By Leah Wilkinson
Updated Feb. 17 at 10:58 a.m.
Bellarmine University students are unhappy and confused after receiving two conflicting emails about weather policies and campus closures within the span of 30 hours.
Dr. Sean Ryan, senior vice president for administration and trustee affairs, sent out an email on Sunday to notify students of the school’s inclement weather policy. This email restated the policies the university already had in place, which included not having any classes on days when the campus closed due to inclement weather. Under the “closure” section of this email, it stated:
“No classes — including evening classes — will take place, and most university services are suspended. This applies to all classes throughout the day and evening, whether they normally meet in person or online.”
But on Monday, students received an email from Dr. Paul Gore, vice president for academic affairs and provost, that stated: “Based on feedback from students, faculty, and staff members, we have made a change to how we deliver courses when severe weather requires us to close campus.”
The change? Bellarmine students can now expect to attend class virtually on snow days.
The issue? Many Bellarmine students have said they did not provide feedback.
Student Government Association executive board members met with Gore Wednesday morning and shared students’ concerns and frustration.
Kelze Riley, Bellarmine senior and SGA vice president of community engagement and campus culture, said the meeting revealed no students were asked and that graduate and secondary degree students reached out with concerns due to upcoming licensure exams.
“It wouldn’t have been anything to get other students on a Teams call [Monday],” Riley said. “Like, ‘Hey, we wanna get student feedback regarding this policy.’ Anybody would have responded.”
In the time leading up to Wednesday’s meeting, students were confused and had many questions about the policy change.
Riley said she had two main questions for Ryan and Gore, neither of whom responded to requests to be interviewed for this story.
“Why is there so much inconsistency in your messaging, and two, what are you all hearing on your end?” Riley said.
Riley said there were at least 300 messages sent Monday in an SGA GroupMe.
This led the SGA Executive Board to send a letter to Gore Monday. SGA also shared the letter via its Instagram account, and the post garnered a lot of attention, receiving more than 450 likes and 40 comments since Monday night.
Olivia Atkinson, Bellarmine junior and SGA vice president of education affairs, drafted SGA’s letter to Gore. Once SGA representatives saw Atkinson’s letter, they knew they wanted to be transparent with students and share it with them as well.
“I’m really probably one of the closest people to [Gore] on campus and we meet on a fairly regular basis, so I feel like it’s my duty to the students to say something because I’m his closest contact to the student body,” Atkinson said. “I just texted all those groups and was like, ‘If you have any concerns, I know you all have questions — send those questions and concerns to me,’ and that’s really where the statement came from.”
Atkinson said SGA members wanted to share their letter to Gore to show transparency.
“I felt like it was my job to represent SGA and these concerns with the letter, so that ended up getting sent to Dr. Gore, and then we as an executive board decided to send it out so students felt like their voices were being heard and they would know exactly what we said to leadership,” Atkinson said.
Senior Jessica Marcrum said she was surprised how quickly SGA released a letter.
“I’m impressed how fast SGA has acted on it. That was impressive because Paul Gore sent the email and then I think like an hour or two later, SGA had a statement,” Marcrum said.
Gore responded to SGA’s letter Tuesday morning, and SGA shared his response via Instagram. This post received more than 70 comments.
“And then we did the same thing with his email response because he said something about how he hopes students will be able to read his response, so that’s why we ended up posting it on social media this morning,” Atkinson said.
In Gore’s response to SGA, he said feedback came from students in health care majors.
“But then most health care majors [in the comments] are saying they did not [agree to this],” Riley said.
Cari Campbell — a senior nursing major who said she did not provide feedback and did not agree with the decision — commented on the post:
“i’m a health care major who uses the SSC and accommodations regularly. i had an exam this morning and i was unable to use the testing center, it was really hard on my disability and compromised my abilities. this also means that many work-study students can’t work and aren’t getting paid, many use that for tuition and we have to work a certain amount of hours to keep that reward. as a dedicated nursing major, i’m suffering from severe academic burnout and absolutely would NOT have jeopardized my fellow knights’ success to accommodate myself,” Campbell’s comment stated.
Katherine Barr, a freshman SGA representative, said she found the administration’s lack of inclusivity unusual.
“One of the big things I looked at [when coming to] Bellarmine was I really liked how inclusive they were with students and how the student body was represented, and I feel like with what happened last night regarding both of those emails I didn’t see that,” Barr said.
