Hi Everyone,

As the majority of you know, President Laurie Leshin sent out an email today (3/4/20) at 5:30 pm announcing a sudden ban on international travel. The official position of the World Health Organization is "WHO continues to advise against the application of travel or trade restrictions to countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks" (https://www.who.int/ith/2019-nCoV_advice_for_international_traffic-rev/en/ yet WPI continues to take a position covering for administration, not the students. Another email was sent out to ONLY the D term travelers telling us that WPI will NOT be paying for plane costs which is incredibly unfair to students. Please add your name to this petition to allow WPI students the choice of going and not making an uninformed decision for us.

Below is the information sent out to only D term travelers:

1) Students will be reimbursed in full for the program expenses and housing fees. Students will have to contact airlines on their own to cancel their flights and get refunds.

2) The projects will continue

3) If you have term-housing, Residential Services is working to find you alternative accommodations. If you had a lease that you sublet for off-campus housing, or something, Residential Services should also be able to find you housing. I hope to have more information on this tomorrow.

EDIT:

WPI should allow students to make their own decisions about traveling abroad given the known risks of COVID-19. Therefore, WPI should draft travel waivers for students willing to still travel that will not hold WPI liable for any impacts by the coronavirus. Students were NOT consulted on this decision and should be part of this major decison-making process affecting both their financial situation and their educations.