Note to Undergraduates re: belongings
As I mentioned in my message on April 24, a core team has been working hard to develop options for packing, storing, picking up, and shipping the belongings you left on campus as a result of the sudden transition to remote learning. Next week, we are launching a phased plan to do this work.
The plan will include the options to use controlled storage, return for a structured pick-up in July, or have your belongings shipped to you. Large items such as furniture, bicycles, and big-screen TVs will need to be held in controlled storage here (more on that below). We will be able to ship all other belongings to graduating students at the College's expense, and then to undergraduates as requested—also at the College's expense.
By this Friday, you will receive an Undergraduate Housing questionnaire regarding your preferences for the belongings left in your room and in shared spaces. We will follow up with you as needed once we have your response. You can tell us if you would like to be included in a controlled and tightly-timed process that will allow you (or a designated proxy) to return to campus to pick up your items. We hope to begin that process in the first week in July, based on current public health guidance from our COVID-19 task force. For now, the public health crisis and local restrictions continue, and we do not want to risk increasing the possibility of virus transmission. As I write this, College faculty and staff continue to work remotely and we have put in place new screening requirements for those working on campus, as mandated by the state.
Here's how the return of your belongings will work:
*Graduating students
We will pack and ship items first for students who are graduating. Unless you indicate otherwise on the form you will receive, we will begin packing graduating students' belongings next week, following all physical distancing and other public health requirements. We expect to begin shipping items before the end of May, and to complete shipping to graduating students by mid-June. Large items will be stored here in controlled storage until it is possible to have you return for pick-up. We will hold your large items in storage for up to a year to give you adequate time to arrange to retrieve them.
*All other undergraduates
Once we have completed packing and shipping for graduating students, we will begin work on the rest of the rooms, guided by the preferences you've indicated on the questionnaire.
You will be able to request that all belongings be stored pending your return, or to tell us your shipping and storing preferences. You will also be able to indicate that you (or someone you designate) would like to participate in the controlled, timed pick-up procedure this summer, assuming public health guidance permits us to offer it. No matter the option, we will complete this process no later than mid-August, so that we can prepare residence halls for possible occupancy in the fall.
*Privacy concerns and potential consequences
Some of you have expressed privacy concerns, and the potential disciplinary implications of items that remain in the residence halls. Just as we did when we packed and stored belongings to create self-quarantine and self-isolation space, we are packing—not searching. Our goal is to clear your rooms and store or ship your things, not to look for or record potential violations.
However, if we find weapons, as defined by the College's weapons policy (https://student-affairs.dartmouth.edu/policy/weapons-firearms-fireworks-and-projectiles), Safety and Security must take possession of the items for safekeeping.
We recognize that this plan may not meet everyone's needs and preferences. We wish we could. This is a challenge that involves thousands of you, under extraordinary circumstances, and as President Phil Hanlon and Provost Joe Helble have said throughout, we must continue to be guided by our number one priority: the health and safety of the Dartmouth and Upper Valley communities. As we've said before, we want you back, and we want faculty and staff back. We hope conditions will improve enough to make that possible in some way this fall. In the meantime, this is a beginning.
Please watch for the form and return it as quickly as possible. We will keep you updated as this process continues.
Finally, I want to once again applaud you for your patience and understanding. Please make sure that you read the FAQ below for more details.
I'll be providing more information in the weeks to come spanning a variety of topics, so please keep an eye out. In the meantime, best of luck with the last few weeks of your class, theses presentations, one-person plays, graphic novels, or whatever it is you've been working on these past few weeks.
All my best,
Dean Lively