Cody refused to teach in an unsafe classroom

Hello. I'm Cody. I was recently fired by Georgia State University because I refused to teach in a classroom in which I couldn't require masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The University System of Georgia currently does not require masks or vaccinations for students, faculty, and staff. Faculty are forbidden from requiring masks in their classrooms or inquiring about vaccination status of students.

I was a lab coordinator, a staff/faculty fusion job that enabled me to teach two classes per semester while managing our teaching labs. I worked at GSU for almost 6 years. As I prepared for the semester to begin, I realized that teaching in this environment would be crossing a boundary for me. I couldn't stop thinking about the safety of my students, their families, and the community. In a classroom without masks, and in a state with less than half of its residents fully vaccinated, I knew there was a good chance that there would be transmission of COVID-19 in my classroom. Students with COVID-19 would go home to their families and might pass the virus on to their grandparents, who may not be vaccinated. Those family members may end up in the overtaxed hospitals and be cared for by overworked nurses. Most of our students are from racial and ethnic minority groups, and the data shows that this demographic has a greater likelihood of acquiring a COVID-19 infection, that infection being classified as "severe", and that infection resulting in death (covid.cdc.gov). Our students need a safe environment in which earn a college degree and advance their careers. Being in a classroom shouldn't be a life-or-death decision.

Morally, I could not justify teaching face-to-face under those circumstances without a mask mandate, and I refused to be complicit in the USG's reckless policy decisions regarding COVID-19. So, I took a stance against the University System of Georgia's lax and dangerous policies on mask-wearing. I respectfully refused to teach face-to-face in a classroom in which I could not create a safe environment for my students. I was fired before the end of the week, and I am now unemployed.

In Georgia, you cannot receive unemployment if you are "at fault", so I am not expecting to qualify for unemployment assistance. Donated funds will go towards my basic living expenses while I am unemployed - mostly paying my mortgage and paying for health insurance. Thank you ♥