I Was Wrong About Jerry Falwell, Liberty U, And COVID-19
Culture,Public Health,Coronavirus,Life During Covid-19,Media Industry
On March 29th, the New York Times published an article with the full title: "Liberty University Brings Back Its Students, and Coronavirus Fears, Too: The decision by the school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., to partly reopen his evangelical university enraged residents of Lynchburg, Va. Then students started getting sick."
The article strongly suggested that Falwell had put students at risk and that a dozen were likely to have contracted the disease. It openly claimed that they had COVID-like symptoms, without specifying what those were (as opposed to general cold or flu symptoms). It claimed that one of the students had tested positive and it quoted a Dr. Eppes in ways that suggested that the University had lost control of the situation. The article also said that Falwell 'reopened the university,' which, while having an element of truth, really grossly exaggerated the situation.
Related Coverage
AllSides Picks
News
Mass Kidnappings, Covid Contingencies, ICE Controversies: Stories You May Have Missed
Malayna J. Bizier
June 18th, 2026
Red Blue Translator