Grad students hold die-in at U-M to protest in-person teaching

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - A die-in protest in Ann Arbor Monday at the University of Michigan had all the makings of a real funeral service: taps, a wooden coffin, all-black ensemble.

Protesters called it the Die-In at the Diag to speak out against the university's COVID-19 reopening plan, which includes mostly virtual learning for now with some in-person options in smaller groups.

U-M’s Graduate Employees Organization protest in-person teaching

The Graduate Employees Organization at the University of Michigan held a die-in protest

"Face-to-face learning is extremely dangerous," said Amir Fleischmann, who's with the Graduate Employees Organization which is the union for grad students that teach.

"Listen to the campus community and hear us when we say that this reopening plan is totally inadequate," he said.

Although Amir is teaching only virtually he says not all of his colleagues have that option.

"The biggest thing we want is an unconditional option to teach remotely for all grad student instructors. We don't have that right now and that's unacceptable," he said.

To round out the protest was a mock burial, hoping university officials take notice.

"We're fighting for undergrads, we are fighting for all workers on this campus to have a robust testing policy that can keep not only this campus but the entire community safe," Fleischmann said.