Pétition : Safety for CentraleSupélec Students

Letter to the CentraleSupélec administration and respected parties of University Paris-Saclay

We are writing this letter as an coalition of CentraleSupélec students, including internationals from Brazil, Italy, China and other 20 countries as well as on behalf of worried parents of Double-Diploma students. We want to express here our serious concerns about the situation of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and worries about the steps implemented by CentraleSupélec to prevent further spreading of the virus. We would like to propose some measures to the administration to ensure the safety of students, teachers and staff and all the people and all the people we come into contact with… 

In particular, we propose self-quarantine measures as well as the possibility to switch to online courses and access to TD corrections. 

According to the latest data from the French Ministry of Health by the time we are writing this letter, more than 2000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed with 48 deaths. Furthermore, the form of the infection number seems to be on an exponential rise. With such a high death rate (3.3% according to data from WHO) and rapid spreading speed, it would be irresponsible not to concede the severeness of the situation. Four cases have been officially confirmed on the Plateau de Saclay, and several cases were confirmed last week from multiple Grandes Écoles that had students participating in the Party last Friday, including l’École Normale Supérieure d’Ulm. This can create potentially a cluster of infection, since the virus mostly spreads from person to person, not only after people showed symptoms, but also while the virus is dormant (the “exposed stage” can go as long as 15 days). Coming in contact with a carrier or a respiratory droplet will get a person sick. The estimated safe distance is at least 4.5 meters away. In school, nonetheless, the classes cannot be kept if everyone is 5 meters away from each other, so the only other liable option would be to consider online programs. This way students can still keep with the courses comfortably while remaining safe within their own home. 

If the school is concerned about students won't keep the Honors Code when taking online Course and TDs, it can be solved by asking students to add an assignment of a few phrases describing the online material they are supposed to watch. If there isn't a platform existing to move onto online courses, professors can upload the video of the lecture that is filmed in a separate area on Edunao and corrections of TDs and make sure the students watch the lecture during the originally- designated time for the course. Students can submit additional assignments during the online lectures as alternative methods for maintaining the course efficiently. 

Since the beginning of last week, many students around the country felt reluctant to come to school. We do understand and appreciate that CS is trying best to maintain teaching and keeping pace with the French government. However, international students like us who had been affected by the severe outbreak in our home countries knew well about the dire situation. Heartbroken stories happen all around the globe due to carelessness. Families being broken apart, children who have to live with the effects of a damaged lung for the rest of their life, and many other cases. In essence, we do not wish to comment on whether the steps implemented by the government are effective or not. We simply want to know if the school will ensure the safety of the students. To study at one of the most prestigious engineering schools in France, many of us have to travel thousands of kilometers, and we hope that our voices can be heard. This is the time we take intensive implementations like allowing self-quarantine and switch to online classes and giving TD corrections to fight and contain the virus, which simultaneously, also protect the beautiful country that we call our home away from home-France. If our voices cannot continue to be heard, and the situation turns to be worse, we are willing to connect with our home embassy to see if anything can be done to help with the situation. 

We fully support Centralesupélec and we hope that the school can understand where we are coming from. More importantly, zero cases in CentraleSupélec is not a reason to let our guard down but rather a reminder for us to move towards a healthier approach as once the virus appears in the community, it spreads remarkably quickly. We are a community, not just the international students, but the whole Grande École program wishes for more measures to be taken. Lastly, please, do not consider this request only when it is too late, keep in mind that the virus has at least fourteen to twenty days of not showing symptoms, and a number of Grande Ecoles including HEC, ESSEC and ESCP have already allowed voluntary self-quarantines and made absences automatically justified.

Thank you for your time dealing with the situation.

Sincerely.