapt and changes as conditions change. Our decision to Move Forward has been based on best practices, guidance from the national, state and local governments, health officials, facts and evidence.</p> <p>We, again, encourage anyone — as we have throughout the Fall 2020 term — with concerns to reach out to us through <a href="mailto:fall2020@frostburg.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">fall2020@frostburg.edu</a> or <a href="mailto:studentaffairs@frostburg.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">studentaffairs@frostburg.edu</a> (specific student concerns), <a href="mailto:caar@frostburg.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">caar@frostburg.edu</a> (academic assistance) or <a href="mailto:president@frostburg.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">president@frostburg.edu</a>. You can also visit <a href="http://www.frostburg.edu/fall2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">http://www.frostburg.edu/fall2020</a> for all our information and updates.</p> </div> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/nowaczyk-and-travis-issue-joint-statement-regarding-concerns-about-covid-19-on-campus/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>5</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18343</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Over a Dozen Frostburg Students Vacate the Dorms Because of FSU’s Handling of COVID-19, Others are “Stuck” or Worried About Their Grades</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2020 22:25:37 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18340</guid> <description><![CDATA[Following TBL’s reporting of a residential student named Jasmine who tested positive for COVID-19 and was not relocated to quarantine housing, despite FSU knowing of her condition, over a dozen students have reached out to say they’re leaving campus for the remainder of the semester. Some say they no longer trust FSU]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Following <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/"><em>TBL’s </em>reporting</a> of a residential student named Jasmine who tested positive for COVID-19 and was not relocated to quarantine housing, despite FSU knowing of her condition, over a dozen students have reached out to say they’re leaving campus for the remainder of the semester. Some say they no longer trust FSU and that the institution’s lack of transparency prompted their decision. Others say they might not return to FSU in the spring. Some students say they feel “stuck” at FSU either because they are concerned that their professors will not be accommodating should they move home, or because conditions with their families aren’t conducive to their studies. Two parents have also responded to say that FSU “is not doing their job.”</p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>Reactions from those in Jasmine’s Dormitory</strong></h4> <p>Two of the students who resided on the same floor as Jasmine say that residents never got an official announcement from FSU or Residence Life about their Resident Assistant testing positive. “I learned about it by reading the article,” said Nargina, a junior, “we were never informed by the school.” Nargina said, “What’s crazier is that she was still in the dorms even after the article published! A friend down the hall texted me saying, ‘yeah, Jasmine’s still here,’ and I was like ‘what?! What do you mean? She has COVID!'” Indeed, Jasmine continued to reside in her dorm for several hours after news of her positive status broke, and was finally taken to the Quality Inn around 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, well over 24 hours after FSU became aware that she had COVID-19.</p> <figure id="attachment_18297" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18297" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18297" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/cumberland_3floor_large/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large.jpg" data-orig-size="1200,521" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Cumberland_3floor_large" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-300x130.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-1024x445.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18297" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-300x130.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="130" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-300x130.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-1024x445.jpg 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-768x333.jpg 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large-750x326.jpg 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Cumberland_3floor_large.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18297" class="wp-caption-text"><em>A floor plan of Jasmine’s hall where over 40 residents share communal bathrooms.</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Nargina said that she “loves this school” and “is proud to go to Frostburg,” but that this semester has given her pause. “It is very rare for me to get frustrated, but I can’t believe they aren’t doing anything about this,” she said, “I want to believe that the school cares about us, but it feels more like they just care about us being on campus for the money. I can’t believe they withheld this important information from us… they don’t know who lives with elderly parents or might has asthma.” Nargina said she’s conflicted about what to do given the circumstances, “I am considering leaving until in-person classes resume because I don’t feel safe here. I feel like FSU doesn’t have our best interest at heart. I’m still trying to figure it out.” Nargina reports that, for the sake of her studies, she’d prefer to stay on campus. “When we switched online in March and went home, I slept through some lectures,” she said, “and I feel like I’ll do better in school if I stay. This is a really difficult decision.”</p> <p>Ismerai, another of Jasmine’s residents in the dormitory who appeared in the initial reporting, said that she got her COVID-19 test results back and they were negative. She reports that the resident who briefly interacted with Jasmine to borrow a broom also tested negative but, “they’re going back home and self-quarantining because they no longer feel safe after this scare.” Ismerai is planning to return home, as well. “This one really hit close to home, mainly because my family came up here and they were put at risk,” she said, “I don’t trust us having another case and being informed, FSU clearly won’t tell us and that terrifies me.” Ismerai said she predicts a “huge mass of students leaving because we’re scared.”