Residence Life

Preparing for Student Move-In

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Dear students,

With the start of spring semester nearly upon us, I write with an update from Middletown, where the campus is freshly blanketed in snow.

We have been preparing for student move-in, which will take place February 5–8. After consulting with public health officials and carefully reviewing and refining our health and safety protocols, we believe we have a clear plan for students to safely return to campus. As always, we will rely on all students, faculty, and staff to do their part in following safety guidelines at all times to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Because the COVID positivity rate in Connecticut and across the United States is higher than when we began the fall, we will need everyone’s renewed attention as we begin the semester. Students should read the updated COVID Code of Conduct for spring, and acknowledge it in WesPortal, where it is posted as an alert. Students will also need to upload a negative result from their pre-arrival COVID test in WesPortal.

I strongly encourage everyone to review this checklist to Prepare for Arrival. Additional information on move-in and the beginning of the semester can be found on the Residential Life website.

All students must quarantine for two weeks after arriving on campus. We will observe an initial state-mandated, campus-wide quarantine period that will last through the end of the day on February 21. Because the period after arrival poses the highest risk for students to be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, the success of our semester will depend on all students taking the quarantine measures seriously. Beginning February 9 and through the end of the quarantine, students will take all classes online.

More information on campus health and safety during COVID-19 can be found on the Keep Wes Safe website. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

Rick Culliton

Dean of Students

Chair, Pandemic Planning Committee

Housing Assignments Are Now Visible – 1/15

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Dear Students,

Housing assignments are now visible in your wesportal.  We encourage you to take a moment to review your assignment, even if you were on campus in the fall, as there may have been changes in your roommates if a vacancy existed.

Room changes will not begin until two weeks after the first day of classes.  There currently are no vacancies in High or Low Rise apartments, but they may develop later this semester.

Please email Residential Life at reslife@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions.  Please note that the office will be closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

Students may return to campus between Friday, February 5 and Monday February 8.  You will not sign up for a move in timeslot this semester, only a testing appointment.  Please plan to arrive on campus at that time.  You will receive your key after being tested.

We look forward to welcoming you back to campus!  Travel safely.

Sincerely,

Fran Koerting
Associate Dean of Students/Director of Residential Life

Preparing to Return to Campus for Spring 2021

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This is a repost of the message sent to the study body on January 14, 2021 by Dean Culliton.

Dear students,

Happy New Year! I hope this note finds you well, and that you have been enjoying a restful break. I write today with important information regarding our plans for the spring semester.

Members of the University community are very much looking forward to having students back in Middletown. Our experience in the fall allowed us to test and fine-tune our safety processes and protocols, and we feel confident that we have strong systems in place to limit the spread of COVID on campus. It will require all of us to be diligent in order to keep Wesleyan safe.

However, we are also mindful of the high levels of COVID spread in many parts of the country, and worrying news about new variants of the virus. Our plan remains to begin the spring semester in early February, with students permitted to return to campus beginning February 5, and spring semester classes starting February 9. We will alert you immediately if we determine that health conditions necessitate adjusting this schedule.

As a reminder, spring semester will once again begin with an initial two-week period of campus-wide quarantine and online instruction to comply with the State of Connecticut’s requirements.

Below is a checklist of important steps all students must take before returning to campus. Please read these steps carefully to ensure you are prepared.

  1. Beginning on January 22 until you return to campus, we ask students to limit exposure to others (quarantine at home), and especially to avoid large groups of people.
  2. All students will need to receive a negative COVID test result from a PCR test taken within five days prior to leaving home. Students will be directed to upload test results to WesPortal and have a copy upon return to campus. If you receive a positive result, do not come to campus. Recover at home and alert the Davison Health Center.
  3. If you have been in close contact with anyone with COVID or COVID-like symptoms please contact the Davison Health Center and delay your arrival on campus until at least 14 days after your close contact.
  4. Any student who did not get a flu shot on campus this fall is required to send proof that they have received a flu shot off-campus to healthforms@wesleyan.edu by January 20.
  5. Prior to leaving home, you must schedule your arrival COVID test appointment online. This appointment must be your first stop upon arriving to campus. Unlike the fall semester, you must use the app to schedule your COVID test and the number of available tests each hour is limited to reduce density as students move in. You will receive your residential keys after being tested on campus. For students travelling by plane with late arrival times, please contact reslife@wesleyan.edu with information about your travel day and time to secure a later time slot.
  6. Students who were not on campus in the fall semester must electronically sign a testing waiver for the Broad Institute and Wesleyan. These students can find waivers in their WesPortal beginning the last week of January.

