Photo courtesy of Amanda Sanders ’22.
Connecticut College’s Student Government Association (SGA) intends to represent the student body. After a rocky start to the fall semester, where camels began a mostly lawless life and then were plunged into Alert-Level Orange as Covid-19 cases skyrocketed up to 170 active student cases in a mere week, unrest began to settle amongst the student body. After the Sept. 19 Covid-19 Town Hall where Deans Arcelus, Rothenberger, Rotramel, Smith, and Cardwell shared the College’s plan for Covid-19 for the remainder of the semester, many students felt as though the Q and A format on Zoom did not enable them to ask the questions to which they truly wanted answers. On Sept. 23, SGA held a strictly Q and A with the Deans in the 1962 room in Cro. The College Voice was able to obtain a transcript of the meeting and has shared the most frequently asked questions, filled in with our personal notes from attending the meeting, and edited for clarity.
Q: Are people who tested positive for Covid-19 able to hang out with people other than roommates in a room without a mask now? Why or why not?
A: No, we’re following the current guidelines [that the College has laid out] and keeping everything uniform for everyone.
Q: Do we have a Fall Break?
A: Yes, please test before leaving campus and then resume your normal testing schedule on Thursday, October 21 and Friday, October 22. While away from campus, please be diligent about mask wearing in public. [Dean Arcelus also suggested that students consider staying on campus for Fall Break]. For those who are staying on campus, you should get tested on Monday or Tuesday, as usual.
Q: Why are there group size limits for socializing outside? How is it different from the large gatherings attending soccer matches?
A: Under the current Alert Level of modified Green and moving towards fully Green, there is no limit to how many people can hang out outside. If you are in close proximity with others in outdoor areas, please wear a mask.
Q: What are some social events for the weekends?
A: MOBROC shows. Movie nights. Plans for food trucks. Working on Fall Ball. Harvest fest is happening as of now. [Dean Norbert suggested the possibility of a Halloween Dance]. Both big and small events are happening. You can always reach out to SAC with your ideas for future events.
Q: Will the College open Humphrey’s bar?
A: Administration wants to open up the bar, but there are still logistics that need to be sorted, such as how to staff it and how to keep everyone safe given that indoor bar settings are highly risky regarding Covid-19.
Q: There was a suggestion made about making Humphrey’s an outdoor bar space. Since fans at the soccer game are allowed to be unmasked, why can’t we do that with Humphreys?
A: The College has considered this option as an alternative to an indoor bar setting. Being outdoors does limit risk, but being unmasked close to others is still complicated. There are also infrastructure and logistical obstacles to making this happen at the moment. Dining staff is stretched thin making food for people in isolation and a permit must be granted to move Humphrey’s to an outdoor location and be able to hold events there.
How would you recommend people socialize? Will we have social hosting training for Ridges and Winches?
You are allowed to socialize and can do it within the limits. Social host training is required for hosting more people than is currently allowed by the College. We are changing protocol according to the situation and we don’t know about the social hosting training yet.
Q: What is the endgame of all this with people vaccinated?
A: We’ll be living with it but we’re not at a point where we can live a normal life. Protocols and policies are constantly shifting according to current situations in order to best protect everyone. Hopefully things will change for the better soon.
Q: Can the College elaborate on the need for testing twice a week compared to other NESCAC schools who are not testing as frequently?
A: Only two of our fellow NESCACs (Trinity and Middlebury) are not testing as we are. While their reasoning for not testing as frequently is unknown, our testing policy is in place in order to catch positive cases as early as possible so the College can respond in a timely manner and contain the spread before it gets out of hand.
Q: What is the purpose of vaccinating the people if we’re getting tested twice a week?
A: The Department of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control has said that more people would likely become positive [without testing] and there is a greater likelihood of more severe infection than what is being observed in vaccinated individuals. Ultimately, COVID affects everyone differently, but the vaccines have been an important first step in keeping campus safe.
Q: Why did classes have to go to remote classes? Understanding that cases have not spread in the classroom settings, if there is another outbreak, can those who test negative attend in person if a particular faculty member is comfortable holding in-person classes?
A: There are different policies at different alert levels that need to be maintained universally. During Alert-Level Orange, in-person classes are not possible. At Yellow and below, in-person classes can resume, according to the situation. We must also be mindful that different professors [have different] situations [that] they are in(immuno-compromised, family with members who cannot be vaccinated etc,). [There are] different situations for different people.
Q: Why can’t the College implement a strategy like the city of New York? Why do we require masks if people are vaccinated or have tested negative within the last 72 hours?
The 72 hours idea may not work because people can get Covid-19 between their last test and their next test and spread it. All the [current Covid-19] cases in CT are the Delta [variant] and it’s a serious concern.
Will the Covid-19 testing location be changed?
Yes, starting next Thursday, Sept 30, it will be in the 1962 room in Cro.
If the Testing Center moves to Cro, where will we have events? Can Ridges host events outside?
We have other places: upstairs, Cummings etc. You can do outdoor events and you can do indoor events with masks. You can do events if you follow the protocols.
How can we hold people accountable in classes for not following the Covid-19 protocols set by the College?
Faculty should be addressing this. You can email Dean Cardwell, and you can do it anonymously if you feel more comfortable.
Is there a chance of testing ending if the people wish differently as the decision to be tested twice a week was from the student’s choice? With K-n95 and N-95 do we need this level of strictness?
The complexity of the Delta variant is a bigger deal than the Covid-19 we dealt with last year. We are not anticipating for it to be removed this semester.
Do students breaking protocol go to Honor Council?
A decision [was made] in conjunction with Honor Council; [issues in Alert-Levels] Yellow and Green will be dealt with by the administration but [issues in Alert-Levels] Orange and Red will go to the Honor Council. Contract tracing information will not be shared with the administration or with the Honor Council. The Department of Health was clear on this.
Where is the line for repeated protocol violations?
Contract tracing information will not be shared with the administration or the Honor Council. We hope people respect the honor code.
With the current difficulties surrounding forming peer groups and other experiences, why Connecticut College?
The community… It’s about figuring out how to form groups. People are doing great stuff in the face of difficulty, having amazing internships. Keep in mind why you chose to be here at all times. We’d invite people to share the sense of community.