</p> <p>Ismerai’s mother, Daly, told <em>TBL, </em>“they need to close the university and send everyone home.” Daly was initially “80% optimistic” about the semester, calling FSU’s re-opening strategy a “good plan because they would conduct surveillance testing, monitoring student symptoms, and had a whole wing of the hotel reserved.” However, following the news that her daughter’s RA had tested positive and spent nearly a week in the dorms, Daly says she’s angry. “The university should have acted fast, shut down the building, and notified students,” said Daly. After reading the news of Jasmine’s experience, “I got very anxious and scared about my daughter’s well-being. I still am,” she said.</p> <p>Daly said that FSU is a “hotspot,” in her opinion. “They hid this information from students. The right thing to do would be to contact the hall residents and get them tested. That’s what should have been done based on CDC guidelines and Frostburg isn’t doing that,” she said. “Please close the school and move to online before this becomes worse,” Daly pleads.</p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>Other Resident Assistants Speak Out </strong></h4> <p>One of the reasons that Jasmine’s experience was harrowing was because, as a Resident Assistant, she is in charge of 18 occupants of her dormitory. RA’s, as they are better known, provide support to students living on-campus, plan programming, and are responsible for enforcing university rules. In exchange for their work, they receive free room and board, but are not otherwise monetarily compensated.</p> <p>Alexiss, a Resident Assistant in Annapolis Hall, said, “all the RA’s are so oblivious to how many of our residents got COVID and if we have it. They tell us nothing.” She says that three of her residents have gone home because of COVID-19, two of them because “they were afraid to be in the dorms” and the other because the student tested positive. Alexiss said she’s heard rumors that members of the FSU swimming team, many of which live in her building, have tested positive. “As far as I know it’s about 10-15 of them, and that’s just from my building.” Frostburg State University has never released information regarding any positive cases on the swim team. Alexiss says that the Office of Residence Life has not put out any new statements following Friday’s reporting, “all I keep hearing is ‘just wear your mask and stay safe,’ but how can we stay safe when we have residents constantly going to parties and athletes going to practice and getting COVID?”</p> <p>All of this has Alexiss thinking about next semester. “I’m not sure on coming back,” she said, “I might just do all online. My Mom thinks it’s best for me to stay home right now because I’m kind of high risk.” Both her parents have encouraged her to stay in her dorm room more often and isolate from others. “My Mom said when I come home we can try and figure out next semester together and see how it’ll work out,” said Alexiss.</p> <figure id="attachment_18348" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18348" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18348" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4-32-54-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM.png" data-orig-size="770,374" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-01 at 4.32.54 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>The official guest policy, available on the Residence Life Office website, permits only one guest per student. RAs say this guideline is regularly violated. </p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM-300x146.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18348" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM-300x146.png" alt="" width="300" height="146" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM-300x146.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM-768x373.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM-750x364.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.32.54-PM.png 770w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18348" class="wp-caption-text"><em>The official guest policy, available on the Residence Life Office website, permits only one guest per student. RAs say this guideline is regularly violated.</em></figcaption></figure> <p>Bri, a Resident Assistant in Gray Hall, wrote to <em>TBL </em>that she’s considering telling her Hall Director that “my mother doesn’t want me up here and neither do I” because she “doesn’t feel safe here” and that she’s considering moving home after she gets tested locally. Bri says that even after the campus learned that in-person classes would be halted through Nov. 4, she’s had to “tell 10+ guys to leave my dorm because they wanted to have a party in the basement without masks.”</p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>Some say they feel “stuck” </strong></h4> <p>Sidonie, a student set to graduate this December, says her studies will suffer if she has to go home. “It’s just too busy at my house, my laptop is unreliable, and so is my WiFi,” she wrote by text, “I fear some professors won’t make accommodations.” Sidonie says that while instructors were told by the Office for Academic Affairs to prepare to move online at any point in the semester, many of her professors aren’t ready. “They’re all like, ‘here’s what we’re gonna do in MY class,'” she wrote.</p> <figure id="attachment_18351" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18351" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18351" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n.jpg" data-orig-size="750,563" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>One students says he’s willing to forfeit his off-campus rental fees because his parents think he will be safer at home. </p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n-300x225.jpg" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n.jpg" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18351" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n-300x225.jpg 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/123383657_276225067035757_8943859737241850131_n.jpg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18351" class="wp-caption-text">One students says he’s willing to forfeit his off-campus rental fees because his parents think he will be safer at home.</figcaption></figure> <p>Carlee, a student leader and political science major, said that while she could return to her hometown of Baltimore, that she has an “off-campus lease in town” and is “stuck here” because her landlord won’t refund her rental fees even if she vacated due to a COVID-19 spike. Indeed, after classes moved online in Spring 2020, local landlords refused to reimburse students for rent paid up-front. One student, a business major who lives off-campus, said he was moving out either way, “my parents think I’ll be safer at home and it’s so close to the end anyway.”