Exclusive: Georgetown’s Covid restrictions served with a side of hypocrisy

Georgetown University announced on December 14 that, due to a rise in Covid cases, students would not be allowed to eat or drink in public spaces on campus. All university-sponsored indoor events were canceled or moved outdoors. And, in the name of public health, campus fitness centers would be closed starting on December 16.

The email to students announcing these onerous restrictions came from Dr. Ranit Mishori, the chief public health officer for the university.

“I recognize this news is distressing, especially during the final exam period and ahead of holiday travel and gatherings. I urge all community members to use the Every Hoya Cares website to connect with mental and emotional health and well-being resources, should you need them,” Mishori told students in her email. “I am confident that we will continue to come together to protect one another and care for each other during this difficult time.”

We’re all in this together, right? Unless you want to attend a show at the Kennedy Center, that is.

In a tweet sent just a few days after she all but shut down Georgetown’s campus, Mishori joined the long line of leftist hypocrites flouting their own proposed Covid policies. Mishori posted a picture of herself, masked but not socially distanced, at an event at the Kennedy Center. Her caption declared that she was “living dangerously.” The event was indoors.

I’ve obtained a screenshot of the tweet, which Mishori quickly deleted.

Mishori is an adult and should be free to make her own risk assessments about the virus. But not while she refuses to afford that same right to the students of Georgetown. She banned students from attending similar events on campus, even if masked. Students are not even allowed to pull down their masks to sip water indoors. They must sit six feet apart while studying at the library.

Mishori responded to criticism of her tweet on Facebook, confirming that she posted the photo and insisted it was evidence that she is “practicing with I preach.”

“What you cannot see is that I double-masked and am boosted and they checked a vaccine card at the door,” she wrote. “I would say that is safe enough. We have to learn to live with the virus and that is what we are trying to do every single day, to protect your children (and mine).”

What she did not mention is that Georgetown students are also required to be vaccinated and masked on campus, and were mandated to receive a booster shot before returning for the spring semester. Why was her Kennedy Center outing deemed “safe enough” under these conditions while campus events were not? 

Dr. Ranit Mishori (Screenshot: Facebook)

Before being tapped to run Georgetown’s Covid response, Mishori advised both the Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden campaigns on health care policy.

Georgetown’s public health response to the pandemic has flouted science every step of the way. The campus is 99 percent vaccinated due to its vaccine mandate for staff and students, and it is further requiring students receive a booster shot before returning to campus for the spring semester. Barring other co-morbidities, the likelihood of fully vaccinated college students to be at risk for severe Covid outcomes is practically zero. Not to mention that Georgetown is consistently ranked one of the fittest campuses in the country. There is no indication that any members of the Georgetown community have been hospitalized due to the Omicron variant.

Nonetheless, Georgetown is moving to virtual learning until at least January 31.

Naturally, the university still expects students to pay exorbitant tuition and room and board while being denied the full college experience. Last year, students received a very minimal discount even though they spent both the fall and spring semesters in a glorified Khan Academy. Students were welcomed back to campus this past fall but had their Homecoming events — even the outdoor ones! — canceled.

Mishori’s blatant hypocrisy is salt in the wound for the angry parents and students I have spoken to about these outrageous policies.

Georgetown University and Dr. Mishori did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.