Like our fall semester, campus life and academic life will come with some noticeable changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic that will require commitments and cooperation from our entire community. This guide is intended to provide an overview of the guidelines that have been planned and implemented so far.
You should also know that our understanding of and approach to the best way to promote the health and well-being of our community will continue to change, so please understand (and expect) that our guidelines and procedures will continue to change as well.
To start, we want to let you know about four important requirements that will go a long way in keeping yourself and others healthy & well.
- Practice physical distancing—Everywhere you go outside of your room, remember to stay 6 feet or more away from others. This includes indoors and outdoors.
- Wear a face mask—Except when you are in your own room, masks that cover your nose and mouth are required whenever you are indoors, including classrooms. Masks do not need to be worn outside as long as you can maintain a 6-foot distance from others (but carry one on you just in case).
- Hand-Washing/Hand Sanitization—You should wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially before entering and leaving classrooms, offices, and other spaces. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer.
- Complete a Daily Health Screening for COVID-19 symptoms—These include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, congestion or runny nose, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea
Residence Halls (Households) and Social Gatherings
Data from the fall semester shows that between October 1, 2020 and November 13, 2020, 71% of the cases in Vermont associated with an outbreak were associated with a private party or social gathering.
As a result, the State of Vermont has limited attendance at all public and private social, recreational and entertainment gatherings, indoor and outdoor, including large social gatherings incidental to ceremonies, holiday gatherings, parties and celebrations, to participation with only members of a single “household.”
For the purposes of student housing on campus, the College defines a “household” as an individual residence hall (Frost Hall, Aiken Hall, Alumni Hall, Stone Hall, Davis Hall) or residential complex (Bridges & Chumley Halls).
- Students may only enter the residence hall they have been assigned to live in by the College. Students may not have guests in their rooms. Masks must be worn in all areas of the residence hall except for a student’s individual room.
- Students will not be permitted to have visitors to the campus or overnight guests.
- Social gatherings do not include dining operations, library operations, in-person classes, religious gatherings, college affiliated athletics, and institutional programming that is conducted in a way that restricts interactions between households.
- The College will designate various areas on campus that will be supervised in a way that restricts interactions between households and ensures that physical distancing is maintained at all times. Socializing outside of these designated areas with residents outside of a student’s own “household” is prohibited.
