Jerry Falwell Jr. Orders Liberty University To Reopen

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:

As the coronavirus threatens to spread across the Lynchburg region, Liberty University officials are preparing to welcome back up to 5,000 students from spring break this week. Defying a national trend of campus closures, President Jerry Falwell Jr. has invited students to return to residence halls and has directed faculty members to continue to report to campus even as most classes move online.

In an interview Sunday night, Falwell said somewhere between several hundred to more than 5,000 students are expected to live in campus dorms, where they will continue coursework online rather than in classrooms. Meanwhile, hundreds of professors and instructors without a valid health exemption will come to campus to hold office hours. In contrast with other schools, Liberty’s dorms, academic buildings, library and fitness center remain open to students.

Perspective: “I work for Liberty University. Jerry Falwell Jr. is taking an extreme path that threatens lives.” https://t.co/2bY14JJYz2

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 23, 2020

Liberty University and @JerryFalwellJr are about to allow students back on campus to live in dorms. It’s time for the school board to stop him, writes a Liberty professorhttps://t.co/4ECVlyRQT4

— Religion News Service (@RNS) March 22, 2020

Liberty University will reopen this week, Jerry Falwell inviting students to return and ordering faculty to come back to work. https://t.co/JUXEITZnqD

— Reid Wilson (@PoliticsReid) March 24, 2020

Liberty University is about to rocket to the top of U.S. News & World Report’s list of Top College and University Viral Hot Spots https://t.co/0HCk6NrCuu

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 24, 2020