I will continue to communicate with you in the weeks to come, including regarding updates to the COVID Code of Conduct for spring term. Information about campus health and safety during COVID can always be found on the Keep Wes Safe website.

Enjoy the remainder of your break, and I look forward to seeing you back on campus next month!

Sincerely,

Rick Culliton

Dean of Students

Chair, Pandemic Planning Committee

Additional Closing Information

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Please note the following corrections to the information from the sustainability office in the email you recently received about closing.

1. The mention to remove all your belongings was incorrect. Students who are returning to the same assignment do not need to remove everything, although it does need to be neatly put away in dressers/drawers/closets.

2. Composting: Students who are returning to campus next semester should empty their bucket or jar in the nearest black bin, wash it out, and leave it slightly ajar in their residence or on a covered porch, if they have one. Students who are not returning can leave their bin next to an outdoor black bin to be picked up. Students in dorms who are not returning can leave their emptied and washed compost jars next to the compost bin in the building.

Please also note that all computer labs, with the exception of ST lab and HAS lab, have been closed until February. ST lab and HAS lab are open, at their reduced COVID capacities, 24/7.

Remember to check the Residential Life website for additional information about preparing to leave campus and to TURN IN YOUR KEYS.

Reminder: Housing Closes on 11/25 at 12:00 PM, EST

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This a repost of the message sent to students by Kieran Duffy on November 19th.

Good Evening,

As a reminder, housing is closing on 11/25/20 at 12:00 PM (EST). Residential Life staff will begin checking spaces on campus starting at 10:00 am that morning. Please be advised that you should plan on completing the closing checklist for your space prior to leaving campus.

Students must return keys prior to leaving campus and by 11/25 at 12:00 pm unless approved for a petition request to remain on campus past that date and time. Keys may be deposited in the key drop boxes located around campus at the following locations: Outside of North College, Exeley Science Center Parking Lot (Lawn Avenue side), and Admissions Parking Lot. Please review the closing information on our website if you have not already done so: Residential Life Closing Info Page.

Please be prepared for staff to be in the buildings, ensure that you are wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing while walking through the hallway.

The Resource Center will be open next week Monday – Friday (except Thanksgiving day) from 11 am – 5 pm, and will be accepting donations of any useable, shelf-stable foods. As a reminder, the upcoming break is longer than usual, so you may want to consider donating food items that you don’t want to bring home with you.

Additionally, Waste Not will be collecting selected reusable items, please see the following information regarding Waste Not:

Room Condition
You can avoid incurring additional charges by doing the following:
Remove all personal belongings, recycling, compost, and trash. (Remember, this may take time – plan accordingly!). Please bring garbage to the dumpsters, recycling to the recycling bins, and take out any compost.
Don’t forget that you can recycle batteries, electronic waste, string lights, printer cartridges, pens/pencils/markers, and more in the bright green bins outside of Pi Café.

Compost Buckets
Empty the remaining contents of your bucket into a Wesleyan black composting bin and rinse out the bucket. Visit map.wesleyan.edu/#/layer/compost if you’ve forgotten where to bring your compost. Email jkleindienst@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions.
All residents: Please bring your empty bucket with lid next to the nearest black bin to your residence no later than November 21st.
Residence Hall residents: Eco Facilitators will remove the bucket from your building over the break. If you have a compost jar that you will not want to keep, please notify your Eco Facilitator so that we can clean and reuse them.
Apartment and house residents: Please empty your bucket in the nearest black bin, rinse, and wash and leave the empty bucket partially uncovered so air can circulate. If you have a porch or other covered outdoor area, we recommend leaving it outside.

Waste Not
Donate selected reusable items to Waste Not by bringing them to the garage behind 44 Brainerd Ave (Womanist House) on Saturday, November 21st between 1-5 pm. We are ONLY collecting the following items: mirrors, fans, refrigerators, microwaves, lamps & decorations and are NOT accepting other items at this mid-semester collection. You can learn more via our Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/sustainablewes/photos/a.654797931207441/3683877778299426/.

If you have any questions regarding closing, please don’t hesitate to contact us at reslife@wesleyan.edu.

Best,
Kieran

Kieran J. Duffy ( He, Him pronouns)
Assistant Director of Residential Life
Wesleyan University
237 High Street
Middletown, CT 06459
(860) 685-3429

Deadline to Submit Petition to Remain on Campus Until End of Semester/Fall Break- 10/23

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Greetings!

This is a quick reminder that you may still petition to remain in campus housing through the end of the Fall 2020 semester and/or through the duration of winter break. You may access the petition form here; the deadline for submissions is Friday, October 23rd at 5pm, EST.

