It was the first day of school, but Jack Yeager thought it might be the last of his four-decade career. 

The 75-year-old French studies professor at LSU twice petitioned to teach remotely because his advanced age and heart disease makes him especially susceptible to COVID-19. Even though he is vaccinated, he couldn’t be sure enough of his students were. Based on LSU's data, 61% of its 32,000 students have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine — a far cry from herd immunity. 

Twice he was denied. 

Yeager contested the first decision, attaching a list of his medications to the appeal to make his case for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But it still wasn’t enough. On Aug. 20, three days before the fall semester, the school turned down that request, too.

“That’s when I knew this would not be as easy as I hoped,” he said. 

So, he rushed to his cardiologist, who wrote a detailed report of Yeager’s health conditions. In the days he waited for a response, Yeager said he faced a harsh reality.

“Teaching online is absolutely crucial for me,” he said. “If I didn’t get permission to go remote or go on leave, I was ready to resign.”

LSU spokesman Ernie Ballard declined to say how many ADA requests were filed this semester, or how many were denied. But he said the university granted 75 such petitions to teach online.

The uncertainty complicated plans for faculty and students alike. 

Milan Williams, who needs Yeager’s class for her minor, said if his course had been canceled, she would have had to rearrange plans for future semesters.

“I wish he wouldn’t have had to fight to teach us,” she said.

The students in Melissa Flournoy’s two government courses were left scrambling when her ADA request was denied.

A former Louisiana state lawmaker, Flournoy taught as an adjunct professor at LSU for a decade.

When the school rejected her request a week before the first day of class, she refused to teach in person for fear of her heart condition and spreading COVID to elderly family members. So, LSU called off both of her 50-student courses. 

“My parents are 92 and 87 years old, my partner is 72, and I’m 60,” Flournoy said in a recent interview. “If we get COVID, we’re dead. I just can’t risk that for anything.”

She said that she understands the desire to be back on campus, but she doesn’t think forcing faculty into classrooms is constructive. “LSU is essentially instating a campus-wide mandate to return to normal life,” she said. “And I think that expectation overwhelmed good sense.”

Yeager agreed, emphasizing the record-breaking nature of Louisiana’s most recent coronavirus surge, which has led to mass testing and quarantines at LSU and overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes in and around the capital region. 

“All faculty should have been given the choice to teach online,” Yeager said. “I know the university desires some normalcy, but this fourth wave is anything but normal.”

Jesse Schnider, a senior in Yeager’s French class, said the university should do more to protect people with health issues and disabilities.

“Our institution cares more about the appearance of functioning than taking care of their professors and students,” Schnider said. “It’s clear to me when they can host mass events on campus for the freshman but initially deny a professor's request to teach in a safe environment — the priority is not safety.”

In the days he waited for a response, Yeager said his anxiety grew by the hour. He said he thought of his students, who need his course as a prerequisite. He also pondered his own legacy, and how he never expected his tenure to wind down this way.

“I kept thinking this would be a sorry end to such a long career,” he reflected.

On the afternoon of the first day of class, LSU gave him permission to go on medical leave. An hour later, the school agreed to let him teach remotely.

Though relieved, Yeager said he’s hurt by the ordeal. 

“I had to fight for that approval every step of the way,” he said. “The whole process was incredibly stressful and anxiety producing, which is the worst combination for a heart patient.”

And yet, he said, it was worth the fight. On Tuesday last week, Aug. 24, Yeager said his Zoom class was in full attendance — a rarity for a first day. 

Flournoy said she looks forward to such a day, too.

After the FDA granted full authorization to the COVID vaccine, LSU said it would enact a mandate starting Oct. 15. With vaccines now a requirement, Flournoy said she'd gladly teach again for the spring semester.

"I want to be with my students, in a classroom, face to face," she said. "And the minute I can do all that safely, I will."