The Crimson White: Back to School Edition, August 2021

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4A BACK TO SCHOOL August 19, 2021 Students save money and raise health concerns at UA-leased apartments CW File ZACH JOHNSON NEWS EDITOR UA Housing and Residential Communities overbooked by about 800 students for fall 2021. The University leased 815 beds from East Edge and The Lofts at City Center to accommodate the demand for oncampus housing. Some students who were relocated to an off-campus apartment pay less per month by leasing through UA Housing compared to their neighbors who rent through the apartment complex. The University first encouraged students to volunteer to live at an off-campus apartment in late June. It offered no direct incentives to volunteers, except a 12-month lease instead of the standard nine-month lease for dorms. Students who were relocated to The Lofts or East Edge are not required to purchase a meal plan. Freshmen living in residence halls are required to purchase an all-access meal plan for $2,117 per semester. Within weeks, the University began notifying students that they had been moved to The Lofts or East Edge. Relocation to off-campus housing was no longer voluntary. HRC did not move freshmen off campus, except those with nonfreshman roommates. “We apologize for any inconvenience, and we want to assure you that we did not make this change lightly,” the HRC email said. “It was required by our need to meet the housing demand from incoming freshmen, who are required to live on campus.” The complexes were chosen after a bid process once high numbers of new The University of Alabama is introducing new ways for students and staff to get around campus this year. Crimson Ride bus routes have new names, and the buses will stop at apartment complexes near campus. These changes will be effective for the fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters. students necessitated more housing. Senior Associate Vice President of Student Life Steven Hood said the University had successful leases with both East Edge and the Lofts in the past, and that this bid process was separate from previous contracts. Students who lease a unit at The Lofts through UA Housing pay $3,700 per semester regardless of floor plan — $800 less than the four-bedroom suite rate for residence halls. The Lofts’ four-bedroom floor plans average about $3,700 for six months. Through UA Housing, residents pay the same $3,700 rate regardless of floorplan for a fourbedroom apartment. Two-bedroom apartments at The Lofts average about $4,100 per semester, so students leasing a twobedroom apartment through UA save $400 per semester. At East Edge, three-bedroom units cost about $4,500 for six months, while students with a three-bedroom unit through UA Housing pay $300 less for the same amount of time. Residents who lease a studio apartment at East Edge through UA Housing get the best deal. Large studio apartments cost around $6,000 per semester, while those who lease through UA Housing pay $3,350 per semester. Heather Holladay is the mother of an incoming freshman. She said that her daughter was notified on July 14 that she had been reassigned from Lakeside West to The Lofts. One of Holladay’s daughter’s roommates is a sophomore. Her daughter was scheduled for an early move in date. Despite this, her move-in date at The Lofts was scheduled for Aug. 10. After several emails and phone calls with UA Housing, the move-in date was fixed. When move-in day came, Holladay As usual, staff and students can use the free app Passio GO! to keep track of where the buses are and when they will arrive. The new names of the bus routes correspond to where the buses will travel. These include the Coleman Route, Perimeter Route, Hub Routes 1 and 2, Bryce Routes 1 and 2, North and South Rec Routes, and the Residential Route. The buses will run from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends, the bus routes may change said the management at the Lofts was unprepared, and new problems began when they made it to the apartment. “We get to the second floor,” Holladay said. “And literally all I see is busted foam stuff everywhere, boxes, trash bags. It looked like stuff that had been pulled out of apartments and just thrown out into the [hallway]. ... It smelled really bad.” Holladay said her daughter compared the smell to that of a dead body. Boxes in the hallways were filled with trash, and gnats hovered. Holladay pulled beer caps, Taco Bell bags and Cheetos from beneath the couch cushions. The refrigerator and microwave had been repaired with duct tape. After three emergency maintenance requests, Holladay said the ice maker still showered water on the wall. She said a maintenance worker arrived during lunch one day to replace the carpet in one of the bedrooms. When her daughter returned that night, Holladay said the apartment door was open. “I'm going oh, my gosh,” Holladay said. “What have we just moved my daughter into? This is not good.” Despite their experience, Holliday said it was fantastic that the University had exceeded its housing capacity for the semester, and felt that it meant students were