Marcrum said she expected Bellarmine to have better communication when looking to obtain feedback from students.
“Usually, Bellarmine is really good about talking to the students,” Marcrum said. “There are a few people who are on SGA’s e-board who are also on the Bellarmine Society, so I feel like if they’re saying, ‘Hey, we didn’t know about this,’ then I feel like Bellarmine Society also didn’t know, and that’s usually who [the administration] go and talk to about the things for Bellarmine.”
Barr said she also found the lack of transparency unfamiliar.
“Usually, Bellarmine does a really nice job most of the time with student feedback. They always give us the opportunity to express our opinions about something,” Barr said. “I know when all the Covid planning was happening, there were a lot of student surveys and student discussions about the Covid planning process and just having that opportunity to have our voices heard.”
Sophomore Gus Buck said he was inspired to send out a Google form after hearing students’ confusion.
“At first I was just kinda joking about it at dinner right after the announcement came out, and [my friends] were like, ‘Really?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, why not?’” Buck said.
In that form, Buck asked students if they gave feedback, and if so, what that feedback was.
Buck said he received about 800 responses and that approximately 92% of those were from students who said they were not asked to provide feedback.
“People definitely shared it and spread it around,” Buck said.
Buck said he assumed Bellarmine wouldn’t have snow days, making him very happy when he discovered Monday was a snow day.
“I’m totally OK if from the beginning we never had a snow day,” Buck said. “I honestly thought that was how it was gonna be. So, when they said, ‘We don’t have classes because of the weather,’ I was happy. I was like a little kid again.”
But Buck said his mindset shifted when he received Gore’s email Monday evening, which is when he decided to send out the form.
“My whole reasoning behind [making the Google form] was, ‘OK, they’ve now completely 180’d and done exactly the opposite of what they’re saying, but the worst part is they’re saying it’s based on our feedback,’” Buck said. “I just wanted to know if [the administration] actually got feedback because had everyone said, ‘Yeah, I gave feedback — it was on this poll or this survey,’ then I would’ve been like, ‘Great, they did their job and we now know people actually said they wanted this.’
Haley Planicka, a sophomore SGA class representative and part of the public relations committee, said she believes Bellarmine’s decisions should always be student-centric.
“I think the first thing I would ask is in reference to the section of his statement where he says ‘student’s voices are an important factor in many, but not all, decisions made by the university,’ and I think I would ask him why we aren’t made a factor in a lot of these important decisions, because, frankly, we are the ones keeping the university open,” Planicka said. “We’re the ones paying thousands of dollars.”
Planicka said she also believes this decision disadvantages some students, as Gore stated in his email.
“Even in [Gore’s] statement, he directly says ‘We are very aware… the hardship our policy might impose on some students,’ so, I’m just confused, if they’re already going into this knowing it’s going to put hardship on students and it’s going to disadvantage them in the learning environment, then why are we even doing it?” Planicka said.
Bellarmine senior and SGA environmental committee chair Eli Lonnemon said she also found that part of Gore’s response especially problematic.
“Ultimately, at the end of the day, Bellarmine is a business and we are the customers, and I think I was a little taken aback, and I think a lot of the students were, too, when the response from Dr. Gore said, ‘Students’ voices are an important factor in many, but not all, decisions made by the university on behalf of students, teaching, and learning,’ and that did not sit well with me because we are adults and we are the stakeholders here,” Lonneman said.
Students also expressed their concerns for those who don’t have internet access.
“I think it also goes with the fact that students who have poor connectivity and who rely on coming to the university and using our resources and technology to complete their online homework. I think putting the burden on them to reach out to professors, to explain their situations, is not the right way to go.” Planicka said.
Buck said he feels the same.
“There are some people who don’t have access to WiFi in their houses, and then with the weather, I had friends who were calling their parents because their power was out,” Buck said.
Marcrum said she understands not being able to attend classes virtually.
“I actually recently got internet at my house, but before, I had to go to a public library,” Marcrum said. “What if that was what students were counting on, or like going to Bellarmine’s library? It’s like if classes are closed and obviously the roads aren’t safe, how do you get students access to their classes then?”
Riley said she believes everyone should be given the same opportunities.
“We only have three days of spring break — just give us three snow days. Especially because students, even in the residence halls, are having WiFi problems already,” Riley said. “How do we think allowing them to make up late work is going to be the solution? It’s not. The solution is to not have class for anybody, so everyone can be on the same page again.”
