Liberty University Under Fire for Reopening Amid Coronavirus Pandemic After Several Students Contract Illness

Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, is under fire for re-opening amid the coronavirus pandemic. The school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., opted to open its doors after spring break was over in spite of the worldwide push for self-isolation to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Now, many outspoken critics are holding Falwell responsible for his 11 sick students.

Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian university — one of the largest of its kind in the world. It enrolls about 15,000 students in person on its campus, and it did not send them home when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. According to a report by The New York Times, Falwell decided not to close down.

The result was 11 Liberty students falling ill by Friday — days after returning to campus. Three of the students were reportedly sent to nearby hospitals, while eight others were told to self-isolate. Falwell spoke in an interview on Sunday, saying: “Liberty will be notifying the community as deemed appropriate and required by law.”

State and local officials scratched their heads over Falwell’s decisions, but did not openly condemn him. People living in the nearby city of Lynchburg are reportedly furious, and their anger is spreading through social media.

The physician who runs Liberty’s student health service, Dr. Thomas Eppes Jr., suggested that the problem on campus was not epidemiological, but a sign of “the political divide.” This drew even more criticism down on the school, as people on both sides of the political aisle call for steps to be taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“If Liberty sneezes, there are people who don’t like the fact that Liberty sneezed,” Eppes said. “Mr. Falwell called me to listen to a view that wasn’t exactly his. Great leaders do that type of thing.”

Here is what social media has to say about Liberty University’s surprise re-opening and the resultant health crisis on campus.

Predictable

Many people hearing about conditions at Liberty University this weekend called the results predictable. From the time news first broke that the campus would be re-opening, many were anticipating a catastrophic outbreak among the students there.

‘Lock Him Up’

Lots of people on Twitter called for Falwell to be charged with a crime for re-opening Liberty University. Many wanted to see him serve time in prison over it as well, feeling that the danger he caused to society was incalculable.

Politicized

Falwell was not only condemned for re-opening his school, but for making it a political action rather than a public health crisis. Some of his quotes were shared outside of interviews and articles, showing how he argued that Liberty was being “attacked” for partisan reasons, not coronavirus.

Legal Considerations

Some lawyers on Twitter shared their predictions about where a case like this could go from different angles. Many suggested that Liberty students or even Lynchburg residents get lawyers and prepare to sue Falwell.

Refunds

Some guessed that Falwell did not close the school because he did not want students to ask for refunds on the services they received on campus. However, with most other schools closing as well, this has not been a concern for other colleges, so it is not clear why Falwell would have thought differently. There is no evidence to suggest that this was a real consideration for him.

People of Lynchburg

Sympathy was in short supply in this story, even for the students in many cases, as people said that they should have known better than to go back to campus. However, the group people were really sad for was the residents of Lynchburg, Virginia, who now face an influx of new cases in their community that should have been prevented by Falwell.

‘Believe Scientists’

Finally, many people used this as yet another indication of why the general public needs to take more of its cues from scientists and medical professionals. They asked everyone from college presidents to world leaders to listen closely to what doctors are saying right now and go by the data.