Kentucky Kernel: September 8, 2020

kentuckykernel

Tuesday, September 8, 2020 est. 1892 | Independent since 1971 www.kykernel.com @kykernel @kentuckykernel

HELMING THE SHIP IN UNCHARTED WATERS Modality ratios All of UK

6

19%

37.2% 42% 1.3%

Campus union petitions for safety

.5%

9

Derby day parties

11

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

A&S dean dismissed abruptly, prompting faculty letter to provost

By Emily Girard and Natalie Parks news@kykernel.com

Longtime dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Mark Kornbluh, was dismissed from his position last Monday, Aug. 31.

Provost David Blackwell announced the change in an email to faculty, saying that the change was effective immediately and that a search for a new dean would be “a very high priority” of his office.

According to a piece by Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Linda Blackford, the provost attended a Zoom meeting with A&S faculty where he said the change was financial.

“He told me that he had lost faith in me and my deanship was over”.

- MARK KORNBLUH Blackford said the announcement was a “miscalculation” on the university’s part “ignominous” it was announced to faculty, especially in the beginning of an already challenging semester.

In a letter to A&S faculty, Kornbluh said that he was not given any warning of the change and had not met with the provost for several months before he was called into a meeting on Aug. 31.

“He told me that he had lost faith in me and my deanship was over. He told me that he had a generous offer if I would sign a resignation letter and agreement that he had typed up,” Kornbluh wrote. He then went on to say that he asked for time to think it over, but the provost indicated he must sign now “or the offer was off the table and he would terminate me.”

Kornbluh said he did not regret not signing the papers and that he is happy to return to the ranks of faculty.

“No matter how generous, I am pleased to have turned down an agreement that would have left me beholden,” Kornbluh said in reference to the ability to speak his mind now that he is no longer dean. “What made being a dean work for me is that I always knew that I could go back to being a professor in the History Department. I have always been prepared intellectually to return to the faculty.”

Kornbluh ended his letter by thanking faculty for their support.

The College of Arts & Sciences is the largest at UK,

with over 5,800 undergraduate students,, 29 degree-granting majors and 440 faculty, according to its website. A&S also hosts 85 percent of general education courses.

“No matter how generous, I am pleased to have turned down an agreement that would have left me beholden”.

- MARK KORNBLUH Faculty were not aware of the change before it was announced to them over email. Nearly 30 faculty have signed a letter sent to the provost expressing their disagreement with Kornbluh’s dismissal.

According to the copy of the letter obtained by the Kernel, the faculty feel that Kornbluh made the college “a forward-looking unit that provides its students, faculty, and staff both a welcoming place to work and the tools to excel nationally and internationally in research, teaching, and service.”

every hour. every day. kykernel.com 2 | kentucky kernel

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

kentuckykernel

CONTACT Editor-in-chief: Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

ON CAMPUS TESTING SITE AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS UK will open an outdoor COVID-19 testing site for students and begin on-campus wastewater testing, according to a Thursday email

by UK President Eli Capilouto.

The testing site will be open for the rest of the fall semester and is open for any student who wants to get tested, so long as they are asymptomatic.

Capilouto said students who are symptomatic shouldthey should immediately contact University Health Service at (859) 323-2778.”

The testing center will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be located on the lawn of the William T. Young Library, right outside of The 90. On days when there is inclement weather, testing will move inside The 90.

Testing will be operated by Wild Health, UK’s lab partner that conducted the university’s baseline and re-testing efforts.

Students wishing to be tested can register at https://wildhealthcovid19testing.as.me/schedule.php Employees can still be tested at the community testing sites on College Way and at Eastern State Hospital.

The decision to open optional testing for students came after UK finished retesting all Greek life students as part of Phase II. UK will also begin wastewater testing in response to recent research by the CDC showing that COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater. The testing will begin at Ingels Hall, UK’s designated quarantine dorm, so that UK can get a baseline for comparison.

“In short, the virus can be detectable in wastewater or sewage,” Capilouto wrote in his email. “As a result, detection of increasing levels in wastewater could be an early indicator of an outbreak or increased prevalence.”

Capilouto concluded his email by listing the seven factors UK considers most important for campus safety, including positivity

rates and the capacity for continued contact tracing.

KENTUCKY FOOTBALL MAKES POWERFUL STATEMENT AGAINST RACIAL INJUSTICE After a four-year legal battle, the lawsuit between UK and the Kentucky Kernel will be heard by the Kentucky Supreme Court this fall.

The lawsuit, Kernel Press v. University of Kentucky, was originally filed against the student newspaper in August 2016.

The case will be heard by a panel of judges on Oct. 23 at 9:30 a.m., according to the Kentucky Kernel’s attorney.