excited to return to school. Other East Edge residents have raised their concerns about health and safety. Resident Jared Goldstein said he found mold in his shower. He shared his concerns with other East Edge residents who shared similar stories of mold around their apartment. Goldstein said he noted his concerns on multiple feedback forms from East Edge but was never contacted. “I think if UA acts on it, East Edge will [work on the mold issue],” Goldstein said. “I think if people like me and you who only rent one bed go to East Edge, they’re not going to do anything.” In January, an annual Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Department Environmental Assessment revealed that multiple emergency lights at East Edge required battery replacements, liquid petroleum gas was illegally stored in the riser room, and a fire panel showed trouble. Only the gas storage had been fixed by April 9, the most recent report. “We maintain our fire alarm and emergency systems to ensure they are working properly and according to code,” East Edge said in a statement to the Crimson White. “The systems are all functioning, and we are in the process of implementing certain upgrades and repairs.” East Edge said in a statement on Monday that all systems are functioning and it is in the process of implementing upgrades and repairs. They said that all service requests and claims are addressed within 24 hours, and added that a third party has investigated claims in the past. “To date, the select instances reported were not in public areas and were determined to be caused by improper upkeep by residents,” the statement said. “These issues have since been remedied.” The Lofts cleared its 2021 TFR Environmental Assessment without issue. Hood said the University will conduct regular health and safety inspections in the complexes, similar to those in dorms, and they will be conducted by UA staff. “Our team and other campus partners have been assisting with final move-in preparation for students that contracted through HRC to live at The Lofts,” Hood said. “While this is not typical when a Master Lease is involved, to best serve our students we chose to have greater involvement in the cleaning and repairs for students as they move into their new assignment.” Hood said the University has utilized off-campus apartment complexes in the past when growth outpaces capacity, but will reevaluate the need for off-campus apartments annually. The Lofts at City Center did not respond to requests for comment. Editor’s Note: Zach Johnson is a resident at one of the apartments leased by UA Housing. New bus routes, concierge service debut this fall A Crimson Ride bus drives down University Boulevard. CW / David Gray MARIA GRENYO STAFF REPORTER UA relocated more than 800 dorm residents to the Lofts at City Center and East Edge to accommodate enrollment in the fall 2021 semester. CW File depending on whether there is a home football game. Buses will also travel to more apartments near campus to accommodate off-campus students, especially those who were forced off campus due to over-capacity residence halls on campus. Last year, buses ran to a few apartments, including The Lofts and East Edge, but the University has expanded to more apartments this year, including The Bluffs, Evolve Tuscaloosa and The Cottages. These buses will operate during the same times as the on-campus buses. The routes will also operate 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays but are subject to change during home football game weekends. The University will use an entirely new service for faculty and staff called Crimson Concierge. This van transportation service will pick up faculty and staff members exactly where they are and shuttle them to meetings or other destinations across campus from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. James Knickrehm, Associate Director of Transit in the Office of Transportation Services, said Crimson Concierge will ensure faculty and staff can travel crosscampus with fewer worries. “Crimson Concierge will help alleviate the stress of driving a personal vehicle around campus looking for a parking space close to the faculty or staff member’s meeting. Additionally, the service saves the faculty or staff member time and money by cutting the requirement to plan extra time to traverse campus for their meetings,” he said. He said the University will upgrade the program as necessary depending on demand for transportation. “As more faculty and staff register and begin using Crimson Concierge, Transportation Services will evaluate the need for more vans and drivers to meet the need,” Knickrehm said. The service area includes the main campus and the University Services Campus. Faculty and staff can request a ride using their myBama credentials on the Crimson Concierge app or through the ride request website. The University also partners with Tuscaloosa Transit. Anyone with an ACT card can park at the Tuscaloosa Downtown Intermodal Facility, a large parking structure in downtown Tuscaloosa, for free. Shuttles run from there to campus every 30 minutes from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m.
