COVID-19 Update: Policy Violations, Current Case Level
October 23, 2020
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff
As we continue to manage the presence of COVID-19 within our community, we are writing to let you know that 15 students are being removed from campus as a result of significant COVID-19 conduct violations.
The Office of Student and Community Life learned this week of possible violations that occurred last weekend. We immediately began an investigation to determine the validity of the reports we received, including who was involved. In one incident, 14 students who live in campus housing visited a local bar. Another incident involved a violation of the COVID-19 guest policy. Both incidents occurred when the college was in alert level orange, and the behaviors demonstrated a disregard for the expectations set in our student community contract and COVID policies. All of these students will complete the semester remotely and will not be allowed on campus for the remainder of the semester.
To continue our residential and in-person learning experience this fall, we must adhere to the community contract. We acknowledge that this semester is highly unusual and that living through a global pandemic is difficult, challenging, and stressful.
We also recognize that most of our students have been diligent in following the guidelines developed to protect the health and safety of our community. We appreciate all that you have done to this point. Your efforts have contributed to a continued reduction in the number of active cases in our community. As of today, we have updated the dashboard to reflect that we now have four active cases, with two of those isolating on campus.
We encourage you to avail yourself of outdoor on-campus activities where organized groups of limited size can convene if they have in-person faculty/staff supervision and that students may gather outside informally to socialize and dine, but groups may not be larger than six people, and face coverings must be worn except when eating.
It is essential that we not let down our guard and continue to practice mask wearing, social distancing and limiting gatherings. As we have seen reported, we are seeing a global resurgence in COVID-19 cases. This means that all of us must remain vigilant in our efforts to limit our exposure to the virus.
Students may not travel from campus (including locally) for nonessential reasons. If you need to travel for an urgent matter, please contact the office of the dean of student life at [email protected]. The office will respond with instructions on what steps you need to take while off campus and when you return. It is very important that you consult this office in advance about your need to travel.
As we monitor conditions on campus and in the surrounding area, we will remain in alert level yellow through this weekend with the potential of moving to alert level green on Monday. We appreciate the efforts of many to make this semester a reality. Your care for each other and our community is central to our success.
Sincerely,
Joe DiChristina, Vice President for Student Success and Enrollment Management
Jason Rojas, Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for External Relations