The original lawsuit was filed when the Kentucky Kernel requested documents regarding a Title IX investigation into UK professor James Harwood under the Open Records Act. Harwood, who has since been fired, was allegedly involved in sexual misconduct with two students. UK declined to provide them.

In January 2017, the Fayette County Circuit Court ruled in favor of UK, citing concerns over student privacy. The judge, Thomas Clark, cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which requires students’ permission for release of their educational records, as justification for not having to provide the documents to the Kernel.

After the 2017 decision, the Kernel appealed the case to Kentucky’s Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the Kernel in May of 2019, saying that UK did not make “any attempt to comply with the Open Records Act” which is contrary to the purpose of the law, rooted in transparency. This meant that UK would have to release the documents regarding the Harwood case to the newspaper, with the appropriate redactions to protect students’ privacy.

After that Court of Appeals decision, UK motioned for discretionary review, which was granted by the Supreme Court in December of 2019.

— STAFF REPORT

Managing editor: Michael Clubb editor@kykernel.com News/features editor: Lauren Campbell news@kykernel.com Asst. news editors: Haley Blackburn Emily Girard Sports editor: Braden Ramsey sports@kykernel.com Opinions editor: Sarah Michels opinions@kykernel.com Asst. Opinions editor: Gillian Stawiszynski Photo editor: Tori Rogers Designers: Mya LaCLair Ryder Noah From Social media manager: Sarah Simon-Patches KENTUCKY KERNEL OFFICES 340 McVey Hall University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40506

On the cover: Student Body President Courtney Wheeler poses for a portrait outside the Gatton Student Center on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky.

All data from Lexington Fayette County Health Department’s daily updates, available at lfchd. org/covid19data/

fall 2020 | 3

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Helming the ship in uncharted waters:

How SGA president Courtney Wheeler is adapting to a year like no other

By Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

Courtney Wheeler was sworn into the office of student body president over Zoom, wearing a suit jacket and running shorts.

An Ashland, Ky. native, Wheeler was elected to her new position in early March - the same week that Kentucky saw its first case of coronavirus, that UK lost to Tennessee in the final home basketball game and seven days before UK announced that classes would be remote for the two weeks following spring break.

Since then, Wheeler estimates she has been on over 300 Zoom calls totaling at least as many hours as she navigates her role as student body president.

Wheeler is a business management and business communications major, a concentration that made UK the only school for her when she was applying during senior year of high school.

“I have a much different track than what we’ve seen before. A lot of people when they hear student government are like ‘oh you’re poli sci, you want to go to law school’ and I’m like no,” Wheeler said. “No

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interest.”

A born and raised Cats fan, Wheeler remembers taking trips to the old student center as a child, remembers when John Calipari was hired and remembers coming to football games when Rick Brooks was coach - but she was the first person in her family to attend UK as a student. But since she started, five of her cousins have followed suit and joined her in Lexington.

When Wheeler ran for president, all five were able to vote for her.

“They really rallied behind me and were willing to wear blue for a picture for our social media and it was just a really unique story because it was not just me, it was my whole family,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler had not heard of coronavirus when the student body election was happening - but shortly after, students went home for spring break and Wheeler and her team had to adapt their planning to virtual collaboration.

None of her core leadership team, including Vice President Bilal Shaikh and Chief of Staff Kelly Mattingly, were in the same cities.

Wheeler said they built

their whole team virtually, sending out applications online only and holding interviews over Zoom. SGA even passed a new constitution and codes while in quarantine, an event Wheeler said never happens - but was necessary so they could fill their responsibilities.

COVID-19 has changed not just the way Wheeler and SGA conduct their work, but the focus of it.

Wheeler and Shaikh ran on a platform focusing on transparency, mental health advocacy and diversity and inclusion.

Wheeler said those things are still her focus, but that SGA has adapted to current needs with new initiatives like PPE funding for student organizations so students can socialize safely.

And, COVID-19 has facilitated change in some areas, like transparency. Now that SGA meetings are held virtually, they are easier to livestream - which SGA does over Facebook, and hopefully Youtube once their channel is approved.

Wheeler said diversity, equity and inclusions was one of the most important things for the university, not just SGA to focus on.

This semester, all members

of SGA will go through two anti-racism trainings taught

by Dr. Nicole Martin, the director of Inclusive Excellene and Diverse Education.

According to Wheeler, the most important part of her job is listening to and advocating for students.

“My role isn’t to clean up messes that the university has created, my role is to advocate on what students want and make sure their voice is heard at the table, because that’s how we’re going to make change,” Wheeler said.

This year, that meant a heavy presence on workstream’s for UK’s fall reopening. At least one SGA member served on each of the 16 workstreams; Wheeler started on the student success team and on Team Blue for the reopening scenarios.

UK’s COVID-19 planning teams came up with options for four different restart scenarios, including the reopening that became the frontrunner.

