A UoL student has written an open letter to the University asking for a safety blanket

A final year UoL student has written an open letter criticising the university’s Covid-19 measures and response, concluding with a plea for a no-detriment policy.

The letter criticises the apparent lack of concern over mental health support, the decision to delay the start of semester one by two weeks, the decision to split two-semester modules into two examined components to be undertaken in each season, the lack of support for lecturers providing and preparing online resources, and the decision not to implement a safety net policy. 

The letter includes a questionnaire for staff and students to complete in regards to their first-hand accounts and experiences from across all departments, in order to express the views and concerns of the student and teaching body as a whole.  

The open letter can be found here.

We spoke to the creator of the open letter, who told The Tab Liverpool: “In terms of the 2020/2021 academic year, I feel that we’ve been served a great injustice.

“Freshers were invited to university, only to be told to stay in their halls and not leave under and circumstances make it clear that the university was only interested in taking rent money and not providing an educational service. I have seen some of my friends – among the most astute and high performing students in their year break down and start to lag behind as a result of the increased workload and pressure.”

The writer stresses that this is a crucial moment for university support regarding mental health: “At a time when mental health is paramount and we really should all be looking out of each other, a response like that is an absolute outrage.

“I’m writing this letter to the University administration for my friends, and for all of us that feel as if we’re being abandoned by the university we worked t00 hard to be at and to be so proud to tell people we were students of.”

The University of Liverpool has been contacted and is yet to make a comment.

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