BACK TO SCHOOL August 19, 2021 COVID ON CAMPUS: What’s changed? JACK MAURER & ISABEL HOPE CHIEF COPY EDITOR & ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR As the semester kicks off, the delta variant and new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have forced the University to modify its plan. Most of the restrictions from last year are gone, but masks are once again required for everyone in indoor public spaces — at least until September. The University is paying students $40 in Bama Cash to get vaccinated and giving away big-ticket items in a raffle. Masks One of the most notable changes in the health and safety plan the University released in July was the removal of mask requirements for vaccinated individuals in most settings. At the time, this change was in line with existing guidance from the CDC. One week later, however, the CDC updated its recommendation in response to new information about the delta variant, recommending that vaccinated people once again mask up indoors “in areas of substantial or high transmission.” Such areas now account for most of the U.S., including Alabama, where all 67 counties are experiencing high transmission. On Aug. 5, the University reinstated its campus-wide mask mandate for all individuals. The new mandate, which took effect Aug. 6, requires masks in indoor public spaces “where and when distancing is not possible” and in classrooms regardless of physical distancing. The current mask requirement is set to expire Sept. 3. Vaccines Three COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use in the U.S. The University is offering two of them, Pfizer and Moderna, at its medical facilities. These vaccines have always been free in the U.S. Now, UA students can make money by proving they’ve gotten the vaccine. Students can use the University’s online form to report their vaccinations by Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. to receive a $40 deposit in their Bama Cash account. That’s double the $20 incentive the University first announced last month. If students reported their vaccination before Aug. 9, they will receive an additional $20 in their account. Only one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine is required for the reward, but for two-dose vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna, public health experts say getting both shots is key for protection against the virus. Students who submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination also have the chance to win one of 23 prizes, including three all-access campus parking passes, 10 on-campus housing scholarships worth $1,000 each, six pairs of away-game football tickets, and four lunches with Vice President of Student Life Myron Pope. Students can get the Pfizer vaccine at the Student Health Center or the Moderna vaccine at University Medical Center. In the past month, vaccinations have risen significantly throughout the U.S. But in Alabama, as in much of the South, vaccination rates remain relatively low, and case counts continue to climb, fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. About 35% of Alabamians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the lowest rate in the nation. In Tuscaloosa County, just 31% of residents are fully vaccinated. On Tuesday the University of Alabama System posted vaccination data to its COVID-19 dashboard, showing that more than 72.4% of faculty and staff at The University of Alabama have received at least one dose of a vaccine. It’s not clear how much of the University’s student body has been vaccinated. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that more than 700 colleges have so far announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements for students or employees, mostly in politically liberal states. No colleges in Alabama have said they will require COVID-19 vaccinations. A state law passed in May effectively prohibits universities from requiring COVID-19 vaccines. Governor Kay Ivey, who signed the bill, has urged Alabamians to get vaccinated, saying, “It’s the unvaccinated folks who are letting us down.” University administrators, too, are encouraging students to get shots. “Vaccinations are the key to a successful fall semester and the key to moving beyond these types of [mask] requirements,” said Dr. Richard Friend, dean of the College of Community Health Sciences. Testing Unlike in past semesters, the University didn’t require entry testing at all. The new health and safety plan also doesn’t mention sentinel testing — random COVID-19 tests that were mandatory last year for students living on campus and optional for most others. Last year, the UA System’s COVID-19 dashboard reported weekly case counts but not the number of tests conducted. The dashboard did, however, show the positivity rate for sentinel tests. From September 2020 through April 2021, The University of Alabama conducted more than 14,000 sentinel tests, 1.24% of which were positive, according to the dashboard. The positivity rate reached a peak of 4.47% during the week from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, 2021. The UA System stopped publishing new data on the dashboard in April. The rules on testing are now strictest for unvaccinated students, who are required to self-isolate for two weeks following COVID-19 exposure and to get for-cause tests “at the discretion of the university.” According to the health and safety plan, UA System campuses should continue to provide symptomatic and exposure testing to unvaccinated individuals but may offer only symptomatic testing to vaccinated individuals. The CDC advises fully vaccinated people who have had close contact with an infected person to get tested between three and five days after exposure, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. The health and safety plan also stipulates that “all members of the campus community” must notify their university if they test positive for COVID-19. Classes 5A The University plans for a return to in-person classes this fall. There will be no classroom capacities or social distancing guidelines. Hybrid options and online classes are not currently set to be offered. However, the fall syllabi statement on COVID-19 states that the University is free to change the “course delivery methods” at any time in accordance with public health guidelines. Professors are encouraged to provide all teaching in person and record lectures for students who cannot attend class for medical reasons. CW / Pearl Langley For all the things you wish you had and all the things you forgot, we’re Tuscaloosa’s go-to place for shopping. Shop Belk Women, Belk Men, Kids and Home, JCPenney, Café Court and the best selection of specialty stores, all under one roof! 1701 McFarland Blvd East Shop Mon-Thurs 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat 10am-8pm, Sunday 1pm-5:30pm COLLEGE LIFE REQUIRES A WHOLE LOT OF STUFF. WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF. WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SHOPPING
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