DALLAS, Texas — Most of Texas' top universities welcomed students back to campus this month and have started in-person classes. Many have seen sharp increases in the number of COVID-19 cases among students and employees. Some universities in other parts of the country were forced to send students home after large outbreaks, but student leaders from 20 Texas universities have formed an alliance to try to prevent that.

The College Health Alliance of Texas, or CHAT, is trying to motivate students to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campuses.

On Friday junior Austin Hickle of Lubbock wrapped up his first week of classes at Southern Methodist University, some are in-person and others are completely virtual. He majors in political science and economics. Hickle said he sees people wearing masks and physically distancing on campus. 

“We’re all adjusting, not only the professors, but also the students, but I think we’re all glad to be back in a classroom, back on a campus and back learning,” he said.

Hickle is also SMU’s student body vice president. Over the summer, he served on SMU’s academic continuity subcommittee to help shape how the university would function this summer. It was on that subcommittee where Hickle realized the significant role students will have to play. 

“It’s going to come down to the student buy-in. Students will be asked to carry a responsibility we’ve never been asked to carry before – that is that we control the educational continuity. We control our future,” he said.

In June Hickle started reaching out to other student leaders across the Lone Star State to form CHAT. The other 19 universities represented in the alliance beside SMU are Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, Texas State University, University of North Texas, The University of Texas at El Paso, Baylor University, Texas Christian University, and Rice University. He said it was not too difficult getting them on board.

“All students, we saw that this COVID pandemic is one of our generation’s defining moment,” he said.  

Hickle said they hope to serve as the student voice for their generation and bring their perspective to local and state health officials. CHAT members plan to publish an open source student guide that will be constantly updated. It will include recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as ways to make the most of the semester by outlining safe activities and tips for studying during the pandemic. The guide would also include mental health checklists.

“We want to find a way to say, you know, ‘This is not only what you can’t do, this is what you can do.’ So we have some really great resources in there to really encourage students to live up to their potential and step up to the challenge,” Hickle said.

Since CHAT members hold elected positions within their respective student bodies, Hickle said they are in communication with their university’s leadership. He said the alliance plans to push out a survey to better gauge student’s thoughts and concerns, which they hope to present to administrators to better inform policy decisions.

“How can we mold our policies to make sure that students receive an education and a semester that they deserve?” Hickle said.