“No idea was a bad idea especially in the Team Blue meetings,” Wheeler said.

“They discussed ‘ok, do we only bring back freshmen and seniors’ and I was like ‘woah woah woah – the rising sophomores had their

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Student Body President Courtney Wheeler poses for a portrait in the Gatton Student Center on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky. Wheeler served as Chief of Staff for the previous SGA president before she ran herself.

freshmen year cut short and so they didn’t have that freshmen promise that us seniors had.”

Wheeler was also on a Wednesday Zoom call for updates from every workstream along with

the chairs of the staff and faculty Senate Councils, John Gent and Dr. Aaron Cramer.

At last week’s faculty Senate meeting, it was Cramer who asked Wheeler See SGA on page 5

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

SGA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

how students were feeling about lagging testing reports from UK. “I’ll answer that question all day long,” Wheeler said, “and I’ll tell them if I don’t know and I need to go find out more information because if they’re asking for student opinions, that means students are on their mind and we need every staff member and every faculty member, especially every senior administrator, to ask that question.”

Confusion over testing numbers is one thing Wheeler said she was concerned over in the reopening, saying that the differences between the health department’s numbers and UK’s numbers is “nerve-wracking” and “anxiety-inducing” for stu-

dents because they don’t know where to turn for answers.

But, she’s seeing successes on campus as well, including mask wearing and the percentage of students filling out the daily screening; according to UK’s COVID-19 reporting page, more students than staff fill out their screening every day.

“That is a proud day in the student body president’s book when we are complying better than others,” Wheeler said. “Now, I would like to still see that number grow, I’d like to see it at about 100 percent, but we’re doing it.”

Wheeler acknowledged that students are feeling stressed and overwhelmed with uncertainty this semester.

“There are still so many outstanding questions that I’m sure students have but

I think A) the university probably doesn’t have the answer, B) if they do it might not be as specific as they are wanting,” Wheeler said, which is why she encourages the administration to communicate with students as much as possible.

“Eliminating uncertainty and confusion and anxiety and stress during this time while also not blasting the same thing everyday is a really hard balance, and I always told the administration, none of that less is more now,” Wheeler said.

“More is more. Over-communicate.”

And Wheeler said that while change can be slow, she has seen actual change at the university since March.

“People are getting in the room saying ‘this is what we need to make change on’ and they’re ac-

tually taking action steps instead of here’s the room, let’s talk about it, let’s table it for three years from now,” Wheeler said, citing the removal of the Memorial Hall mural as an example.

UK announced in June that the mural, which depicts slavery in Kentucky, would be removed from the foyer of Memorial.

“How many years did we talk about that? I’ve been here four years. How many years have students been begging for that?”

Wheeler said.

One change Wheeler and Shaikh are committed to is getting excused absences for mental health care, such as appointments at UK’s Counseling Center and VIP Center.

“If you’re physically ill, you can get a doctor’s excuse, why can’t if you’re mentally feeling down or

LUKE TAYLOR | STAFF SGA presidential candidate Courtney Wheeler and her running mate Bilal Shaikh (far left) prepare to speak during the President and Vice President Debate on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, at UK College of Law Grand Courtroom in

needing some crisis help, why can’t you take care of yourself?” Wheeler said.

Making it happen will require a rule change in the faculty Senate, but Wheeler is committed to the project.

Mental health advocacy is personal for Wheeler,

who was close friends UK student Taylor Nolan, who died of suicide in 2019.

Wheeler and Nolan met through SGA, where they both served as fresh men senators. It was the See SGA on page 8

opinions

More than athletes: Why UK fans should support the men’s basketball’s stand with BLM

By Amy Tesfayesus opinions@kykernel.com

Coach John Calipari and the UK men’s basketball team have decided that their time and influence won’t stop when they get off the court.

Last month, an image circulated on social media featuring Coach Cal having a conversation with his young athletes sitting around a table, addressing the importance of exercising their right and civic duty by voting.

In conjunction, a couple weeks later, UK MBB posted a video on Twitter and Facebook that included players wearing “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts, proclaiming their stance on the country’s political and social climate. The players speak about police brutality and systemic racism, while acknowledging the victims who have fallen prey to the country’s state-sanctioned institutions. The video also includes a call to action for the fans to step up and support the team off the court,

with a few players stating their individual experiences of racism. The video ends with a clip of the team proclaiming, “Black Lives Matter,” while the historical, iconic and dark song “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday plays over a black screen for the last 30 seconds.

As expected, the video was met with immediate polarization.

I won’t sugarcoat it; a large number of people (white, and largely old) took to Twitter replies and

Facebook comments to express their disgust over the team’s show of unity with the Black Lives Matter movement by the team.

