U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, is leading all Select Subcommittee Republicans in an investigation of the University of Maryland’s recent directive mandating that students leave campus if they test positive for COVID-19.
“This likely counterproductive directive will clearly burden and harm students’ education and mental health,” wrote Rep. Wenstrup and his colleagues in an Oct. 13 letter sent to University of Maryland President Darryll Pines. “This is highly concerning and requires further investigation.”
Under the university’s new directive, Maryland students who test positive for COVID-19 are to be immediately removed from their dorms and forced into isolation, either at a nearby hotel or by returning home, presumably at their own expense, according to the lawmakers’ letter.
At the same time, the University of Maryland previously requested and received more than $115 million from the federal government under coronavirus-related aid that was directed to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus,” to “defray expenses associated with coronavirus,” and to “provide financial aid grants to students, which may be used for emergency costs that arise due to the coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, [and] health care….,” according to the letter.
“Nonetheless, Maryland seems to be reinstituting the same negative policies it implemented during the beginning of the pandemic at the expense of its students,” wrote Rep. Wenstrup and his colleagues. “Presumably, it’s the students’ parents — not your university — that are footing the bill, which begs the question of how Maryland spent the federal coronavirus dollars it received.”
To assist the Select Subcommittee’s investigation, the members requested that Pines provide a staff-level briefing to answer numerous questions related to the university’s directive, including how the University of Maryland spent its federal COVID-19 aid, how it plans to administer and enforce this directive, and what policies and procedures are in place to assist students with their mental health while they are in quarantine, among others.
U.S. Rep. John Joyce (R-PA) is among the eight Select Subcommittee members who joined Rep. Wenstrup in signing the letter.