Jerry Falwell, Jr. reopened Liberty University this week despite the obvious risk that posed to students and faculty members. He lied about who defended his decision. And now we’re finding out the consequences of his negligence and recklessness.

According to Dr. Thomas W. Eppes Jr., the doctor in charge of Liberty’s student health service, “nearly a dozen” students have symptoms of COVID-19. And of the 1,900 students said to have returned to campus, more than 800 have returned home… or to off-campus housing, where they are once again in cramped quarters. All of that is a recipe for disaster considering all the traveling and lack of distance those students must have had.

The New York Times reports:

“Liberty will be notifying the community as deemed appropriate and required by law,” Mr. Falwell said in an interview on Sunday when confronted with the numbers. He added that any student returning now to campus would be required to self-quarantine for 14 days. … “I’m not allowed to talk to you because I’m an employee here,” one student living on campus wrote in an email. But, he pleaded, “we need help to go home.”

The man doesn’t give a damn about his students. It’s a wonder any parent would trust him to educate their kids.

This goes far beyond the typical criticism people have of Liberty, that it’s too political, too right-wing, too controlling. This is just criminal now.