</p> <p>Carlee doesn’t necessarily mind staying in her apartment, “but I still don’t feel safe on campus and I have three full in-person classes.” Carlee says she is high risk for the coronavirus, “and if I got it I would have to go home to have access to my doctors, but I can’t do that and put my grandmother with dementia at risk.” Carlee says she’s already discussed the possibility of moving entirely online with one of her professors, but she says he denied her request, “and that’s been the general consensus for 99% of the political science department,” she says.</p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>Student pleads, “Frostburg, please do better.” </strong></h4> <p>Though some on social media and elsewhere expressed shock at the way FSU handled Jasmine’s case, others were less so. “I’m not surprised by Brady Health and I’m not surprised at how the school handled it,” said Jasmine Akarolo, a Health Science major and SGA Senator, “Frostburg State continuously does the bare minimum for their students and it’s despicable. With Jasmine’s story, it is only confirmation of how Frostburg actually feels about their students.”</p> <p>Akarolo, not to be confused with the Jasmine in the original reporting, says that the lack of robust testing at the institution is the culprit here. “The way they have conducted testing is inconsistent and unfair,” she said, “everyone that is not an athlete or selected to be in the surveillance testing has been only tested two times, with no promises of another one coming soon.” Indeed, per NCAA guidelines, 25-50% of the athletics department is to be tested on a weekly basis, with some athletes having been tested six or more times this semester. Most students have been tested much less frequently.</p> <p>The stress of the semester and the virus, says Akarolo, has taken a toll on students. “FSU claims to know what we go through and appreciate our challenges, but they are not supporting us,” she said. “As a leader, you are supposed to do what is right by people, and Frostburg obviously does not know how to execute. They have added stress on top of everything else we are going through and it really hurts,” said Akarolo, “Frostburg, please do better.”</p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>Flexibility from Professors & PC/NC Grading</strong></h4> <p>Seven students who asked to remain anonymous said that the deciding factor for them about whether to return home sooner rather than later hinged on whether their professors would be flexible with them. One wrote, “I’d have already left if I knew my teachers would be easy on deadlines.” Another said, “this is why PC/NC grading would help, because then I’d know it wouldn’t be so hard to pass given everything.”</p> <p>Indeed, Pass Credit/No Credit grading has been a hot topic among students recently on social media. In response to student demand, SGA President Noah DeMichele sent a four page proposal to Interim Provost Dr. Michael Mathias earlier in October with the hopes that FSU would offer students this option as they had in the Spring 2020 semester. A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/frostburg-state-university-pc-nc-grading-at-frostburg-state-university?recruiter=1158121946&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=share_petition&recruited_by_id=0274f470-1351-11eb-a54e-91d5db16ea1b">petition</a> seeking PC/NC grading also circulated and has over 750 signatures from students. Despite their efforts, the Office for Academic Affairs turned SGA down, saying that students and faculty should have been “prepared” for the Fall 2020 semester.</p> <figure id="attachment_18349" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18349" style="width: 290px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18349" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4-39-06-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM.png" data-orig-size="1010,996" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-11-01 at 4.39.06 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Despite FSU’s assertion that faculty and students should have been “prepared” this semester, others in Higher Ed say this term “will be anything but” normal. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/08/12/many-colleges-will-return-normal-grading-fall-will-semester-be</p> " data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM-300x296.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="size-medium wp-image-18349" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM-300x296.png" alt="" width="300" height="296" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM-300x296.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM-768x757.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM-750x740.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM-85x85.png 85w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screenshot-2020-11-01-at-4.39.06-PM.png 1010w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18349" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Despite FSU’s assertion that faculty and students should have been “prepared” this semester, others in Higher Ed say this term “will be anything but” normal. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/08/12/many-colleges-will-return-normal-grading-fall-will-semester-be</em></figcaption></figure> <p>In the week after the decision was made, FSU announced that they would <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-to-pause-in-person-instruction-until-november-4/">pause in-person classes</a> through Nov. 4 because of a significant increase in COVID-19 cases on campus. DeMichele wrote by email, “the switch to online learning through at least November 4 is the same abrupt shift students experienced last semester, causing students more stress in a semester that has not been normal by any means.” He says that SGA has reached back out to University leadership about instituting PC/NC grading, “and we hope to be able to work with them to find a solution to help students succeed this semester.” Liz Medcalf, Director of Communications for FSU, responded to <em>TBL’s </em>request for more information about PC/NC in light of the shift to online instruction. “I was unable to reach Dr. Mathias to be able to answer the Academic Affairs question,” she wrote.</p> <p>Frostburg State University is the only University System of Maryland campus that has had to pause in-person instruction due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Moreover, FSU’s decision comes as local cases surge and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan reports that Allegany County is considered a “red zone.”