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Emails show faculty, health officials expressed concern over UNC-Chapel Hill's COVID-19 plan before August reopening - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham https://abc11.com/unc-covid-nc-coronavirus/7029408/[10/19/20, 3:46:34 PM] modification to our plans. Soon after, I discussed this matter with the UNC System and we were advised by the UNC System to stay the course with our current plan," Guskiewicz wrote of his discussions with OCHD. Smith said leaders not disclosing the recommendation they received from the health department was a 'serious error.' "If you look at this from a strictly moral and strictly public health perspective, that incident in late July one could argue provided the chancellor and the provost had all of the opening they needed to side with public health officials and to side with common sense against the stated position of the BOG Board of Governors," Smith said referring to the OCHD letter sent on July 29. Smith said not sharing the letter was a tipping point for him and other faculty. He was one of the dozens of tenured UNC professors who published an open letter to undergraduate students urging them to stay home. "It was clear that they were not interested in listening to reason at that point and so they weren't going to listen to us either," Smith said. "So, we had to appeal to a constituency outside the administration- students, and their parents to try to get them on our side." The letter, published in the Charlotte Observer, pointed to 'faulty assumptions' the UNC plan was based on and stated it was not safe for students to live on campus. UNC continued with plans to welcome students back on campus.