Some of you have also asked about returning to campus early from winter break. A separate petition will be available for early return requests before the end of the semester.

All my best,

Dean Leathers

Correction: Important Fall and Spring Calendar Updates

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This reposted message is a correction to the email sent by President Roth on October 5th.

In Monday’s message regarding fall and spring calendar updates, spring break was mistakenly noted as March 24-25. The actual dates of the two-day break, as listed on the University’s academic calendar, are Tuesday-Wednesday, March 23-24. The Office of Communications regrets the error. The below text is revised to indicate the corrected dates.

Dear friends,

With the first month of the semester under our belts, I would like to pause to acknowledge the careful planning, creative problem-solving and exemplary adherence to safety protocols that have allowed us to be together this fall. This is a proud and happy moment for us all.

At the same time, it is a precarious moment. We understand that the pandemic is still with us and that the public health context can change at any time. We are also nearing the winter months, when more time indoors and flu season could pose additional threats. With these considerations in mind, we have made the following plans:

  • Thanksgiving recess begins Wednesday, Nov. 25 and extends through Monday, Nov. 30. Classes resume remotely on Tuesday, Dec. 1, with all classes and exams conducted online for the remainder of the semester. Students with special considerations (such as international students for whom travel is not advisable or students who depend on Wesleyan for housing) may petition to remain on campus over winter break. All other students must depart no later than Wednesday, Nov. 25 at noon.
  • Students may return to campus for the spring semester beginning Friday, Feb. 5, and classes will begin online on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Students whose theses or capstone projects require them to be on campus will be able to petition to return prior to Feb. 5 on a case-by-case basis. That petition will be distributed at a later date, and consideration will be given to any petitions by those who feel their work cannot be done remotely.
  • We continue to review the risk profile for athletics and for spring study abroad programs. We will be providing updates in the coming weeks.

We expect our February return will entail similar safety precautions to those that have proved effective so far this fall: students limiting exposure and getting tested prior to traveling back to Middletown; an initial two-week quarantine period on campus (Feb. 5-20); frequent testing and procedures for supportive isolation and contact tracing; and a no-travel, two-day spring break (March 23-24), which will negate the need for a post-break quarantine period. When we return next semester, we must maintain our vigilance with respect to social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing. If all goes well, we expect the semester to end in late May, with final exams May 18-21. We anticipate hosting Commencement on Sunday, May 30, and will determine the celebration’s format, as well as the celebration for the Class of 2020, as we get closer to the spring.

We will be in touch with more specifics later this semester. These are challenging times, but I am heartened by the many ways that you have risen to these challenges. Thank you for all you are doing to care for yourselves and one another.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Roth, President

Visiting Students in Other Residences

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The following is a repost of the email message sent by Asst. Dean Fran Koerting on October 5th.

Thanks to the low number of COVID cases on campus,  effective Thursday, October 8, 2020, students living on campus will be permitted to visit their friends who live in other residences.  Posted COVID capacity in common areas may not be exceeded, and no more than two individuals may be in a bedroom at the same time, including the room occupant(s). Face coverings must be worn at all times. Due to the potential risk to the community, sanctions for violations are likely to be more severe than in ordinary times.  Please visit responsibly.

If the number of cases increases, or students are not following the guidelines of wearing face coverings and maintaining six foot distancing, this flexibility will be revoked.  We will revert to more cautious measures again in the beginning of next semester .

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Fran Koerting
Director of Residential Life

Important Fall and Spring Calendar Updates

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The following is a repost of the email message sent by President Roth on October 5th.

Dear friends,

With the first month of the semester under our belts, I would like to pause to acknowledge the careful planning, creative problem-solving and exemplary adherence to safety protocols that have allowed us to be together this fall. This is a proud and happy moment for us all.

At the same time, it is a precarious moment. We understand that the pandemic is still with us and that the public health context can change at any time. We are also nearing the winter months, when more time indoors and flu season could pose additional threats. With these considerations in mind, we have made the following plans:

  • Thanksgiving recess begins Wednesday, Nov. 25 and extends through Monday, Nov. 30. Classes resume remotely on Tuesday, Dec. 1, with all classes and exams conducted online for the remainder of the semester. Students with special considerations (such as international students for whom travel is not advisable or students who depend on Wesleyan for housing) may petition to remain on campus over winter break. All other students must depart no later than Wednesday, Nov. 25 at noon.
  • Students may return to campus for the spring semester beginning Friday, Feb. 5, and classes will begin online on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Students whose theses or capstone projects require them to be on campus will be able to petition to return prior to Feb. 5 on a case-by-case basis. That petition will be distributed at a later date, and consideration will be given to any petitions by those who feel their work cannot be done remotely.
  • We continue to review the risk profile for athletics and for spring study abroad programs. We will be providing updates in the coming weeks.