</p> <h4 style="text-align: center"><strong>University Response to Student Concerns </strong></h4> <p>In a joint statement regarding students who are considering leaving the university due to concerns about COVID-19, FSU President Ronald H. Nowaczyk and Vice President for Student Affairs Artie Travis wrote, “We understand the caution anyone has about choices made during the pandemic. It is a difficult time, and we appreciate any concerns that are raised.” Nowaczyk and Travis say students should reach out with comments or questions to the fall2020@frostburg.edu account that has fielded more than 200 issues this since it was established over the summer. The two reiterated that many of the current cases on campus are in “common social circles” and reported that the positivity rate on campus is 5.64%.</p> <p>The full joint statement, fairly boiler plate in nature, can be found <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/nowaczyk-and-travis-issue-joint-statement-regarding-concerns-about-covid-19-on-campus/">here</a>. Nowaczyk and Travis admit that FSU “was aware there would be challenges” and that “efforts to mitigate risks and provide an unaltered, but substantive educational experience have not been perfect.”</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/over-a-dozen-frostburg-students-vacate-the-dorms-because-of-fsus-handling-of-covid-19-others-are-stuck-or-worried-about-their-grades/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2637</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18340</post-id> </item> <item> <title>FSU Responds Regarding COVID-19 Positive Student Forced to Quarantine in On-Campus Dorm</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-responds-regarding-covid-19-positive-student-forced-to-quarantine-in-on-campus-dorm/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-responds-regarding-covid-19-positive-student-forced-to-quarantine-in-on-campus-dorm/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2020 19:02:56 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18338</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jasmine, an Frostburg State University student and Resident Assistant who tested positive for the coronavirus and spent six days with symptoms quarantining in her dormitory, despite FSU being aware of her symptoms and recommending that she be tested, has now been moved to the Quality Inn where she can recover]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jasmine, an Frostburg State University student and Resident Assistant who tested positive for the coronavirus and spent six days with symptoms quarantining in her dormitory, despite FSU being aware of her symptoms and recommending that she be tested, has now been moved to the Quality Inn where she can recover without the risk of infecting others. In response to Jasmine’s experience and <em>TBL’s </em>investigation, FSU Director of Communications Liz Medcalf has issued the following response at 9:42 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31:</p> <p>“The nursing staff at Brady Health Center has been working very hard to provide care for our students in the midst of a pandemic. However, Brady Health is an ambulatory care center, not an urgent care center. It is designed to handle routine illnesses and minor injuries as well as identifying when reports of more severe symptoms, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, must be addressed in an <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/brady-health/appointments.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">urgent care situation or emergency room</a>.</p> <p class="x_xxxmsonormal">A caller reporting severe symptoms is referred to an urgent care center or emergency room, even for a COVID-19 test, since the related symptoms require higher-level care.<span class="x_xxapple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="x_xxxmsonormal">Students sent to the Quality Inn for isolation (positive case) or quarantine (required because of identified close contact) must be medically cleared first to ensure they do not require higher-level treatment. More severe symptoms need to be reviewed by a physician to determine whether hospitalization should be required.</p> <p class="x_xxxmsonormal">Here is a link to the process the University has used this entire semester for students: <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/fall2020/Contact-Tracing.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">LINK.</a> It is dependent on test result times and other factors sometimes beyond our control. We certainly understand there are complexities in any process and do regret the distress she experienced, but we can report that any student that has been triaged at Brady and needed to be isolated or quarantined has been properly addressed and placed in proper situation for their care.</p> <p class="x_xxxmsonormal">Since the start of the semester, we have successfully assisted all students who have been brought to our attention who were either isolated because of a positive test or who were required to quarantine from contact tracing.</p> <p class="x_xxxmsonormal">FERPA prevents us from specifically identifying certain information about a student’s without permission, but please note that we are reinforcing our efforts to ensure anyone in a leadership position is informed and supported as needed.</p> <p class="x_xxxmsonormal">We are also redoubling our efforts at communicating the procedures, reasons for them, and options available to students more directly.”</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-responds-regarding-covid-19-positive-student-forced-to-quarantine-in-on-campus-dorm/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>162</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18338</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Student RA Sick with COVID in the Dorm for Six Days, FSU Aware but Mostly Unresponsive</title> <link>https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/</link> <comments>https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Cassie Conklin]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:01:34 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[COVID-19]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://thebottomlinenews.com/?p=18290</guid> <description><![CDATA[Jasmine, a junior at Frostburg State University and Resident Assistant at an on-campus dormitory, tested positive for COVID-19 and learned of her results on Thursday, Oct. 29. She spent the three days prior to receiving her results quarantined in her dormitory because she says that, despite knowing of her symptoms,]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure id="attachment_18302" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18302" style="width: 477px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18302" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/untitled-design-37/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559.png" data-orig-size="984,1324" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Untitled design (37)" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-223x300.