Many claimed they would no longer be cheering for the team despite having watched them play for years. The “All Lives Matter” choir sang like canaries. Numerous people expressed disdain for mixing “politics” with sports.

However, the team has not wavered on their stance, so the folks hoping for a redaction shouldn’t

hold their breath.

On the contrary, the thousands of retweets, likes and shares tell a story of imperative support.

This video is important because it speaks to a huge point: racism is blind to everything besides skin color. It doesn’t discriminate between positions of power, income or industry. These young athletes still wear their black skin when they move on and off the court, the same way an NBA player, no matter how successful, is still first and

foremost a black man. The university doesn’t protect them. Money doesn’t protect them. Status doesn’t protect them.

Can one simply remove their blackness when they’re playing a game?

Maybe some fans would like players to do so, but that’s not an option for the black athletes whose worth some fans are equating to entertainment. Making a choice not to watch or support the team doesn’t See BLM on page 8

fall 2020 | 5

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

news

In-person, hybrid or online: How do this semester’s courses break down?

By Haley Blackburn news@kykernel.com

One month into the fall semester, the university administration, students and professors are working to navigate the unique course delivery methods that have arisen out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

UK announced early on in the planning process that this fall’s courses would come in different formats, some traditional, some virtual.

According to UK registrar Kim Taylor, courses this fall are 37.3 percent in-person, 41.9 percent fully online and 19 percent hybrid instruction.

Numerically, that translates to 1895 traditional courses and 2092 fully online courses.

Taylor said it is important to remember these numbers don’t include courses with enrollment of zero or one, or courses labeled as independent research or clinical hours.

Traditional modality refers to classes that are primarily held face-to-face on the main UK campus; off-campus classes are held in-person at a designated off-campus location; hybrid classes are a blend of in-person and online instruction; internet, web-based meetings are held fully online and compressed video courses are broadcasted live from an in-person meeting to designated remote locations.

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Fewer than 2 percent of classes are off campus or compressed video modalities, according to data provided by the registrar’s office.

Different course formats were introduced as a way to balance safety guidelines with academic success.

“Ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all members of our community is always our top priority in everything we do. We then attempted to match the delivery method to best achieve course learning objectives given limitations on physical distancing in our classrooms,” Taylor said.

Each college has a slightly different breakdown of course modalities.

UK’s College of Dentistry has the highest percentage of traditional courses, with 97.8 percent of its courses occurring in-person.

The College of Nursing has the second highest percentage of traditional courses, with 138 of its 195 classes taking place in-person.

The College of Communication and Information, at 20.52 percent, has the lowest percentage of in-person classes, though both Arts and Sciences and Health Sciences are just above 22 percent traditional instruction.

Not all colleges offer all three modalities – the College of Public Health

only has in-person (40 percent) or online (60 percent) classes. Dentistry does not offer hybrid courses either, just traditional or fully online.

Some classes may not have changed modality completely but had changed locations to a bigger room or alternating attendance policies depending on room limitations.

This factor did play into the decision of whether to switch course modality or not, Taylor said.

Decisions on course modality were also affected by the distancing and masking policies on campus, Taylor said. She said that the difficulty of holding performance-based classes like theater in a masked and distanced environment meant those classes were often switched to hybrid or online modalities.

“Given the limitations of spacing in the classrooms and the requirements for masks, instructors may have decided some content could be delivered more effectively in an online modality,” Taylor said.

However, Taylor said instructors were not directly allowed to choose which mode to teach their class, but rather it was a collaborative decision.

“Because some courses are better suited for certain modalities—and because some colleges strongly encouraged some modalities—it largely depended

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Scott Berry teaches a Fluid Mechanics class in the Grand Ballroom as students sit socially distanced on Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, at the Gatton Student Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

on the faculty member’s college and the specific course whether they taught in a certain modality,” Taylor said. “These were collaborative decisions of department chairs and faculty members with the overall goal of providing students sufficient options.”

Taylor said no university-wide requirements were given on what course modality instructors must teach their class, but these kinds of decisions were made on a more intimate level.

“On several occasions,

the Office of the Provost made it clear that there was not a requirement that any particular faculty member teach in any particular modality, but that it was the responsibility of each college to maintain a mix of course modalities and also to have courses delivered in ways appropriate to support each course’s learning objectives,” Taylor said.

If instructors had been concerned about teaching through the modality they were given, Taylor said those conversations would have then taken place at the

department level.

“There would have been discussions of which courses could be taught in which modalities, and which faculty members would then teach those courses, accommodating any concerns of faculty members,” Taylor said.

Some students have expressed confusion about the course modality listed in their myUK portal.

Olivia Johnson, a sophomore psychology major, said her class modality See COURSES on page 7

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

COURSES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

suddenly changed before classes.

