AP
August 13, 2020 | 1:27 PM
BOSTON (AP) — Boston University faculty are planning to protest the school’s plan to reopen the campus this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Faculty are planning a car rally on Thursday to call on the school to provide employees the option to work from home and provide free personal protective equipment to all faculty, staff and students. They are also demanding free COVID-19 testing for residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the university.
The rally, scheduled Thursday from 2-4 p.m., starts off at Christian A Herter Park, 1175 Soldiers Field Rd, in Boston, with the caravan traveling from the park to Kenmore Square and then onto Commonwealth Ave.
“Concerns about the implementation of health and safety measures are widespread among faculty, staff, and students,” Senior Lecturer Jason Prentice said in an emailed statement. “To all of us — and the surrounding community, to which we also belong — BU has a moral responsibility to prioritize health and safety.”
BU students are slated to receive a mix of in-person and remote learning, school officials announced in June.
Students will also be tested upon returning to campus this fall, and twice per week throughout the academic year, through the school’s in-house testing program, according to the university.
Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok sent a letter earlier this month to the presidents of both Boston University and Northeastern University asking them to hold their fall semesters entirely online, fearing the city’s usual massive influx of out-of-state students poses a public health risk during the coronavirus pandemic this year.
Massachusetts reported 18 newly confirmed deaths linked to COVID-19 on Wednesday — bringing the total number of confirmed and probable deaths to 8,769 since the start of the pandemic. The state also reported Tuesday 229 newly confirmed cases of the disease caused by the coronavirus.
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