PETERSBURG, Va. — Virginia State University will no longer allow students to return to campus for classes in September, instead moving forward with a fully virtual start to the academic year.
President Makola M. Abdullah announced the decision in a message this week, saying that returning to the Petersburg campus could have “deadly ramifications."
Abdullah added that in reconsidering their plan, university officials also assessed other factors, such as the historically Black university's demographics.
She said the school serves a population at higher risk of contracting the virus, since data shows that more than half of all cases and deaths are in the Black community.