“Before coming to campus I had three online classes and three hybrid, but before classes started they switched to all online,” Johnson said.

Anna McCowan, a senior and human health sciences major, said the label for one of her classes never changed in myUK even when the instructor has said the modality has.

“One of my hybrid courses doesn’t actually meet in person, so I don’t know why it is listed as hybrid,” McCowan said.

Rebekah Pearson, a senior special education major, said she experienced similar confusion.

“All 5 of my classes are listed as in-person in myUK, but are formatted in an alternating attendance model, so they are more of a hybrid,” Pearson said.

In addition to the discrepancy with myUK, students have also expressed confusion with some of the course modalities themselves. Mackenzie Hicks, a senior elementary education major, said the hybrid course model has been a confusing adjustment for her.

“I feel much better when there is an organized timeline for my classes rather than not knowing whether or not my class will be in person and if I will have to drive to campus,” Hicks said. “I think the plan looks better on paper than it does executed.”

Students aren’t the only ones still navigating the ins and outs of course modali-

ties.

Johnson said her instructors have expressed concerns over their course modality.

“However, I can tell that they are trying to make class as normal as possible.”

Hicks said multiple of her professors have expressed concerns. One even decided to change their course modality from hybrid to fully online out of fear of spreading COVID-19 through the in-person parts of their hybrid course.

Despite the new formatting, most students said their professors are being adaptive and prioritizing health in their modalities.

Sophie Meadors, a senior broadcast journalism major, said though she has in-person class there have definitely been decisions made that make her feel safer.

“For instance, one of my classes was originally assigned a classroom that was kind of small, but we were able to switch classrooms to better accommodate social distancing when we realized it wouldn’t work in that room. There’s also always hand sanitizer and wipes available in my classrooms, “ Meadors said.

Halee Kinder, a sophomore animal science major, said her professors have worked directly with her to make sure her health and safety is a priority.

“I didn’t realize [one class] was in person class, and when I asked if I could not come in, [my professor] made sure to let me know if I need any help we’ll do what it takes to keep me caught up,” Kinder said.

Course modality breakdown

All of UK

.5% 19%

37.2%

Hybrid Traditional in-person

42%

Distance learning internet, web-based Off-campus Distance learning, compressed video

College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

College of Business and Economics

6.2%

1.3%

College of Engineering

College of Fine Arts

2.3% 16.1%

44.9%

57%

46.6%

45%

48.9%

52.7%

19.4% 23.6%

32.9%

4.4%

College of Medicine

13.2%

College of Social Work

8.6%

15%

Graduate School

3%

22.6%

38.7%

25%

28%

40%

34%

69%

53.8%

14.1%

College of Design

32.5% 2.5%

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020

SGA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

BLM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

change their status as one, the same way playing a sport doesn’t change how they look. It isn’t “politics,” it’s their identity. It would be an unprecedented luxury if the challenges that accompanied their black experience were erased just because they’re athletes.

Many have argued that the reason they don’t support the video is because of the “Marxist” ties of the BLM movement, and that the team wouldn’t be supporting BLM if they knew about said “ties.”

A simple Google search shows that two co-founders of the BLM organization are self-proclaimed Marxists. Marxism relates to capitalism and the hope of an eventual equivalence between the wealthy and the poor, not the anti-racist message with which protestors are identifying. Failing to separate the organization and the movement as two different entities has proven to be widely destructive to the cause.

Once realized, it doesn’t make sense to draw parallels between Marxism and the BLM movement. Few BLM supporters

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would call themselves Marxists, just like few conservatives would call themselves three-percenters.

The culprit of the anger and division here is privilege. It’s privilege that allows people to stop supporting a team simply because the players want to stand up for lives being lost carelessly. Privilege allows them to discredit the hundreds of thousands of people peacefully protesting because of the few looting or rioting. It’s privilege that allows someone to justify a death because somehow, they know that it could’ve been avoided if someone complied.

I’m not naïve enough to believe these points will suddenly make the people under these posts stop arguing against a cause in which they’re needed, and neither is the team in the video. There is a fundamental disconnect between what the two opposing viewpoints believe is right and wrong.

Unfortunately, I think it takes something really significant to change those beliefs.

Nevertheless, it’s in their faces. It removes the comfort and blindness that many people would like to continue enjoying when they do things like watching sports. Black people don’t have that comfort or blindness. Why should you?

first role Wheeler held in SGA after a sorority sister helped her get involved; Wheeler said she was happy to serve alongside Nolan, especially because it was rare to have two out of the four freshmen senators be women.

Freshman senator was the first election Wheeler won, but since then she has won several more as she went up the ranks in SGA. She won a role as undergraduate senator at large, and then ran within SGA to be chair of Appropriations and Revenues which ended up being one of two roles she held her sophomore year; a vacancy opened up for Senate president, and Wheeler ran for and won that role as well.

