By: 1808Delaware Staff; CSCC
Columbus State’s campuses, including its Delaware County location, remain quiet as instruction and events take place online.
The school has now announced that classes and services will continue in a largely online status for Autumn semester, which begins on August 31. Information will be clearly communicated to students at the time of registration concerning the means of instruction. Some classes may be taught completely remotely, in-person, or in a blended fashion.
Some additional announcements will be made closer to the start of classes such as those concerning social distancing, based on additional guidelines and requirements set by the State of Ohio.
Students are reminded that if they are at risk or experiencing or have already experienced additional financial expenses as a result of campus changes related to COVID-19, that Student Emergency Relief Grants may be available from Columbus State.
More news, and information and events and student services are available here on the schools’ Cougar Connect page.
The school also released a statement last week relating to its decision to remove the Christopher Columbus statue on its main campus. The statement included the following:
““In taking this action, we are being mindful of societal change and forward movement,” said Columbus State Board of Trustees President Anthony Joseph. “We do not seek to erase history, but to make an intentional shift in what we visibly honor and celebrate as an institution. This is the first of many steps in what will be a lengthy journey as the College seeks to build on and improve our ongoing efforts toward broadened diversity and inclusion.”
“The removal of the Christopher Columbus statue is a symbolic gesture of our commitment to our College and in our community to continue and accelerate the fight against systemic racism,” said Columbus State President David Harrison. “Recent events, including the senseless deaths of African-Americans and the resulting anguish across the nation, compelled us to act on a years-long internal dialogue about the statue and the message it sends in our community. This inflection point will inform College policy and action both now and for years to come.”
The College has committed to completing the removal of the statue within the next two weeks. It will begin an exploration process for a new art installation at the statue location.
“Statues are designed to celebrate our past, provide meaning to our present, and direct our future,” said Reuel Barksdale, a professor at Columbus State. “Nearly twenty-five years ago, my arrival to the faculty of Columbus State included an orientation which described the statue in the center of our campus as a celebration of exploration and the never-ending desire to become what we had yet to become. The removal of this statue declares that this institution has in fact moved closer to becoming what we have yet to become.””