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-761x1024.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class=" wp-image-18302" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-761x1024.png" alt="" width="487" height="655" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-761x1024.png 761w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-223x300.png 223w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-768x1033.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559-750x1009.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Untitled-design-37-e1604075926559.png 984w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 487px) 100vw, 487px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18302" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Jasmine arrives to UPMC Western Maryland, dropped off by friends, 6 hours after alerting FSU of her positive COVID status / photo: Cassie Conklin</em></figcaption></figure> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine, a junior at Frostburg State University and Resident Assistant at an on-campus dormitory, tested positive for COVID-19 and learned of her results on Thursday, Oct. 29. She spent the three days prior to receiving her results quarantined in her dormitory because she says that, despite knowing of her symptoms, FSU did not provide testing, alternative housing, or support services for her. The following is a chronology of the experience, according to her: </span></p> <p><b>Sunday, October 25: </b><span style="font-weight: 400">In the late evening, Jasmine begins to experience the following symptoms; headache, sore throat. </span></p> <p><b>Monday, October 26: </b><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine wakes up in the late morning with the following symptoms; headache, shortness of breath, sore throat, and she described “feeling disgusting, and you know when you can just smell and taste the sick on yourself?” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">She called <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/brady-health/">Brady Health Center</a>, the on-campus healthcare provider around 2:45 p.m. she said. The receptionist picks up the phone and Jasmine reported saying, “I may have COVID” and going through her symptoms which included chills, weakness, cough, shortness of breath, and a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine said the receptionist suggested that she go to the nearby <a href="https://www.wmhs.com/services/urgent-care-centers/#frostburg">UPMC Urgent Care</a> clinic in Frostburg and “did not mention getting tested on campus.” Jasmine noted that she was not offered transportation nor did the employee at Brady Health inquire about whether she had a way to get to the clinic. Before ending the call, Jasmine said the employee promised that “they’d call me to check on me tomorrow.” She said that the Brady Health Center did not provide instructions to her about self-quarantining or offer alternative housing, nor did the employee tell her how to communicate her test results to the clinic when she received them. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine does not have a car, so a friend who she’s been in close physical proximity to drove her to the urgent care clinic in the Frostburg Plaza. They accepted her Medicaid insurance and gave her a nasal swab test. She returned to the dorm for the evening. </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400">After being tested on Monday, Jasmine reached out to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">The Bottom Line </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">via social media to say that her experience “makes no sense to me because it was my belief that if a student may have covid they’d be moved off campus” and that as an RA she interacts with students often. She told </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">that she doesn’t have food in her dorm and “it’s very difficult to stay isolated because I need to eat.” She concluded, “I feel like the university isn’t fulfilling their duties in keeping the campus safe.” </span></p> <p><b>Tuesday, October 27: </b><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine said she continued to self-isolate. She reported that Brady Health did not call her to check in on Tuesday, though she is sure they said they would. In the afternoon, one of her 18 residents came to her room asking to borrow a broom and Jasmine wasn’t wearing a mask, “it just happened so fast that I didn’t have a chance to put it on,” she said.</span></p> <p><b>Wednesday, October 28: </b><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine continued to self-isolate, she said, and still no call from FSU or Brady Health.</span></p> <figure id="attachment_18299" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18299" style="width: 377px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18299" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4-38-03-am/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM.png" data-orig-size="1500,507" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-10-30 at 4.38.03 AM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-300x101.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-1024x346.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18299" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-300x101.png" alt="" width="387" height="130" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-300x101.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-1024x346.png 1024w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-768x260.png 768w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM-750x254.png 750w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-30-at-4.38.03-AM.png 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 387px) 100vw, 387px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18299" class="wp-caption-text"><em>The FSU COVID-19 Portal where Jasmine was told to upload her results </em></figcaption></figure> <p><b>Thursday, October 29: </b><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine reported that she wakes up around 11:00 a.m. to a call from UPMC Western Maryland with her test results and they told her she is positive for COVID-19. According to her, she called Brady Health within minutes of learning of her results and is told to upload the results into the FSU COVID-19 Portal. Unable to do this because she received her diagnosis over the phone, Jasmine said she called UPMC back where they take her email address and assure her they will email them to her. