Photo/Illutration Mie University asks students who live in areas under a state of emergency to fill in a form committing to prevent the risk of spread of COVID-19 cases. (Tetsuaki Otaki)

TSU--Following a major COVID-19 outbreak, Mie University officials are meeting with pushback after asking students living in areas under the current state of emergency to pledge not to engage in risky behavior such as partying and traveling. 

Officials of the national university said the commitment form is nonbinding and seeks to secure the safety of students. Mie University was at the center of a major cluster last summer that prompted criticism from the prefectural governor.

But some students and faculty on campus are criticizing the university's latest measure as a violation of human rights. 

“All classes were held online last year," said a student who lives in Mie Prefecture, which is not under a state of emergency. "We are finally able to go to campus. But now this? I feel nothing but anger and appalled.”

The form lists eight pledges including, “I will take adequate infection prevention measures,” “I will eat by myself on campus,” “I will not attend a dinner party in Mie Prefecture regardless of the number of attendees or time,” “I will refrain from traveling” and “I will not do karaoke.”

Students are asked to check each box, write in their names, student ID number, the name of their department and school year, and submit it to the university.

Currently, the university holds classes both online and in person on campus.

In late April, the third state of emergency over the novel coronavirus pandemic was issued in Tokyo and Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto prefectures.

The university officials then started asking students who live in these areas to contact the university in advance when they attend an in-person class on campus and submit the form.

Because Aichi and Fukuoka prefectures are added to the state of emergency that kicks in on May 12, the university is currently asking students who live in the two prefectures to do the same.

The university said there is no punishment for those who do not comply with the request.

But a professor at the university said: “It is inconceivable. What does (the university) think of students’ human rights?

“The university should think about anti-virus measures and create a campus life together with students,” the professor said.

A representative of the university’s department of academic affairs said, “We want the students living in the area under the state of emergency to have a high level of consciousness, in particular.”

The form is “a measure to encourage students’ self-awareness and maintain their safety,” the representative said.

Four COVID-19 clusters involving Mie University students have occurred so far. Infection sources include a students’ dinner party.

Between Aug. 3 and 5, 2020, a total of 22 students who studied medicine and nursing science tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Of these, 11 traveled to Wakayama Prefecture in a group in late June, and one student visited a nightlife district in the Kansai region around the same time. After they returned to Mie Prefecture, infections spread among the students likely through drinking and eating together. 

Mie Governor Eikei Suzuki declared on Aug. 4 that the case was “the biggest infection cluster in Mie” and suggested that it worsened the already bad situation in the prefecture.

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