Her junior year, Wheeler was Chief of Staff for

former president Michael Hamilton and vice president Kat Speece, a role that has given her a familiarity and close relationship with returning SGA members.

For Wheeler, her time as president so far has been about building a team that has strengths where she has weaknesses.

“I have a lot of downfalls,” Wheeler said. “I was telling someone yesterday, Ashland, Ky. is 92 percent white and I only saw socioeconomic class as diversity. So when I came to campus I had to learn lots of things and educate myself and I continue to do so.”

Wheeler has also hired a director of graduate, professional and postdoctoral affairs to advocate for those students, a law student who “is in that world every day.”

Wheeler said that success for her is when students can just be students and not have to worry

about financial, mental or racial barriers.

“That’s a huge, lofty goal because there’s a lot of challenges on this campus, there’s a lot of issues that we’re always facing,” Wheeler said. “But I want students to be students and have an opportunity to learn and to get the degree that they’re here for and not have all the barriers that a lot of students have.”

And despite the challenges of her role, despite the unexpected challenges that come from COVID-19, Wheeler said seeing students on campus this fall gave her joy. She didn’t realize how much joy until she spoke at the new student induction ceremony and drove through campus afterwards.

“I saw all these students wearing a mask, physically distant, just being on campus being students – and the amount of joy and energy I received from that, is crazy.”

JACK WEAVER | STAFF Student Body President Courtney Wheeler poses for a portrait outside the Gatton Student Center on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

“We’ll just yell louder”: Campus employee union calls for COVID-19 health and safety measures

By Sarah Michels news@kykernel.com

Months before the pandemic hit, UK graduate students were already organizing a union to ensure the campus community’s health and safety.

They had seen graduate workers and faculty spearheading big changes at other universities, pressing administrations for living wages and better healthcare plans. They were all part of United Campus Workers (UCW), a union whose goal is to “take higher education back from corporations and billionaires and put it in the hands of workers, students and communities,” according to its website.

The UK graduate students asked themselves, “Why not here?”

Created in late 2019, UCW Kentucky is open to every UK employee, from graduate workers to faculty and staff to healthcare and facilities workers. The union now has over 200 members, said one of the organizers, graduate worker Zeke Perkins.

When COVID-19 hit, the union was poised to act.

In May, UCW published an open letter to UK President Eli Capilouto and Gov. Andy Beshear calling for several changes at Kentucky higher education institutions to ensure job security and safety for campus workers during the pandemic.

The union has put public pressure on the administration, Perkins said, including pressuring Capilouto to take a 10 percent pay cut on this year’s salary, a step UK spokesperson Jay Blanton had previously told the Kernel the administration wouldn’t take.

“It was a clear marker of our strength,” Perkins said of the pay cut.

“You have to be very quick on getting these numbers out, recording it honestly.

Suppressing it is only going to make it worse.”

- JED DeBRUIN Perkins said he thinks UCW’s call-in days contributed to the pressure that caused UK administration to extend research funding to graduate students, bring back furloughed staff quicker than originally planned and expand COVID-19 testing to faculty and staff.

Now, months into the pandemic and weeks into the

NATALIE PARKS I STAFF Recent UK graduate Ash Baker and PhD student Rachel Davis canvass for signatures on UCW’s petition asking UK for action on COVID-related employee concerns on Saturday, August 15, across the street from the Gatton Student Center on UK’s campus in Lexington, Kentucky.

reopened semester, UCW has new ideas for changes UK should implement.

Their latest petition, posted in late August, lists seven COVID-related demands:

• Hazard pay to campus workers who must work in-person • A meeting between UCW and UK administration to discuss the aforementioned demands

• Free, continuous testing for all students, faculty and workers • Greater transparency regarding COVID infections, deaths and contact tracing • A remote option for all faculty and staff whose work can be done virtually • COVID healthcare cost coverage for campus workers • Affordable, comprehensive healthcare for campus workers extending beyond COVID

UCW believes that their pressure, along with the concerns of other groups, led to the first demand has already been met. On Sept. 3, UK announced that they would be offering free, continuous testing for asymptomatic students and faculty for the remainder of the fall semester.

With the release of the Phase II testing dashboard, the university has also made strides towards transparency, although union members are still skeptical about the discrepancy between the county health department and UK’s speed in reporting cases among the campus community.

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020

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Throughout the letter, the faculty describe Kornbluh’s efforts at both increasing the diversity of the college and adapting to online teaching, “two important challenges “Dean Kornbluh’s innovation and commitment to anti-racism were evident long before the university’s focus in 2020,” the letter said, citing his diverse hiring initiatives and introducing the “Passport to the World program.”

