COVID-19: Campus Update
Dear Undergraduate Students,
Provost Helble's message covers a lot of ground. We sent it tonight to provide accurate and up to date information as quickly as possible, but there is nothing you need to do right now except care for yourselves. There will be time tomorrow and in the coming days to sort out what this news may mean for each of you. This is an extraordinary time. It changes what we're all used to and what we have to anticipate in ways we haven't experienced before.
We will do our best to help you through it.
SPRING BREAK TRAVEL. The part of Provost Helble's message that has the broadest impact on you relates to spring break travel. For health and safety reasons, we need to reduce occupancy in the residence halls over spring break. Those of you who don't have interim housing need to leave as planned when your exams are done, and no later than the end of this week.
Those of you who had confirmed interim housing need to understand that we must curtail it to reduce the risk of transmission. If you had interim housing because of various activities on campus, or if you didn't have interim housing but were hoping to stay, you are strongly encouraged to depart campus this week. You will be required to depart campus no later than Monday, March 16.
There will be very few exceptions to the need to leave campus, limited to those who would have been here for the entire break due to visa considerations, high medical need, or other significant high need that qualified for the original interim housing approval.
Some domestic break trips are continuing as planned. Some have been cancelled. If your trip has been cancelled, please consult with your sponsoring department (e.g. DCAD, Student Life) about making alternative plans to leave campus by Monday as well.
An interim travel care team - including Financial Aid and Financial Services staff, residential and student life staff, undergraduate deans and travel providers, will be ready to assist with travel arrangements and financial support for those who need it. The team will also be available to discuss unique individual circumstances that require assistance. We'll have more details about that for you tomorrow.
EVENTS ON CAMPUS. We are now limiting events on campus to fewer than 100 participants, using social distancing practices. Admissions tours will be suspended at the end of the week, and the first Dimensions event planned for April 16th has been cancelled. Athletic events that continue will do so under restrictive spectator guidelines issued by the Ivy League. Things are going to be different until the public health crisis has subsided.
We know you have many questions that have not yet been answered. As the Provost noted, it still remains the College's intention to hold spring term on campus as planned, but the College will determining the best way forward over the break. There will be more community updates in the coming days. Check your Dartmouth e-mail frequently and monitor the College COVID19 website. The updates and the web are going to be your very best sources for the latest information.
Campus support resources stand ready to support you through this. I realize that for many of you this is going to seem unfair and disruptive, and I am truly sorry about that. But in this unprecedented global health pandemic, it's up to all us to do what members of the Dartmouth community have always done - pull together, support one another, and do the right thing even in the face of adversity. Please use this time away to take exceptionally good care of yourself and those around you. I'll look forward to seeing upon your return.
Best wishes for a happy and healthy break,
Kathryn Lively Dean of the College