[Pols-l] Fw: Please help us protect KS/MO higher-education workers

Wed Feb 24 09:54:48 CST 2021

FYI, in case you are interested in this petition

________________________________
From: Crasnow, SJ <SJ.Crasnow at rockhurst.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 8:04 PM
To: Haider-Markel, Donald Patrick <dhmarkel at ku.edu>
Subject: Please help us protect KS/MO higher-education workers

Dear Dr. Haider-Markel,

My name is S.J. Crasnow and I’m a member of the Rockhurst University American Association of University Professors chapter as well as the Rockhurst Anti-Racist Employee Resource Group. We’ve been working with chapters across Kansas and Missouri to address the dismissal of CDC and Department of Homeland Security guidance in both states as regards COVID-19 vaccine prioritization for higher-education workers.

Both Kansas and Missouri refuse to place post-secondary workers on the same vaccination tier as pre-K-12 workers although it is explicitly recommended by the CDC that all educators be in recommended tier 1b. The Department of Homeland Security explicitly states that higher-education employees are part of critical infrastructure, but both states will not offer these employees that designation even though 72% of the nation’s states do.

We ask that you distribute this information and a link to our petition to your colleagues<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fchng.it%2FGBwCzYqS&data=04%7C01%7Cdhmarkel%40ku.edu%7C947c52e467714cbba6bf08d8d868817d%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C1%7C637497290662728512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=UD%2F1FGK%2FJWWmVkJM5%2FDaMR1%2B5pBvBl51DdfRZJ3ODVE%3D&reserved=0>, and that you join us in signing it. The petition is addressed to the governors and departments of health in both states and demands that higher-education employees be given equal prioritization to their pre-K-12 counterparts. It has been endorsed by many higher-education groups throughout the states. Please also consider sharing the petition to your social media and sending to family, friends, and colleagues with a personal note. If you share on your social media, please use the hashtag #VaxOurProfs and tag Governor Laura Kelly and Governor Mike Parson, if possible.

The petition contains more information about why this is necessary, including links to relevant CDC/DHS information, but among the reasons this is vital are that higher-education employees are likely at greater risk of illness and death than pre-K-12 workers due to 1) teaching higher density classes and more students, 2) teaching a demographic group more likely to carry and transmit COVID-19, and 3) the large percentage of college classes taught by contingent faculty, who do not have equitable access to health insurance and healthcare.

Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you, and thanks for your time.

Best,

S.J. Crasnow, PhD

SJ Crasnow, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Theology & Religious Studies

Rockhurst University

Arrupe Hall 232

816-501-3154

Pronouns<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.glsen.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FGLSEN%2520Pronouns%2520Resource.pdf&data=04%7C01%7Cdhmarkel%40ku.edu%7C947c52e467714cbba6bf08d8d868817d%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C1%7C637497290662728512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=pEGNFvTmaRPqDh09ckjohdcRsijcOXvZtJPsDdSshKk%3D&reserved=0>: they/them/theirs

Anti-racism resources <https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fdocument%2Fu%2F1%2Fd%2F1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs%2Fmobilebasic%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0YgTZMGFh2G9nxPuuHfukhyGsngqcVVqUS_eDIaCbe-Y3cQfIAtreUR-I%26urp%3Dgmail_link&data=04%7C01%7Cdhmarkel%40ku.edu%7C947c52e467714cbba6bf08d8d868817d%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C1%7C637497290662738508%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=SoSEUJU006gJLDtNJ8zs4aQpUFNMsZ9e7kfsMsjhg7I%3D&reserved=0>

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