*This open letter was originally published 5 August, 2022.
Dear Professor Patricia M. Davidson,
The Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) is deeply concerned with the recent news surrounding a possible outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. We believe that an outbreak of Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) would disproportionately affect students from regional and farming backgrounds.
FMD is a disease that only affects livestock such as buffalos, camels, cattle, sheep, goats, deer and pigs. In addition, FMD is only fatal to young and already-sick livestock. However, FMD significantly reduces the quantity and quality of output from livestock and will therefore drastically affect the income of regional families.
It is important to note that this will also still affect students from regional backgrounds as an outbreak would likely cause income instability, mental health issues and high levels of pressure. Not to mention that students could be called back by their families to assist on the farm, providing further distractions and barriers of entry for regional students.
WUSA is therefore writing to enquire as to what support networks could be set up in the event of an FMD outbreak. In addition, WUSA is requesting an equitable policy addressing potential declines in performance of regional students such that their academic transcript doesn’t unfairly reflect a decline in performance.
Kind regards,
Ben Hancock, Welfare Coordinator, Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association
Jye Langley, President, Wollongong Undergraduate Student Association
*The opinions in this open letter are those of the undersigned and not necessarily those of The Tertangala or it’s editor.