August 20, 2020

Grad Students Challenge University-Mandated COVID-19 Agreements-Science Magazine

On Saturday, Lauren Pope—a biology Ph.D. student at Stanford University—received an email detailing a “graduate student compact” she’ll be required to sign before she can register for the fall semester. The document lays out expectations for how students will behave on campus given fears of COVID-19 transmission, as well as punishment procedures for those who don’t follow the rules. Pope—who returned to the lab in June to resume her research and lives in on-campus housing—is concerned about the one-sided nature of the agreement. “I would be more comfortable signing this … if there were more precautions and transparency on how [the university is] going to keep us safe.” Science Magazine, 08/20/2020