January 13, 2021 Update

Dear Students with winter on-campus room assignments,

We know that all of you have been weighing your plans this winter in light of public health conditions and civil unrest. We want to be sure you know that we are prepared for your arrival if you decide to come, and we are prepared to help you shift to remote enrollment status if you decide to remain remote this term. If you want to shift to remote status and haven't already let us know, please just reply to this account to confirm you won't be coming this weekend. If you will be traveling, please read on for arrival logistics information so that you know what to expect. We know this message is long, but please read it in full so that we can all contribute to making the arrival process as quick and painless as possible.

PREPARING FOR TRAVEL

Please limit your contacts to your current household and continue to monitor your temperature and symptoms. If you have a temperature, feel ill in any way or are concerned about a possible exposure, please call the Health Service at 603-646-9440, 24/7, to consult before you travel. Remember that you must arrive on your assigned date. If you are unable to do so, you should shift to remote enrollment only for this term.

If you were not here testing in the fall, you must complete this testing consent form prior to your arrival on campus. Completion of this form is required to receive your first on campus COVID-19 test. It will take only a moment, and it will help streamline the process at Leverone this weekend.

PACKING, FAMILY & FRIENDS

Please bring only what you can carry with you yourself in case you have to leave on very short notice. You will not be able to leave belongings in your room or controlled storage if that happens. Family and friends are not permitted to enter the residence halls or other facilities, so you will be moving your things into and out of your room yourself.

As of today, there is a 95% chance of rain or wet snow in Hanover on Saturday, with temperatures in the low 30s-40. Please be sure to dress accordingly and bring an umbrella. The weather on Sunday looks slightly better - cloudy, with temperatures just above freezing.

LEVERONE IS YOUR FIRST STOP

You must go to Leverone on South Park Street before going to your residence hall, to do the first of three required arrival tests. See the map below. Please be sure to have your College ID with you. If you don't have your ID, you'll need to provide your Dartmouth ID number and some other form of ID when you test.

Leverone Field House

picture_for_student_arrival_winter_21.png

Arrival by car: Family and friends are not permitted in any college facilities. If someone is coming with you by car, please have them wait with the car in the Thompson Arena parking lot while you test. You can walk from there to Leverone across South Park Street, do your arrival test, and return to the car to take your things to the residence hall and move in for quarantine.

Arrival by Dartmouth Coach: The Coach will be stopping in the turnaround in front of Leverone. When you get off the bus and collect your bags, College staff will greet you and direct you to the Leverone entrance closest to the baggage area. You will leave your things in a designated and numbered space, take a picture of your bags, and then proceed through the line for testing. When you complete testing, you will return to your bags to walk with them yourself to your residence hall, or to transfer them to FO&M staff for transport to one of three designated and staffed locations: the Cube, the Mclaughlin entry closest to Occom Commons, or the first floor Richardson lounge through the back door. We can't drop bags at every hall, but you can choose one of these three locations for baggage transport, walk there to pick them up, and then walk to your residence hall.

You must wear your face covering, maintain 6' physical distancing, and follow all other health guidelines and directives of college staff at all times. If you have a travel emergency, please send an email to WinterTerm2021@dartmouth.edu with a contact number, and we will get back to you.

TESTING

College staff will direct you to the line inside Leverone for testing. While you are in line, testing staff will do a temperature and symptom check. You'll pass Card Office and Housing staff to pick up your ID (if you've ordered a new one) and the key to your room. You'll then be directed to the lines for one of four test registration stations, where you will provide your ID, confirm your birthdate, and receive the test tube labeled with your name and birthdate.

From there, you'll be directed to a testing station where you'll do the test yourself under the supervision of a testing staff member. If you haven't done this before, they'll provide instructions to coach you through. When you have completed your test and placed it in the test tube, you'll proceed to exit the building - either directly to return to your car at Thompson, or to the baggage area first to get your bags and transfer them to FO&M for transport.