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 11:14 a.m., Jasmine messages </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL, </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">“Update: I am covid positive and I have been”</span></p> <p> </p> <figure id="attachment_18295" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18295" style="width: 336px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18295" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/3c0e3429-3a8c-4a60-a850-7a15e7c78584/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584.png" data-orig-size="555,171" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584-300x92.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18295 " src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584-300x92.png" alt="" width="346" height="106" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584-300x92.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/3C0E3429-3A8C-4A60-A850-7A15E7C78584.png 555w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18295" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Jasmine’s Twitter message to The Bottom Line with the announcement of her positive status.</em></figcaption></figure> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Approximately an hour later, Brady Health initiated a call to Jasmine she said, where the Nurse Practitioner tells her that they still haven’t received her results and emails an information release form to Jasmine which will allow Brady Health to reach out to UPMC and get the results themselves. During this call, Jasmine reported, “the nurse told me that because of the tightness in my chest, she didn’t feel comfortable sending me to the quarantine hotel. She said it worried her.” Jasmine does not remember the name of the Nurse Practitioner. At 12:49 p.m., Jasmine received the email from Brady Health and gave her permission for the university to reach out to get her test results. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At this point, Jasmine started to call her close friends to let them know of her positive results. The group hypothesizes about where she might have contracted the virus. She had attended the University Programming Council’s Game Night on Saturday, Oct. 24 held in the Lane University Center, but said she wore a mask and maintained social distance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Around 4:30 p.m., a friend of Jasmine’s called the Allegany County Health Department “to try and figure out what they’re supposed to do,” she said. Contact tracing had not yet been initiated at this time, according to Jasmine, and her friends were told they would hear back from the Health Department once the process began. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 4:45 p.m., Jasmine called </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">with the details of the previous few days. She reported that she continued to reside in her dorm room. “I’ve been waiting for someone to call me so I know what to do,” she said, “I’m the one with COVID and they didn’t even tell me what to do.” She said she is surprised that she contracted the virus, “I don’t go anywhere, I don’t do anything. I did everything I’m supposed to do; I wore a mask, I used hand sanitizer, I stayed in small groups, I cleaned, and I still got COVID.” Jasmine told </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">that she’s taking all of her courses online. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 5:12 p.m., the interview is interrupted when Jasmine received an incoming call from, according to her, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Jeff Graham. The call lasts only two minutes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 5:15 p.m., Jasmine called </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">back and said that Graham told her, “the nurse can’t provide the care I need” and that she needs to return home while she recovers from the virus. Jasmine begins to cry saying that “this is so frustrating. I live with someone who is elderly.” She reported that “they won’t take me to the hotel and are making me go home.” Jasmine is from Dundalk, Maryland, about 150 miles from FSU, and wouldn’t have transportation unless her boyfriend who lives in Dundalk is willing to come west to retrieve her. She repeats that Graham told her, “we can’t house you in the hotel because of your symptoms.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 5:19 p.m., the interview is interrupted again when Jasmine said she has an incoming call from a nurse at Brady Health Center. </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400">At 5:24 p.m., she called </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">for the final time and said, “they’re forcing me to go to the emergency room.” She says the nurse suggests that Jasmine call an ambulance if she doesn’t have transportation. Jasmine claims that the nurse told her that, “if they discharge me to home, to quarantine in the dorm and they’ll give me a call tomorrow.” The call ends after 1 minute. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">From there, Jasmine asked the friends who have already been exposed to her for a ride to UPMC Western Maryland in Cumberland. She texted to say she left campus at 5:33 p.m. and arrived at the hospital at 5:48 p.m. </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">met her at the hospital, and from a distance photographed Jasmine as she entered the facility. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 7:35 p.m., students received notification that Frostburg State University is transitioning to online instruction until at least Nov. 4. and Jasmine texted, “I’m glad they finally did that.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 11:22 p.m., Jasmine wrote by text, “I know it’s late I just got discharged and wanted to let you know.” Her friends came to pick her up, she said, and she returned to her dorm. Jasmine texts, “hopefully they don’t keep me there” and that “Brady said they’d call me in the morning, if they don’t call back by noon I’ll call them probably.” </span></p> <h3 style="text-align: center"><b>Back at the Dorm</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine said that a number of student-athletes, a group that has disproportionately contracted the virus this semester, live on her floor in the dorm and that she’s interacted with them, but argued, “as far as I know I haven’t been in contact with a positive person.” She also said that after being tested on Monday she was “not on RA duty” and would be “contacting the hall director to let her know what’s going on.