Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,
Halfway through October, we have many good reasons to celebrate our success in protecting the health and wellbeing of this remarkable community. I write to thank you for your support and participation in our efforts this academic year. I also want to provide you with an update from ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ’s campus.
- Today, ¸Ô±¾ÊÓƵ entered Gate 3. Students are still required to wear masks and maintain physical distancing. They must still follow state and local regulations, and when in the village they must continue to respect the rules of the businesses they visit. This new Gate will, however, allow them to gather in groups of up to 25, both outdoors and inside, provided that they are following all applicable occupancy rules.
Gate 3 originally would have permitted gatherings of 50, matching New York State guidelines for Phase IV regions. Out of an abundance of caution, however, we reduced that number and will revisit the possibility of larger gatherings at a later date. Full Gate details can be found on our website. If you see a violation of our Gate restrictions, we encourage you to politely and firmly address it yourself or fill out .
- While randomly testing 6% of our students and employees again last week, we identified a single positive student case of COVID-19. Because students are maintaining their commitment, only three close contacts were associated with this individual, and our isolation/quarantine space remains ample.
If you have not yet read about our wastewater testing program, I encourage you to do so. While you’re on our website, you can also read the updates and reminders that we send to the campus community three times per week, and you can monitor the Health Analytics Team dashboard, which continues to help us determine our ability to move between Gates.
- We are now planning for students’ departure from campus, starting November 20. Following Thanksgiving Break, students and faculty will complete their semester via remote instruction. We will publish details on the timing and process of move-out later this week. I can tell you at this point that families will not be permitted into University buildings and must register for pickup times to avoid congestion. Again, please watch colgate.edu/covid19 and your email inbox for updates.
- We are also planning to announce next week our plans for the spring 2021 semester, including our pre-arrival, arrival, and post-arrival testing plans; move-in dates; and other details as we know them now. The Task Force on Reopening the Campus and the Emergency Operations Center are actively working on these plans, taking into account what we have learned this semester. This communication will allow our students to make plans regarding their spring course registration later this month and for the University to plan for housing needs accordingly.
While we celebrate all of this good news, we also see it as a reason to redouble our commitment to community health. Again, I thank you for your support in this effort and ask that you reach out if you have questions, comments, or concerns.
Sincerely,
Laura H. Jack
Vice President for Communications