If your temperature and symptom check raises any concerns, college staff will take you to an area in Floren for transport to the Health Service for further assessment. If that happens and you have bags in Leverone, a staff member will get them and bring them to you in Floren so that they go with you to Dick's House.

RESIDENCE HALL MOVE-IN

When you get to your hall with your bags, please move yourself in quickly. Family and friends may not enter the halls to assist you. Keep your face covering on and make sure you maintain physical distancing. If you arrived in your own car, you may leave your hall to park it in A-lot, and then return quickly to your hall to begin quarantine. 

You'll find a welcome bag of supplies in your room, including a thermometer for your daily checks, washable face coverings, a refillable disinfectant bottle, and washable microfiber cloths for disinfecting surfaces you touch. Residential Operations will also leave guidelines for bathroom use, laundry use and daily window opening to enhance ventilation in your room. Please be sure that you follow their instructions to reduce risk of transmission for yourself and for others.

If you encounter custodial staff in the residence halls, DDS staff in dining venues, or staff and faculty elsewhere, please be kind and appreciative, and again, please be wearing your face coverings and maintain 6' physical distance at all times when you are not alone in your room with the door closed. If you are not in compliance, employees may understandably become concerned about exposure, you yourself are at risk of transmission, and you are putting your ability to remain on campus at risk.

ARRIVAL QUARANTINE

Under State of New Hampshire requirements, you will be in arrival quarantine for a minimum of eight days. Residence hall kitchens and common areas will be closed. You must be alone in your rooms (no guests during quarantine) and you will eat alone in your rooms.

During phase one, before your first test results are back, you may only leave your room to use the restroom or for medical care. As you already know from DDS, your pre-ordered meals will be delivered. You will shift from phase one to phase two of quarantine when you receive the formal daily release message from the Health Service, after they have confirmed that your first test results are negative. Depending on test results processing by the testing vendor, the Health Service should be able to release you within 24-48 hours of your first test.

After you are released to phase two, you will pick up your meals twice a day at one of four assigned DDS meal pick-up locations (DDS will assign you to the one closest to you) and then return to your room to eat alone with the door closed. You should not be eating together while in quarantine. 

You may go outside for walks or outdoor exercise on campus - wearing your face covering and observing all physical distancing and other requirements. You may walk or get out with one other person, provided that you're both following face covering, physical distancing and other guidelines. If you have items in storage that you need to retrieve, you may contact Residential Operations to schedule a time to get them - again wearing your face covering and maintaining physical distance at all times.

You will also leave your room to walk to Leverone to test on Day 3 and Day 7 during your first week. If you haven't already done so, please follow this link ​to schedule your second test on Tuesday the 19th, and your third on Saturday the 23rd for those arriving on Saturday the 16th, or on Wednesday the 20th and Sunday the 24th if you are arriving on Sunday the 17th. You will be formally released from quarantine by the Health Service once they have confirmed that your Day 7 test is negative. If you have a positive test result, Health Service staff will contact you and inform you of next steps.

Please note that you may not enter College facilities, run other errands or go into town or local businesses until you are fully released from quarantine.

You'll receive more information about dining services and facilities access when you are fully released from quarantine. College facilities will begin to open for undergraduates approved for on-campus enrollment the week of January 26th, when everyone is out of quarantine.

Temperature/symptom monitoring: Please remember that you need to monitor your temperature and symptoms and that you must submit your Temperature Self-Assessment daily through the TSA tile on DartHub. If you experience symptoms or are concerned about a possible exposure at any time, please call the Health Service at 646-9440, 24/7.

At the Health Service, it is really important to us to continue to work to reduce the risk of transmission. Dick's House itself is not open for drop-ins, so it is important that you call and speak to a provider about how you're feeling, and follow their guidance.

We are relying on your compliance with all of these expectations to promote our greatest chance of a successful term. Thank you in advance for your continued good spirit and cooperation.

All the best,

Dr. Mark Reed, Director of the Health Service

Mike Wooten, Associate Dean of Residential Life