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Liberty University now says most classes will move to online-only
Never mind.
Education
Liberty University now says most classes will move to online-only
By Joe Heim and Sarah Pulliam Bailey
March 16, 2020 at 6:54 p.m. EDT
Liberty University abruptly reversed course Monday afternoon and told students that most in-person classes would be moved online because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The decision takes effect March 23 when students were expected to return to class after spring break.
The evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., had faced increasing calls to end in-person classes from students and faculty upset with Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr., who said Friday that people were overreacting to the disease outbreak and that it was a manufactured frenzy to make President Trump look bad.
On Monday, however, the university released a statement from Falwell saying that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s emergency ban on gatherings of 100 people made it necessary to move to online-only classes.
“We originally believed it was safest to return our students following their spring break instead of having them return following greater exposure opportunities from leaving them in different parts of the country for longer periods,” Falwell said in the statement.
Scott Lamb, a spokesman for Falwell, did not respond to a request to interview Falwell for this report.
{snip}
Jeff Brittain, the father of three Liberty students, questioned Falwell’s decision-making, tweeting, “I’m as right wing as they get, bud. But as a parent of three of your students, I think this is crazy, irresponsible and seems like a money grab.”
Falwell responded by calling Brittain a “dummy.”
In response to questions from a Washington Post reporter, Brittain said he contacted Liberty staff via email to talk further but hadn’t heard back from anyone Monday. He declined to answer additional questions.
{snip}
Joe Heim
Joe Heim joined The Washington Post in 1999. He is a staff writer for the Metro section. He also writes Just Asking, a weekly Q&A column in the Sunday magazine. Follow https://twitter.com/JoeHeim
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Sarah Pulliam Bailey is a religion reporter, covering how faith intersects with politics and culture. She runs The Washington Post's religion vertical. Before joining The Post, she was a national correspondent for Religion News Service. Follow https://twitter.com/spulliam
Liberty University now says most classes will move to online-only
By Joe Heim and Sarah Pulliam Bailey
March 16, 2020 at 6:54 p.m. EDT
Liberty University abruptly reversed course Monday afternoon and told students that most in-person classes would be moved online because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The decision takes effect March 23 when students were expected to return to class after spring break.
The evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., had faced increasing calls to end in-person classes from students and faculty upset with Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr., who said Friday that people were overreacting to the disease outbreak and that it was a manufactured frenzy to make President Trump look bad.
On Monday, however, the university released a statement from Falwell saying that Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s emergency ban on gatherings of 100 people made it necessary to move to online-only classes.
“We originally believed it was safest to return our students following their spring break instead of having them return following greater exposure opportunities from leaving them in different parts of the country for longer periods,” Falwell said in the statement.
Scott Lamb, a spokesman for Falwell, did not respond to a request to interview Falwell for this report.
{snip}
Jeff Brittain, the father of three Liberty students, questioned Falwell’s decision-making, tweeting, “I’m as right wing as they get, bud. But as a parent of three of your students, I think this is crazy, irresponsible and seems like a money grab.”
Falwell responded by calling Brittain a “dummy.”
In response to questions from a Washington Post reporter, Brittain said he contacted Liberty staff via email to talk further but hadn’t heard back from anyone Monday. He declined to answer additional questions.
{snip}
Joe Heim
Joe Heim joined The Washington Post in 1999. He is a staff writer for the Metro section. He also writes Just Asking, a weekly Q&A column in the Sunday magazine. Follow https://twitter.com/JoeHeim
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Sarah Pulliam Bailey is a religion reporter, covering how faith intersects with politics and culture. She runs The Washington Post's religion vertical. Before joining The Post, she was a national correspondent for Religion News Service. Follow https://twitter.com/spulliam
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