President Tania Tetlow held a virtual town hall on Youtube to address some common questions in the wake of the transition to online classes because of the coronavirus on March 19.

Tetlow opened the meeting with a prayer and expressed her gratitude for the Loyola community and all of the hard work that both students and staff had put in. She then began to answer questions that people had submitted via a live chat.

Tetlow addressed employment, acknowledging the fact that Sodexo had made some lay-offs because of the lack of demand for their services. Though she clarified that Loyola had no say over their contracts.

“With Loyola employees, we are asking everyone to work harder than they did before, not less time. We need them more than we did before, so we have no intention of making lay-offs,” Tetlow emphasized.

As for study abroad, Tetlow stated a hope that programs can start again as soon as it is safe.

Tetlow also addressed the plans for commencement. While she acknowledged that there is still uncertainty on when the commencement would be, she made it very clear that the university still plans on having a ceremony.

“We are determined to make it possible for all of our students, particularly for the third of students who are the first in their family to go to college and who come to commencement with massive groups of family and friends so excited to see them walk across the stage, and I need for those families to get to see their student walk across the stage,” Tetlow said.

Other topics that were touched on during the town hall was the progress of online education, following up on the pass/ fail email sent out on March 18, and on what Loyola resources would be accessible remotely.

To view the full town hall, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6taNnipC3T4&t=889s.