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">After testing positive on Thursday and telling a few friends, some of Jasmine’s residents found out about her results. One resident, a Junior named Ismerai, said that another resident and close friend texted her to tell her about Jasmine’s positive result. Because of the close contact between the friends and Jasmine, they decided to go and get tested in the late afternoon. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">“When I first got the text, I was freaking out and texting my friend back like, ‘She got COVID, bro what? I need to get tested. Where are centers? Will our entire floor have to quarantine?’” Around 4 p.m., the two went to Health Matters Urgent Care in Cumberland and were tested, which cost Ismerai $30. She said Health Matters told her, “you should not go to class and need to self-quarantine until you get the results.” The friends expect to know their results in the next 2-3 days. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Ismerai says that she went off-campus to be tested for a reason, “I absolutely do not trust Brady Health,” she said, “I do not trust the way they or the university have handled COVID and I’ll be more confident with my results if I go off campus.” Ismerai feels that “the university is not taking asymptomatic transmission seriously,” and will follow Health Matters’ guidance to self-isolate even though she doesn’t feel sick. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">As far as transmission goes, Ismerai’s theory is that Jasmine, who mostly stays in the dorms, might have contracted it from the groups that congregate in the third floor lounge of her building, often in groups of 7 or more, with several students observed without masks on multiple occasions. She says the lounge furniture was once set up to maintain social distancing, but students have moved the couches around and that residents of her building do not observe the one guest rule when using the space. Thus residents of other dormitories often outnumber the number of students who live in her building. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">“From a science perspective, this is a mess,” said Ismerai, a STEM major. “I feel like our health isn’t important to FSU, because if it was, we wouldn’t have come back this semester.” </span></p> <h3 style="text-align: center"><b>Off-Campus Quarantine Housing</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">In late July, President Nowaczyk announced FSU’s <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/quarantine.pdf">quarantine/isolation plan</a> and wrote to the campus community, “on-campus students (residence halls and Edgewood residents) who choose not to return home for isolation will be transported to an off-campus hotel to be isolated in a private room for the appropriate period. Those students will receive food from Chartwells, get daily health check-ins from Brady Health, and have access to WiFi so they can continue their studies.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">On September 14, 2020, Vice President for Administration and Finance Leon Wyden, Jr. identified the quarantine hotel as the Quality Inn in Frostburg to the <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IPR.pdf">Institutional Priorities and Resources Committee.</a> He reported that $192,461 in CARES Strengthening Institution grant funds “supports the contract with Quality Inn to house students requiring isolation due to COVID exposure/positive tests.” The Quality Inn is located on New Georges Creek Road next to Burger King. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Students placed in quarantine complained to President Nowaczyk during a <a href="https://youtu.be/rsldTP-EAoQ">virtual chat on Tuesday, Oct. 20</a> that the food served to them was “undercooked” and delivered infrequently. As part of the investigation into that issue, </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400">TBL </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400">visited the Quality Inn and spoke with students in quarantine. One, a student-athlete, reported that he had been placed at the Quality Inn as a precaution because, though he had not yet received his results back, he was assumed positive because of his symptoms and a close contact teammate had tested positive. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Therefore, both in policy reported by Wyden, and in practice as reported by a student in quarantine, FSU has used the Quality Inn as both verified positive isolation housing, as well as presumptive positive quarantine housing for students this semester. It is unknown why Jasmine was not relocated to the hotel following her conversation with Brady Health on Monday. </span></p> <h3 style="text-align: center"><b>Testing Services on Campus</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Jasmine said that when she called Brady Health on Monday she was showing symptoms and told the receptionist so. On numerous occasions, FSU has reported that symptomatic testing would be offered on campus and conducted by Brady Health. An early assurance of this testing availability was provided in an <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/aug20.pdf">email on Aug. 20</a> that read, “certified results reported will include surveillance testing, Brady Health testing of individuals showing symptoms, and verified results from other sources that are uploaded to the University’s portal.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">On a call to Brady Health on Thursday, Oct. 29, when asked about symptomatic testing, the receptionist said, “we’d schedule a telehealth appointment and the decision about whether to test will be made based on your symptoms.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400">Associate Vice President Graham elaborated on this topic during a virtual chat with the Division of Student Affairs on Oct. 29, hosted by SGA Student Affairs Chair Delanie Blubaugh. In response to a question about symptomatic testing, Graham said, “based on symptomatology, an appropriate clinical decision will be made by the staff at Brady Health.” He reported that Brady Health only tests symptomatic individuals and that “sometimes they refer externally” to other testing facilities. He also told those on the recorded video call that the university has “finite resources” and decisions are made “based on financial and human resources.” He told students, “there is no possible way to test everyone.