“Orange” Public Health Message

Good afternoon-

As announced by President Hatch yesterday (read the full message), the University is now operating in Orange Status. We know the announcement of the move to Orange might be unsettling, and we are here to support you during this time. Please be sure to reach out to your community staff or our office if you have questions, and use the many other support offices on campus as needed.

We wanted to follow-up to address specifically what this means in terms of our residential community. Our collective action is necessary to prevent further spread and allow our community to remain together on campus through Thanksgiving.

OCCUPANCY VERIFICATION
Because contact tracing is such an important part of slowing the spread of COVID, it is important to have current information about where students are residing. Please visit our Housing Portal at go.wfu.edu/housingportal and select the COVID Occupancy Verification process. Students will be asked to verify if they are:

• on-campus and living in their assigned room

-or-

• provide an address of where they are currently located.

Students are asked to complete this task as soon as possible but no later than Tuesday, October 27. For those students who are currently not on campus, we encourage you to consider the public health landscape at your current location and your ability to safely travel back to campus as you determine when you might return. We also want you to be aware of the current operating status of campus and changes in operations (e.g., grab and go dining only right now, etc.)

POLICY REMINDERS
As we continue in community with each other, please be mindful that all University policies, as well as all Residence Life and Housing policies, remain in effect. Even though we have changed our operating status, these policies are still the right thing to do. Please pay particular attention to the following:

• Residents must wear face coverings when they are outside of their room. If a resident chooses to have their door open to meet other residents, all residents should have on face coverings.
• Guests are defined as a Wake Forest student without a current room assignment on the Reynolda Campus or in University-sponsored housing.
  • Students must adhere to all of the requirements for guests:
    • One guest per resident of the living unit (e.g., apartment, house, suite, semi-suite, bedroom)
    • Six feet of distance between all individuals must be maintained
    • No more than 10 people in the living unit at one time (if you are in a single or double occupancy, you are still limited to 1 guest)
      • Note: Space needs to afford 6 feet of distancing at all times. If the number of allowed guests cannot maintain distance, then the number of guests must be reduced.
    • All individuals must wear a face-covering during the period of visitation.
    • No guests may stay overnight.
• Visitors are not permitted inside our residential communities. A visitor is defined as:
  • A WFU non-residential student
  • A friend from another institution
  • A family member
• The Undergraduate Alcohol and Other Drug Policy states that possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages and/or other drugs is permitted only in accordance with this policy and applicable laws. Failure to comply with this policy and applicable laws could subject the individual and/or group to conduct action within the University.

Please note that violating these policies could impact your ability to remain in housing and/or your overall status with the University. To review our policies fully, please refer to the Guide to Community Living at go.wfu.edu/gtcl and the Student Code of Conduct at go.wfu.edu/code.

QUARANTINE/ISOLATION
As noted in the Student Code of Conduct Public Health Emergency Addendum, “Students who are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 or any condition requiring quarantine or isolation and who have been instructed by a health care provider or public health official to isolate must comply with those instructions. Students must remain in isolation until they receive clearance from their medical provider or public health official. Students who have been advised by a health care provider or public health official to quarantine themselves as a result of a potential exposure to COVID-19 must comply with this recommendation.”

With a rise in cases, it means more contact tracing, which helps us find close contacts of positive cases. If you are feeling sick, please contact the Student Health Service as soon as symptoms develop so we can help you and help keep others safe who may have been in contact with you. If you are asked to quarantine (for COVID exposure) or isolate (if you are COVID positive), that determination has been made by our Student Health Service professionals, who are versed in the public health guidance related to COVID-19. You must comply with the request to quarantine or isolate. This is not a situation where the student (or their families) can ask for an appeal or change the outcome.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We are shifting our community engagement model to virtual engagement opportunities only while the University operates under the Orange Status. While there are no in-person events, please continue engaging with your community! Your RA will remain a resource for you and will connect with you virtually. In the meantime, continue to attend events that are of interest to you or extend an invitation to friends, reach out to someone new for virtual check-ins, game night, etc.

LOOKING AHEAD
As we look ahead to the next few weeks and the end of the fall semester, we have compiled move-out resources for you at go.wfu.edu/f20moveout. If you are considering leaving campus prior to Thanksgiving, this website discusses things you may want to think of as you plan, and details necessary check-out steps to complete prior to departing campus. As we have seen throughout the pandemic, thinking ahead is always a good thing, so we wanted to make these resources available now.

As always please feel free to contact our office at housing@wfu.edu or 336-758-5185. Additionally, details or information around the 2020-2021 residential experience can be found at rlh.wfu.edu/2020-21-residential-life.

Best –

Matt Clifford, Ed.D.
Assistant Vice President of Campus Life
and Dean of Residence Life and Housing