Bulldogs and Times-Delphic readers,

You cannot in good faith, as an institution, invite students back on to campus during a global pandemic and not provide basic information on case numbers. And yet, Drake University, with their grand exceptionalism, think they are exempt from this basic tenet. 

They have hidden behind privacy claims and vague statistical data, as if the average student cannot look at the raw case numbers and make their own personal health decisions. As journalists, the lack of information and transparency from the university leaves room for rumor and incorrect reporting. A quick glance at social media can show the mass panic rising as students are left grasping in the dark during these tumultuous times. 

The Times-Delphic is publicly calling for the release of raw testing data, including but not limited to: the number of tests, the estimated contact tracing outreach, and the number of positive cases. It is not the university’s decision on how students react nor their right to attempt to control that reaction by limiting information. We also call for the creation of a COVID peer advisory board, one in which student leaders and media have a say on the communication steps taken by the administration. 

We are watchdogs, not lapdogs. We need the data to help students make informed decisions about their health and their lives. Students need the data to run the cost-benefit analysis about the risk and what that means to them personally. Actions need to be taken on the part of the administration so that we can move forward.

In truth there is light,

The Times-Delphic

Petition:

https://tinyurl.com/TDdatarelease