I want to hand out a shout to endorse a decision by Texas A&M University/Commerce President Mark Rudin.
What did he do? He has declared that all students, faculty and staff at TAMUC will be tested for the COVID virus when school resumes.
It’s not a mask mandate, such as what Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has ordered for the big-city school system. I happen to agree with Hinojosa’s call. I also want to offer a full-throated endorsement of what Rudin wants to happen at TAMUC.
Rudin issued a statement, which reads: “Recently, we received guidance from Chancellor (John) Sharp and the Texas A&M University System regarding planning for Fall 2021. … We have developed the attached document … in order to communicate with the university community the plan for the fall semester.
Please note that all decisions are ased on CDC, state, A&M System and local county health protocols. We will continue to provide updates as changes occur.”
Will this directive fly in the face of Gov. Greg Abbott’s no new mandate order? I hope not. DISD Superintendent Hinojosa’s order has rankled the governor terribly. Abbott issued the executive order banning any government jurisdiction from taking extraordinary measures beyond what the governor has mandated.
Still, Mark Rudin is looking out for the men and women attending A&M/Commerce in this most trying and difficult time.
I believe he has made the right call … under the circumstances.
John Kanelis, former editorial page editor for the Amarillo Globe-News and the Beaumont Enterprise, also is a former blogger for Panhandle PBS in Amarillo. He is retired but is still writing. Kanelis can be contacted via Twitter @jkanelis, on Facebook or his blog, www.highplainsblogger.com. Kanelis’s blog for KETR, “Piece of Mind,” presents his views and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of KETR, its staff or its members.
Kanelis lives in Princeton with his wife, Kathy.
