Dear Colgate Community Members,
Through regular “Colgate Together” emails, the University has provided important updates and guidance for students, faculty, and staff during the pandemic to keep everyone informed about this fluid public health situation. We begin these again today as we look forward to opening the campus, while recognizing that we, and the world, face continuing challenges with this virus and its implications.
To the members of the Colgate Class of 2025, welcome to the University. I do hope that you learn to rely on these emails to obtain the information you need to stay safe as you arrive and spend your time on campus.
Please review the information provided below; it conveys a great deal of important information about how we all plan to arrive safely back on campus. In the days and weeks ahead, we will continue sending these notes, especially in recognition of the potential for rapidly changing conditions.
We will host two virtual town hall meetings next week, one for employees on Tuesday, Aug. 10, from noon to 1 p.m., and another for students and their families on Thursday, Aug. 12, from 8 to 9 p.m. Invitations for those meetings will be shared with the community soon.
Fall Arrival
While we have planned for a fall semester that more closely resembles prior academic years, we are keeping a close eye on global, national, and local data related to COVID-19 infections, and growing concerns about the rapid spread of the delta variant. The emergence of this variant has called for the following arrival steps.
First, we are requiring face coverings for all employees, students, and guests on Arrival Day, Sunday, Aug. 22 — indoors and outdoors, when physical distancing is not possible.
Next, we are asking, to the greatest extent possible, that students limit the number of family members or friends traveling to help with move-in.
Some students are already returning to campus, either for our Division I athletics programs or for University-sponsored preorientation programs. We do expect, though, the vast majority of first-year students will move in on Arrival Day, Sunday, Aug. 22.
All other students are welcome back to campus starting on Tuesday, Aug. 24, when dining halls open. The first day of classes is Thursday, Aug. 26.
All students must check in at the tent in the parking lot between James C. Colgate Hall and the library immediately upon arrival. For those arriving after hours, please check in at campus safety. If you have not already done so, please complete the Arrival Day survey.
Arrival Testing
We want everyone to arrive safely, and in recognition of current CDC guidance, we will require rapid antigen testing of all students upon arrival to campus, and again 5 to 7 days later. When you check in, you will be given directions as to how to take this arrival test and how to schedule the follow-up test.
In addition, for the first 5 to 7 days on campus, until the second negative test results are returned, all students are expected to wear face coverings while indoors in public areas, and anywhere that physical distancing is not possible, regardless of vaccination status. Public areas include dining and recreational facilities, shuttles, libraries, classrooms, residence hall common spaces, etc., but not within one’s own student bedroom, for example.
Any student who tests positive upon arrival (after a follow-up PCR test confirmation) will be required to isolate for 10 days, regardless of vaccination status or whether or not they have symptoms.
We are strongly encouraging all students to take advantage of widely available free COVID-19 testing before arrival. This will allow for 10-day isolation at home in case of a positive test.
This semester, students who live within a 300-mile radius of Colgate will need to return home to isolate themselves as a result of a larger number of students on campus this fall and fewer quarantine and isolation spaces.
All faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to be tested prior to the start of the fall semester. Free COVID-19 testing is widely available, and Colgate will host employee testing clinics on Aug. 11 and 12. Those who are unable to attend either of the clinics are welcome to pick up an at-home test kit from campus safety.
Face Coverings
Throughout the semester, Colgate will be following CDC guidelines regarding face coverings. While Madison County remains below the CDC threshold for indoor face covering mandates, please know that the local situation could change, and we may need to adjust as the semester unfolds and as CDC guidelines change. You’re all familiar with being flexible in the face of changing circumstances, but it’s important to mention this possibility at the outset of the academic year.
The science is clear that masking helps prevent one’s own infection as well as the spread of infection in the population. We understand and support that some members of our community may feel better about wearing face coverings even if they are vaccinated. We also know some might prefer not to wear face coverings when vaccinated.
We are all in this together, and we need to support each other’s individual decisions. To keep the community safer, especially as we all travel back to campus from around the country and globe, where COVID-19 infections are increasing, we need to think about the campus as a whole and respond with individual, responsible actions and some self-sacrifice.
Please note that unvaccinated students, faculty, and staff are expected to wear masks at all times.
Individual faculty or staff members may require students to wear masks within the classroom or in a private office. These decisions are up to them, so please bear this in mind when attending classes, and travel with a mask in case it is needed.
Please note that federal law requires face coverings on public transportation, in Student Health Services, on the Colgate Cruiser, and in any healthcare setting (vaccination sites, testing sites, etc.)
Please wear a mask when you arrive on campus and proceed through the check-in process.
The Task Force, Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and Executive Group will continue to keep a close eye on local school districts. We encourage supervisors to be mindful of complications, closures, or shifting schedules for employees who are also caregivers.
You’ll notice language in this section such as “expected” and “recommended.” This is intentional — the University wants to move away from enforcement and to a place where you, as a member of the community, do what is right for you as well as those around you. Let’s not forget all that we learned about caring for each other last year. If something is expected, we ask you to take this responsibility for yourself and others seriously.
Vaccinations
As you are all aware, vaccination remains the best prevention against COVID-19, and it is required for our faculty, staff, and students, with exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Currently, more than 85.2% of the campus community has already provided proof of vaccination. Students have until 9 a.m. on Aug. 12 to submit this documentation.
Thank you all for your commitment to our community’s health and wellbeing. We are now in the process of adding a new section to the COVID-19 dashboard so you can see our campus vaccination rate as it continues to increase.
In Closing
I want to acknowledge that we have all been through a lot during the past year and a half, and we recognize that there are continued struggles within our community, as family members and loved ones deal with health issues and the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Thank you to all of the faculty and staff members who have worked so diligently to keep our campus open and safe. We indeed live in extraordinary times, and we will continue to face these challenges and triumphs in the same way we always have. Together.
Stay safe, and I’ll talk with you again soon.
Laura H. Jack
Vice President for Communications
Acting Chief Diversity Officer