Riley said she’s also frustrated by the university’s inconsistency when it comes to inclusivity.
“They’re pushing us all on the guise of inclusion and ‘equity for all and everyone’s gonna have access to catch up on work,’ but we don’t know when this is gonna be over. Let’s say [students] don’t have power or their power is wonky or their WiFi is wonky until Thursday, that’s two class periods they’ve missed on top of [Monday’s] course they missed,” Riley said.
Lonneman also said it is important to give students a break during a semester that doesn’t have many. She said she believes snow days are especially important during Covid-19.
“We need a break,” Lonneman said. “It is stressful and it is scary, and we just need the time we are not given.”
Dr. Barbara Jackson, nursing faculty member and president of faculty council, said she believes faculty are going to be gracious during this time.
“I think the challenging thing is, we as faculty, and certainly as faculty leadership, we work really hard to try to make sure we meet the needs of the students,” Jackson said. “The educational needs, the personal needs, and I think that, too, is why, in my message to the faculty, it was ‘Let’s make sure that because of technology or any other reason, that [faculty] provide grace.’”
Jackson said there aren’t the same protocols in place for all faculty due to each person’s specific situation at home and their teaching styles.
“Lots of faculty are working remotely, and we don’t know what their situation is. Lots of faculty have young kids at home, so they might have some different things,” Jackson said. “One thing I stressed of importance in my email to the faculty last night is that communication is key. You have got to communicate with the students, and communication of the expectations is of utmost importance.
Jackson said she encourages students to reach out to deans and department chairs if there are faculty who aren’t providing leniency.
“The one thing we’ve asked for is for the deans to check in with their chairs and for the chairs to check in with their faculty to say, ‘What are the challenges you’re having? Have you reached out to the students?’ And while the majority have done that just fine, I do understand that there may be somebody who hasn’t,” Jackson said.
Jackson said the students she works with aren’t upset about the decision.
“I work with a lot of students that are actually totally fine with the decision,” Jackson said. “I think the other thing is that, while I supported the newest of the policies, the one thing we are encouraged to and really desire to keep is the connection with students, and when you just cancel things, there’s no opportunity for connection.”
Jackson said she doesn’t believe a few students potentially missing classes should be reason for snow days.
“So even if there are a few students that can’t attend to the class, the one thing providing online education does is — in that form, for that crisis time — it allows us to maintain the connection for the students and to help us get a feel for how you guys are doing. If we just cancel things, we don’t know how you guys are doing.”
Riley said she believes the decision to hold virtual classes on snow days is no benefit to students.
“I feel like this is disempowering students,” Riley said. “BU asked us to use our voices.”
Marcrum, who has worked in admissions, said she thinks the lack of student feedback in this decision could have an impact on prospective students’ likelihood of choosing to attend Bellarmine.
“Just from an admissions point of view, it’s like, if you’re only gonna listen to the health care majors, because everyone knows our school of nursing is really well-known in the state of Kentucky, it’s like, if you’re only gonna listen to them and like you only care about them, why would I want to come here [if I am] a different major? Marcrum said. “Why didn’t you ask everybody? Is my major not important enough?”
Barr said she hopes things can look different in the future.
“In the future, as someone from SGA, I hope to continue that working relationship with Paul Gore and the rest of the affairs committee that deals with all the school and stuff like that,” Barr said. “Hopefully, this will just be a learning curve in making sure all students have the opportunity to give their opinions about a policy change at the university.”
Planicka said she wants students to know SGA is there for them.
“We think it’s really important that the students know we’re on their side and that we signed up for these positions because we want to be a voice for students. We’re not just gonna sit back and be like, ‘Well, they’re the university. They know what’s best,’ because I don’t think that’s true all the time,” Planicka said.
Planicka said she wants the administration to see why students are upset.
“I think it’s important that the administration hears the concerns and the feedback from students, even if it’s not necessarily what they want to hear,” Planicka said. “I’m sure Paul Gore really wasn’t excited to wake up this morning to hundreds of emails of negative feedback.”
Lonneman said she hopes Bellarmine students’ voices can make a difference.
“I’ve never seen, in my four years [here], Bellarmine students get this riled up about something and I think justly so, when you have this many students who are expressing outrage just to say ‘We are not going to listen to you this time.’”