We expect our February return will entail similar safety precautions to those that have proved effective so far this fall: students limiting exposure and getting tested prior to traveling back to Middletown; an initial two-week quarantine period on campus (Feb. 5-20); frequent testing and procedures for supportive isolation and contact tracing; and a no-travel, two-day spring break (March 24-25), which will negate the need for a post-break quarantine period. When we return next semester, we must maintain our vigilance with respect to social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing. If all goes well, we expect the semester to end in late May, with final exams May 18-21. We anticipate hosting Commencement on Sunday, May 30, and will determine the celebration’s format, as well as the celebration for the Class of 2020, as we get closer to the spring.

We will be in touch with more specifics later this semester. These are challenging times, but I am heartened by the many ways that you have risen to these challenges. Thank you for all you are doing to care for yourselves and one another.

Sincerely,

Michael S. Roth, President

Additional Schedule Changes Due to Saturday (8/29) Forecast

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The following is a repost of the email Dean Culliton sent to students on August 28th.

 

Greetings!

Thanks to everyone for your cooperation in adjusting to the changes we needed to make yesterday due to weather.   Testing/Dining and Residential Check-in will return to their outdoor locations and times for today (Friday) and we were able to accommodate close to 800 tests yesterday despite the shortened testing day.  For anyone who missed a scheduled test yesterday afternoon please proceed to the testing tent today.

As we enter the first weekend of the semester, I’d like to remind you that we remain in a period of campus-wide quarantine, in which students must remain in their residence with exceptions only to pick up meals, receive COVID tests, retrieve mail, and sit or walk/jog outside on campus property. Until conditions improve, social events and parties with others outside of family units are not permitted. You can find more information on the Residential website. We’re all in this together, and we are each responsible for doing our part to keep our Wesleyan community safe.

With heavy rain forecast for Saturday,  we will again enact our rain plan for Saturday August 29 as follows:

Student Dining

Saturday lunch and dinner will move indoors for everyone’s safety.  Dining will still be grab and go and we ask that if it is safe to return to your residence hall, please do not congregate indoors at the dining pick-up locations for extended periods of time.

Please pick up your meals at your assigned locations with the following modifications:

Summerfields Patio will move inside the Summerfields dining room.

Pi Cafe patio will move indoors at the Exley Science Center Lobby (Enter through the Church Street side).

HiRise will be in the entry way of the HiRise building.

Usdan/Labyrinth will move to the inside on the first floor of Usdan (Enter through the West entrance by Fayerweather).

COVID-19 Testing

Saturday testing schedule will be truncated to 10AM-3PM.  Anyone with a scheduled appointment outside of those hours on Saturday has been contacted and asked to reschedule.   For those who had scheduled appointments and are able to come to the testing tent between 10AM-3PM, please do so. No need to reschedule online, simply arrive on site and we will work to accommodate you.

If you are scheduled for a test later Saturday and IT IS NOT YOUR FIRST TEST, please go online and reschedule for Sunday or Monday. You can click the link sent to you with your confirmation email and cancel/reschedule as needed.

If you are arriving Saturday and have not yet been tested on campus, you may proceed to the testing tent between 10AM-3PM.  As long as it is safe to operate we will be conducting testing under the tent. If it is determined that we need to suspend operations, we will close the tent. You may wait nearby in the adjacent Fayerweather Building/Beckham Hall (second floor) or in the Exley Science Center (lobby) until the weather passes or you may proceed directly to get your key at your assigned key pick-up location.

Residential Life Key Pick-Up Locations

Please review the information that has been sent to you about checking in to Residential Life and picking up your keys. Due to the inclement weather, the key pick-ups on Saturday will be moved under cover as follows:

Butterfield check-in moved to Butterfield A Lounge.

Clark Hall check-in moved to Clark Hall Lobby.

HiRise check-in moved to the HiRise Lobby.

Rear of Hewitt 8/Mocon Circle check-in moved to Hewitt 9 Lounge.

Foss Hill Drive check-in moved to Fauver Lounge.

Please note that Residential Life Check in hours on Sunday will now be 10AM-4PM.

We’ve made all of these changes in the interest of safety. Thank you for your understanding. Please pay attention to any additional weather reports for any changing conditions.  At this point today and Sunday look like beautiful days and we expect to operate our full days at the outdoor locations.

 

Best,

Rick Culliton, Dean of Students

Wesleyan University