AUGUST 2020

New Dorm Life
BY LISA CIPRIANO
Just as all of our lives have changed
due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
life in college residence halls will
be more than a bit different for both
new and returning students this fall.
Social distancing, wearing face
masks and quarantining, concepts that
were foreign to us less than six months
ago, are now part of our daily lives and
that will be no different in college
dorms for the foreseeable future.
How will social distancing be
done in such close living quarters?
It’s already being done by students
who live on campus year-round and
will continue on a larger scale with
the influx of new and returning students
this fall.
It’s a challenge,” said Director of
Residence Life at Central Michigan
Masks are not required among dorm mates in shared sleeping areas.
But in common areas, social distancing by six feet and mask wearing
are not only essential, but mandatory.
University, Kathleen Gardner. “In
everything we’ve done, we’ve tried to
follow guidelines put out by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
the American College Health
Association and we’ve worked in tandem
with the university emergency
management team,” she explained.
Michigan State University, the
state’s largest university in terms of enrollment,
is utilizing both government
and its own world-renowned medical
resources and expertise for guidance.
“We have worked really hard
with our partners at the university
physician’s office and the Ingham
County Health Department as well
as the CDC to make sure that we’re
providing the safest experience possible
for not just our students, but for
our faculty and staff as well,” said Kat
Cooper, Chief Communications Officer
for Residential and Hospitality
Services at Michigan State University.
In fact, MSU has the benefit of
having a renowned, Harvard educated
infectious disease researcher in its
President, Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D.
The University of Michigan is
tapping into its own unique and
world-renowned medical expertise
and resources as well.
“We’re very fortunate at U of M
to have outstanding public health
expertise,” explained Senior Associate
Director at University of Michigan’s
Housing Administration, Amir
Baghdadchi. “We’ve worked with
the university chief health officer,
the executive director of our university
health service and we’ve had our
doctors walking our residence halls,
looking at floor plans and figuring
out what makes sense here,” Baghdadchi
said.
Overall, what the experts have
found to make sense directly mirrors
what the general public has been
advised to do since the start of the
COVID-19 outbreak.
At all three universities, each
dorm room is considered a family
unit. Masks are not required among
dorm mates in shared sleeping areas.
But in common areas, social distancing
by six feet and mask wearing as
not only essential, but mandatory.
“Students who are living together
in a single room, that’s considered
a single household unit. So, no
physical distancing or facemasks are
required. Outside of their rooms will
be considered a public space where
face masks will be required along
with physical distancing, said Baghdadchi.
We’re also asking students to
quarantine for 14 days before arriving
on campus,” he added.
Another overall recommendation
from health experts is that residence
hall occupancy be reduced, if
possible, to help accommodate better
physical distancing.
“Once students move in together,
that becomes like your family. It’s
the person that you live with. It’s
not going to be someone that you’ll
be able to be six feet from every moment
of every day, but we want to be
able to give students enough space so
they don’t have to be up against each
other all of the time. So, we took a
handful of rooms in the north neighborhood
and made those single occupancy
rooms,” said Carson.
CMU has the ability to make residence
hall occupancy management
a major focus to help mitigate any
potential spread of the virus and ease
the minds of the concerned students
and parents.
“In looking at the guidelines put
out there by various associations, we
need to reduce the amount of students
in each living unit. It’s a bit tight, but
we do have the space to be able to do
that. We feel that’s important to offer
that option to help address some
of the concerns that our students and
families have about returning to campus,”
Gardner explained.
In accordance with ACHA
guidelines, all three universities all
have set aside separate residence
halls to isolate, monitor and provide
care for students who are feeling ill or
test positive for the virus.
Reducing dorm room occupancy
also reduces the amount of social interaction
is common areas, like dining
halls which are currently and will continue
to operate at 50 percent capacity,
like Michigan’s restaurants under Governor
Gretchen Whitmer’s executive
order. They’re also offering students
more ‘to go’ options to further help reduce
dining hall occupancy.
All of these new procedures and
requirements require students’ cooperation,
and both new and returning
students will be briefed on what to
expect and consistently reminded of
what’s expected of them this fall.
“We’re doing a lot of communication
with them right now on how the
fall will be different. We’re in the process
of making some videos that will
go out to students so that they can really
see what fall will look like before
they get here, so they can start to set
those expectations,” said Carson.
Stressing a sense of responsibility
and community is a major focus in
the effort to keep students and faculty
safe at U of M this fall.
“Every one of these students
knows that reopening for the fall and
a residential experience depends on
shared responsibility. They already
know exactly what’s at stake and why
mask wearing and physical distancing
are important. And, they’ll be plenty
of signage around campus reminding
them of that and what the expectations
are,” Baghdadchi explained.
Despite the seemingly daunting
situation ahead of them, through
following the basic guidelines, adapting
to a changing environment and
stressing the importance of responsibility,
the universities are optimistic
about a successful year ahead.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge.
But, I have full confidence that
if we put all of our energy and intelligence
behind this, we can have a
great fall,” concluded Carson.
28 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2020