The faculty also listed Kornbluh’s contributions to research and graduate programs before concluding with a call for the provost to engage with A&S faculty and leaders in the search for a new dean.

“As a College we are stronger because of Dean Kornbluh’s leadership, which was built on cornerstones of innovation, shared governance, accessibility, and compassion,” the letter said.

Kornbluh was hired as dean of A&S in April of 2009 by a previous provost, Kumble Subbaswamy.

According to an analysis of dean salaries done by the

paid dean at UK with an annual salary of $348,672 at his most recent raise.

“We are stronger because of dean Kornbluh’s leadership”.

- FACULTY LETTER

According to his contract letter, Kornbluh will retain ulty member. He is also eligible for a one-year administrative leave for the transition from dean to faculty.

Kornbluh had previously chosen to remain at UK even sition. In 2012, Kornbluh dropped out of consideration for

the role of provost at the University of Nevada in Reno, saying he was “honored” to be dean of A&S and did not want to leave.

Current Lewis Honors College dean Christian Brady was named as interim dean of of A&S, with an acting dean for the honors college pending. Provost Blackwell was asked by the University Senate Council to consult with A&S faculty in the process of selecting a new dean, as he did not consult with them before naming Brady interim dean.

Senate Council chair Aaron Cramer sent a letter to the provost on behalf of faculty. According to a copy of the letter obtained by the Kernel, Section 2.A of UK’s Governing Regulations states that the provost must “request a recommendation on an acting dean appointment from a committee comprised of faculty members from the unit.”

Cramer wrote that senior faculty were distressed by the lack of adherence to this policy. The letter requested the provost meet with faculty over their concerns.

UNION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

“The way that a test works, it’s a snapshot in time… you can be exposed to COVID the second you walk away from that test,” said Jed DeBruin, UCW member and graduate student. “You have to be very quick on getting these numbers out, recording it honestly. Suppressing it is only going to make it worse.”

DeBruin added that while UCW understands UK’s reluctance to be completely transparent considering the ecobottom line.

“It’s understandable why they don’t want to be forced in that direction, but we’re saying risking that at the sake of public health, it seems like that’s a really bad trade-off,” he said.

The status of the other demands is less certain.

UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said faculty members had discretion on the format for their classes—virtual, hybrid or in-person.

As for the UCW’s healthcare cost concerns, Blanton said that UK’s current student health plan - which many graduate workers are eligible for - is highly competitive, as it covers the cost of the student’s premium. However, he had no estimate for how much hazard pay for in-person workers would cost the university, since that option is not currently under consideration.

UCW has been trying to schedule a meeting with Capilouto and Provost David Blackwell, DeBruin said the last two or three meetings they’ve had set up have been cancelled by administration at the last second.

Blanton said that while graduate students from the UCW have met with members of the administration in the past, no meetings with the UCW are currently planned.

UCW member and associate professor Francis Bailey

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said these meetings offer administrators a unique perspective, since the union represents all workers at UK. Bailey said faculty members are also unhappy with the lack of transparency regarding the interim dean of Arts and Sciences, Christian Brady. Brady will temporarily replace Dean Kornbluh, who was dismissed from his position at the College of Arts and Sciences last week.

“There’s a provision in the faculty governance system that we’re supposed to have input into his replacement and that wasn’t followed at all,” Bailey said. “There was no input at all…I think the union will be supporting that.”

Provost Blackwell is in the process of meeting with College of Arts and Sciences faculty to seek input for Kornbluh’s permanent replacement in what will be a “collaborative and consultative process,” Blanton said.

Though Kentucky’s Right to Work law limiting the effectiveness of collective bargaining, DeBruin said UCW Kentucky still has at least one piece of leverage—UK’s brand.

“They present this very pristine, clean image of who they want us to believe that they are,” DeBruin said. “(E) veryone who’s involved in the union has seen the dirtier side of that.”

DeBruin described graduate students working long still waiting for new uniforms and PPE promised long ago and increasing expectations on already-overwhelmed professors as examples of the realities of UK. UCW Kentucky has used UK’s image in their public pressure campaigns to push the administration toward action.

But as a relatively new union, UCW Kentucky’s primary focus is gathering data. Bailey said the data focus is on the economic pressures UK is under to keep campus open,

UK’s contractual obligations and their position on budgetary issues. So far, this has been a struggle.

“There’s just all these roadblocks to trying to get information,” Bailey said.

UCW is concerned about is UK’s agreements with Greystar, a real estate developer. DeBruin said that they’ve seen that when other universities have privatized things like dining and dorms, they’ve experienced higher economic pressure to act in ways that might not necessarily align with actions best for the campus community. This could include keeping a campus open to meet contractual obligations despite the potential dangers to students and faculty.

“Who’s holding who responsible?” DeBruin asked. “Is that impacting where we’re seeing number of cases, is that why we’re getting information withheld from us? Because if that information is fully released, people will realize that’s really messed up?”

