'Their deaths are on your hands': Immunocompromised University of Iowa student calls out governor

Emma Hathaway

Guest Columnist

Bruce and Kim,

My name is Emma Hathaway. I am a sophomore at the University of Iowa. I have a severe eating disorder, and I am immunocompromised. My body cannot adequately fight infection, and I am at an increased risk of getting very sick from COVID-19, should I be infected.

I’ve had an eating disorder for seven years but was only diagnosed in mid-August by the university’s resident dietician. She referred me to a university physician who specializes in eating disorders, but due to the rise of COVID-19 cases and the influx of patients the clinic has seen, I haven’t been able to get an appointment. Therefore, I haven’t been able to update my medical records to reflect my diagnosis and its consequences: my malnourishment, my anemia, my vitamin deficiencies, my weakened bones. When I broke my elbow over the summer, the attending physician was surprised that a minor fall caused a broken bone. A break from such a weak impact is usually only seen osteoporotic geriatric patients.

I’m only 19.

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To protect myself, I’ve opted out of all in-person lectures, labs and discussions. I’m very lucky, as this is option is not available to all students.

I am also a student employee at the Iowa Reading Research Center — an office job. My workplace is in a small space with other people; yes, employees wear masks and sanitize frequently and yes, everyone does their best to distance. These precautions are not unique to the IRRC, but no matter how hard people try to follow them, they still get sick.

In light of the university and state’s detrimental mismanagement of this pandemic, its prioritization of profits over safety, and its blatant disregard for human life, I approached my bosses and asked to for a remote working arrangement. They were sympathetic and more than willing to help me transition to working from home, acting so immediately that I would not have to come into the office for my shift the following day. I just had to fill out a Temporary Alternative Work Arrangement (TAWA) request form, which my supervisors emailed to me because finding it online is prohibitively complicated. They told me it was more of a formality, that it was almost a guarantee it would be granted. Into my mask, I let out a deep exhale. I’d be safe, finally. Well, as safe as I could be.

Soon, I received an email to guide me through the process of working remotely and I filled out the university’s TAWA form. I don’t fall into any of the CDC categories for co-morbidities that will negatively impact my ability to fight COVID-19, and even though I can’t provide medical documentation of my illness, I wasn’t worried. I explained my situation in the “Other” textbox at the bottom of the form. Half a day later, I received this response:

Hello Emma and thank you for your request. In order to review and process, please resubmit and indicate the appropriate DCD [sic] category, and also please attach supporting medial [sic] documentation. If you feel you cannot meet these requirements, please consult with you [sic] HR Representative to explore other options. Regards, FSDS

In short: My request was rejected.

I was stopped from protecting myself from the university by the university. I am trapped in an unsafe city, in an unsafe school and without the means to ensure my safety. That right has been stripped from me.

I don’t know what comes next. I’m terrified. You should be, too. We all should be.

But, Bruce, you know this. You know your students, staff and faculty are fearing for their well-being and their livelihoods. You know the dangers of living in Iowa City and being on campus. That’s why you’re cowering in your Colorado mansion.

Kim, you also know this. You’ve backdated the reported case numbers of COVID-19 so Iowa would appear to be mitigating the pandemic instead of exacerbating it, then forced schools to open based on those numbers.

Bruce, you admitted that 100+ cases of COVID-19 the week before classes began was less than you predicted. In reference to concerns about holding in-person classes, you said that a vocal few should not take away what the majority of the community wants. The illness and deaths that have resulted are on your hands.

And Kim, you refused to issue a statewide mask mandate or a shelter-in-place order or to appropriately close public spaces. Cases of this potentially deadly virus have skyrocketed in your state. Thousands of your constituents, those you took an oath to protect and serve, are infected. Many have died and many more still will. Their deaths are on your hands.

Iowa is a microcosm of the United States’ issues, the canary in the coal mine. It will only get worse from here if nothing continues to be done. People will continue to get sick and die. My death from COVID-19, and those of thousands of others, are on your hands, Bruce and Kim.

Fatally optimistic,

Emma Hathaway

Emma Hathaway is a second-year public health major at the University of Iowa. She comes from Northern Virginia.