Covid Update – 10/9

This is a repost of the message sent by Dean Culliton on October 9th.

Dear students,

While we are all relieved by the success we have seen keeping our campus safe this semester, it is important that we not let our guard down.  Other campuses that had low Covid rates have experienced sudden spikes of infection.  While the tendency may be to feel more comfortable on campus as we have tested so frequently and seen so few cases, I want to remind you that our safe environment has been created by your careful adherence to widespread physical distancing and wearing of face coverings as well our testing protocol.

Daily we are monitoring whether students are keeping pace with our expected twice-a-week testing regimen and a small number of you have received warnings for not testing two times each week.  We have not required any students who have missed a test to leave campus yet but we have notified a group of students that another missed test will send them home. While our level of testing is a significant investment in the safety of everyone on campus, it requires a relatively small but important commitment on your part.

We have also had some incidents, mostly at night and on the weekends, where students have been observed violating the Covid agreement by not maintaining physical distance or not wearing masks.  The Community Standards Board has adjudicated these incidents and in a couple of cases sent students home to finish the semester remotely, while others have typically been issued sanctions including probation or deferred suspension with 5-8 points.  The stakes are high when people don’t adhere to the agreement which is why the resulting sanctions are so significant.  As the weather gets colder and people move inside please help us keep each other safe.  Whenever you are not in your residence hall room or private residence, wear your face covering and always maintain six feet of separation.  If you are outside gathering with others, maintain six feet of separation and when not eating or drinking, wear your face covering.  We know this is hard and may seem unnatural at times but it is critical.

I have heard from a number of students who are immunocompromised or have family members who are at risk and they are very concerned about the prospect of Wesleyan experiencing a spike in cases that could endanger them and/or require us to cut short the in-person learning for this semester.  The staff and faculty who are on campus are also relying on everyone to do our part. While our campus has been and is safe, we are not a bubble.  You are permitted to leave campus (to Middletown and the immediate surrounding area) and return. As we keep our eye on state and local positivity rates, we are comfortable continuing to allow that movement IF we can adhere to the important steps of wearing face coverings and maintaining safe distance.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and please reach out to your ResLife student staff member or contact me if you have any questions.

Best,

Dean Rick

Rick Culliton

Dean of Students