Blanton said the Greystar contract does not guarantee occupancy.

Bailey said campus workers should join UCW if they want their voice heard regarding issues such as these or other workplace issues they may be experiencing.

The goal is to eventually have every campus worker join UCW Kentucky, DeBruin said. They hope that new members bring new perspectives and experiences that alconditions for everyone on campus.

“I think it’s easy to get very cynical and say we don’t have control over anything, but we are demonstrating that we have some sort of control and we have some input,” DeBruin said. “If they want to listen to us, they will, and if they don’t, we’ll just yell louder.”

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

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news Student Derby parties may violate social distancing

By Natalie Parks editor@kykernel.com

Over Labor Day weeknally able to enjoy one of the state’s most cherished tradition - the running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, postponed from May because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But winning horse Authentic took home the roses in front of nearly empty stands; Churchill Downs decided against allowing fans inside the track, only permitting essential employees, media and families of jockeys, trainers and

owners.

Outside the stadium, the streets of Louisville were cluding those demanding justice for the police killing of Breonna Taylor, an EMT who was shot in her home in March.

The streets of Lexington were comparatively empty, but some UK students hosted and attended parties on Derby Day. The Kernel received reports of student parties on Saturday afternoon and ties in neighborhoods off of Nicholasville Road.

The parties may have

been attended by non-UK students as well; people were gathering both inside and outside of homes, particularly on Elizabeth Street between two parties happening on Waller and Forest Park.

In videos shared by the Kernel, none of the party-goers are wearing masks; mask wearing and physical distancing are two of the “daily 4.0” steps promoted by the University of Kentucky.

With additional parties happening on Devonshire, Pyke and University Avenue, around 150 people, most likely UK students,

were seen attending parties on Saturday afternoon.

According to Gov. Andy Beshear’s press conference on Thursday, gatherings are still meant to be limited to 10 people.

UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said that the university did receive reports of parties this weekend and would compare records with UKPD before they “follow up as appropriate with those who may have been involved.”

The UK administration has previously stated that the Student Code of Conduct applies to off campus violations of social distanc-

ing, but the UK police department said they would not respond to calls about off campus parties because it is outside of their jurisdiction.

The Kernel reached out to the Lexington Police Department and asked if parties had been reported to them. The deputy commander on shift on Saturday said that as of 5 p.m., no parties had been reported to LPD. The weekend of Aug. 10, LPD issued six noise citations after responding to reports of a dozen off-campus student parties, according to the Lexington

Herald-Leader. LPD then reported those involved to UK, which followed up by stating that the Student Code of Conduct applies to off-campus activities.

According to a WKYT article, Lexington mayor Linda Gorton said there is not much legal action that can be taken when someone violates social distancing. Though some states penalties, the state of Kentucky has not recommended such steps.

While Lexington did have a hotline for reporting See PARTY on page 12

fall 2020 |11

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

JACK WEAVER | STAFF A group of UK students watch the 146th Kentucky Derby at the SGA Derby Watch Party in the Grand Ballroom on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, at the Gatton Student Center in Lexington, Kentucky.

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social distancing violators, officers can only issue citations for other infractions such as trespassing or noise complaints.

UK’s Student Government Association hosted an alternative to off campus parties with a socially-distanced Derby watch party in the student center. Carson Hardee, director of communications for SGA, said around a hundred students attended the event.

“We had lots of freshmen and it was a great way to meet people and stay safe,” Hardee said.

Hardee said that this was a rare opportunity to celebrate the Derby with students, since the race day is typically during finals week.

“We also wanted to encourage people to stay on campus during Labor Day weekend and provide people with a safe place to watch the derby and hang out for once,” Hardee said.

UK encouraged students to “Labor Stay” and not go home for the weekend by offering on campus events and hosting classes on Monday, when students would normally have the day off. Hardee said he

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thinks the initiative has been successful.

“Most people are taking this very seriously and staying on campus, so we want to encourage people to avoid parties and stay on campus as much as possible to try and stay safe and make it to November.”

Blanton said the decision to postpone dorm visitation was not related to increased student gatherings over the Derby and Labor Day weekend.

“We have been pleased with the response and compliance within residence halls,” Blanton said.

Students were supposed to be allowed to visit other dorms beginning on Monday, Sept. 7. But on Sunday afternoon, UK Housing sent an email to students saying that the restricted visitation policy would be in place for another two weeks.

“We just need more time to assess the current campus impact and determine if it’s safe to amend our existing policies.

We apologize for any inconvenience this causes,” the email said.

The current policy states that students are to have no visitors; the now postponed policy would have allowed each non-symptomatic resident to have two guests, so long as they are also non-symptomatic UK students.

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