Possible Exposure Scare Prompts Hofstra Students to Demand Transparency
BY: SARAH EMILY BAUM
(Nov. 8 2020) — Multiple students involved with Hofstra Votes LIVE, the university’s live coverage broadcast of election night, were required to quarantine on Nov. 4 due to concerns of possible exposure to COVID-19. The Hofstra Chronicle reported on Wednesday that at least one member of the production team had allegedly tested positive for the virus. Presently, the university has neither confirmed nor denied the positive case. Hofstra’s SafeStart indicated that there was one new case reported on Nov. 5, but did not provide any additional information.
The university sent an email on Nov. 5 to students in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication (LHSC) emphasizing social distancing. The email stated that “when any member of the Hofstra community tests positive for Covid-19, Student Health Services is immediately notified along with the New York State Department of Health, who together conduct contact tracing and implement any testing/quarantine/isolation recommendations”. The university recommended students with health questions or concerns call the Student Health and Counseling Center (SHACC).
Four students who worked on Hofstra Votes LIVE spoke to The Clocktower and informed the reporting of this piece. They expressed hopes that the university would make an official statement confirming or denying any cases so that students can make informed decisions about testing and quarantining.
Over 120 students and faculty members participated in Hofstra Votes LIVE during election week, both in-person and remotely. A member of the Hofstra LIVE production staff stated that the event was held not only in the News Hub and Herbert School studios as in prior years but also in additional classrooms and offices. “We spent a lot of time getting this right because the school wouldn’t let us do it without these extra precautions,” one student who worked on the broadcast says, who spoke to The Clocktower on the basis of anonymity.
Vice President for University Relations, Karla Schuster, directed questions from The Clocktower back to the university’s initial email. She declined to comment, citing federal privacy laws like FERPA and HIPAA. FERPA gives parents and students 18 years or older control over the dissemination of their personal information. HIPAA prohibits healthcare providers from disclosing medical records without the patient’s consent.
According to the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, FERPA and HIPAA policies have frequently been a point of controversy between journalists and universities, which have cited these laws to withhold information spanning from details about athletic injuries to statistics about campus crime. COVID-19 has reignited public discourse around the laws -- the search terms “HIPAA” and “FERPA” peaked in Google Trends during the pandemic -- and it’s exacerbated conflicts with schools nationwide who may cite the laws to avoid disclosing information about the virus. But a March 2020 policy directive from the Department of Education stated if the school sees a “significant threat to the health or safety of the student[…]it may disclose that information to such parties without consent.”
However, there is a gray area where the law is concerned. It’s a “flexible standard” often left to the discretion of the university. Therefore the memo also provided real-life applications for the standard of disclosure. For example, it says, if a school discloses a student is absent due to COVID-19, this would generally not violate FERPA as long as there are others absent for different reasons. On the other hand, it also urges schools to ensure that in releasing such information, they “do so in a manner that does not disclose other information that, alone or in combination, would allow a reasonable person in the school community to identify the students who are absent due to COVID-19 with reasonable certainty.”
Staff attorney for the Student Press Law Center, Sommer Ingram Dean, says a larger event like Hofstra Votes LIVE likely doesn’t fit the strict legal criteria mandating full secrecy. “Any time your school is giving anonymized information, that’s not violating privacy laws unless you’re asking your school to give you information that identifies an individual,” she tells The Clocktower. According to Dean, the law has specifications for governing student privacy with exceptions for public welfare. “They’re definitely making it more difficult than it needs to be. This COVID-19 situation is the catalyst that’s getting student journalists to organize and demand that their schools stop using these laws as a shield.”
In an Aug. 9 article by USA Today, Dr. Nathaniel Beers, who serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health, recommended a “tiered communication approach” to information sharing. Beers advocated for “providing the most detailed information to people with direct exposure, a more generic notification with health screening guidance for others in the school; and basic information on case counts and response for the general community.” Nonetheless, some schools have used laws like FERPA and HIPAA to justify the nondisclosure of even basic information, like the amount of COVID-19 cases on campus.
Hofstra has pursued a progressive policy with respect to testing, social distancing policies and transparency. The university has voluntarily released infection rate statistics since the summer; took the initiative to include off-campus cases in its count; and adopted mask mandates and virtual learning accommodations. Hofstra also ranks among only 1 in 5 schools nationwide to engage in some form of regular testing, among other protocols and regulations.
For some students, however, worries about testing remain. One residential student, Brittany, who requested anonymity as to not jeopardize her living situation, tells The Clocktower she didn’t find out her floormate had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and sent to quarantine until the infected person posted about it online. She waited, expecting a call from the SHACC, but such a call never came. She contacted her Residence Director, who Brittany says informed her she wouldn’t be contacted about possible exposure unless she was listed as a “close contact.”
“I thought it was ridiculous because I think the close contact rule is [someone] within six feet for 15 minutes or something like that, but we’ve been in the bathroom brushing our teeth at the same time. What if when they spit particles that stayed in the air or made their way to my sink and I was infected?” Brittany says. “It felt as though Hofstra wasn’t being completely transparent and was honestly putting me at risk.”
As for Hofstra Votes LIVE, multiple students expressed concern that they were entitled to know about the presence of a person or persons at the event who tested positive or were sent to quarantine. “I’m just sad that this is what people are thinking about when it comes to the broadcast because the students and faculty put so much hard work into making it possible,” says a high-ranking member of the production who requested anonymity.
“But I don’t trust the university anymore. They’re supposed to keep students safe and make us aware when things like this happen.”