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400">During the meeting, Graham also mentioned the numerous indicators that would trigger a campus closure, including prevalence rate, incidence rate, and positivity rate, among others. One of those indicators, symptomatic testing conducted by Brady Health Center, was cited as the reason for the pausing of in-person instruction through Nov. 4. </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: 400"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/fsu-to-pause-in-person-instruction-until-november-4/">In the press release</a>, FSU wrote, “it is with an abundance of caution that Frostburg State University has decided to pause in-person instruction effective 8 p.m. today (Thursday, Oct. 29), until at least Wednesday, Nov. 4, due to recent increases of symptomatic cases monitored by Brady Health Center, coupled with community spread in the region and related indicators FSU is monitoring.” </span></p> <h3 style="text-align: center"><b>Community Spread of COVID-19 in Allegany County</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">In the days leading up to FSU’s decision to pause in-person instruction, the number of positive cases in Allegany County spiked significantly. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Allegany County Health Department announced <a href="https://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/virus-claims-25th-allegany-county-resident/article_d7f98b84-1940-11eb-868b-8ffd5460cd20.html">50 new cases,</a> the largest single increase at any point since the pandemic began. And over the week prior, the overall positivity rate in the county exceeded 5%. Over the course of 11 days, the county has identified 179 positive cases. </span></p> <figure id="attachment_18298" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-18298" style="width: 459px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="18298" data-permalink="https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9-01-12-pm/" data-orig-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM.png" data-orig-size="735,352" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Screenshot 2020-10-28 at 9.01.12 PM" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM-300x144.png" data-large-file="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM.png" tabindex="0" role="button" class="wp-image-18298" src="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM-300x144.png" alt="" width="469" height="225" srcset="https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM-300x144.png 300w, https://thebottomlinenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Screenshot-2020-10-28-at-9.01.12-PM.png 735w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-18298" class="wp-caption-text"><em>Journalist Amanda Mangan tweeted this statement from Governor Larry Hogan’s Communications Director Mike Ricci on October 28. </em></figcaption></figure> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Following the announcement of the large increase in cases in the last week and a half, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s Communications Director Mike Ricci said on Oct. 28, “while the new cases in Garrett [County] are generally in the community, most of the new cases in Allegany are linked to Frostburg State. We are closely monitoring the situation.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">However, FSU refuted the claim by Governor Hogan’s spokesperson and issued a statement saying that the assertion, “runs counter to FSU’s information and that presented by the Allegany County Health Department.” FSU went on to write, “we are awaiting full results of surveillance testing conducted this week, but preliminary results do not show a significant change from previous reports.” </span></p> <h3 style="text-align: center"><b>Previous Reports of Caseloads by FSU</b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">The most recent update to the <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/fall2020/COVID-Testing.php">FSU COVID-19 testing dashboard</a> was provided on Oct. 20. The reported results were from Oct. 4 through Oct. 17 and included 28 positive results with an overall positivity rate of 5.13%. The Oct. 20 announcement represented the single largest positive caseload report, even higher than the initial universal, campus-wide testing conducted in August. Moreover, prior to Oct. 20, the highest ever reported positivity rate was 1.81%.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">FSU has not provided any caseload information for tests administered after Oct. 17, nearly two weeks ago. According to Liz Medcalf, Director of Communications for FSU, the university seeks to provide bi-weekly updates to the testing dashboard, with the next anticipated announcement due on Tuesday, Nov. 3. <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/significant-time-lapse-in-covid-19-caseload-announcements-unique-to-fsu/">This lapse in time between updates is unique to FSU</a>, and in a <a href="https://thebottomlinenews.com/significant-time-lapse-in-covid-19-caseload-announcements-unique-to-fsu/">survey</a> of other University System of Maryland and regional campuses, Frostburg is the only one that does not provide updates weekly or more often. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">Thus, while FSU reports that the decision to delay in-person instruction is due to an increase in symptomatic test results on campus, they have yet to announce how many positive cases they’ve identified. It is further unknown why on Oct. 28 FSU refuted Governor Hogan’s spokesperson’s assertion that spiking figures locally were attributable to FSU, only to announce the very next day that in-person classes were being paused, in part, because of the increase in cases on campus. </span></p> <h3 style="text-align: center"><b>The Morning After the Hospital Visit </b></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400">At 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, the day after receiving her positive results, Jasmine reached out by text message, “I feel awful, no chest pain or shortness of breath. Both my ears hurt now.” She reports that she is “still on campus” but has heard from Brady Health. “They told me the nurse practitioner Katie would call me,” wrote Jasmine. It is assumed that Jasmine is referring to <a href="https://www.frostburg.edu/brady-health/About%20Us/staff.php">Kaitlyn Morral</a>, the Director of Brady Health. Jasmine has not yet been told where, or if, she will be relocated and wrote, “I’m hoping they put me in the hotel because I feel so bad being in my dorm!” Politely turning down an offer of additional assistance, Jasmine wrote, “I’m okay right now, not much I need unless you’ve got the cure?” </span></p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://thebottomlinenews.com/student-ra-sick-with-covid-in-the-dorm-for-six-days-fsu-aware-but-mostly-unresponsive/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>77</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">18290</post-id> </item> </channel> </rss>