Students,
As we get closer to seeing you on campus this Fall, I want to update you on what we are doing now on the Hill to welcome you. While Fall will be different, we will have plenty of opportunities for vibrant social interactions and building relationships across campus. As well as your academic experiences, we have a variety of interesting and fun events planned for you. So while Fall may be different in some ways, we will remain an active campus community. We are looking forward to seeing you again.
With over 1200 hours of work from four faculty and staff committees working closely with our District Public Health Office, we have created a plan to safely return to a robust LaGrange College experience. I want to give you some details on how we are going to be Panther Safe in Fall.
General Safety on Campus - All students, faculty and staff will be required to wear masks on campus. The College will provide two cloth masks for every faculty, staff, and student. You will also find hand sanitizing stations in multiple locations throughout campus and in buildings for those times when you can’t wash your hands. All buildings will have designated one-way entry/exit locations and stairways will be designated one-way up/down. We are reserving elevator use to only those who are unable to climb stairways. You will also see plexiglass used throughout campus in areas, like the library checkout desk or the post office, where students interact with faculty or staff in close range. All common areas in buildings will be deep cleaned daily, and furniture in buildings will be rearranged so that 6 foot physical distancing can be maintained. Public restrooms will have a capacity limit of one or two people at a time. And in case you forget, signs and 6 foot floor markers will be visible throughout campus reminding us all to physically distance and wash our hands. We are also asking all students, faculty and staff to provide evidence of a negative COVID test result received within 10 days of being on campus in Fall. In Georgia, Public Health Offices offer testing for free. More details about testing and how to arrange your test will come later.
Classes – Your classes will all practice physical distancing of 6 feet or more between those in the room, and you will wear a mask in class. We will ensure distance by dividing classes into smaller groups so that you will participate in a combination of ways: in-seat, livestreaming, and online. We are measuring and rearranging furniture in classrooms now to allow physical distancing. Interactions with your professors, for things such as advising or simply having discussions outside of class, may take place in person while physically distanced and wearing a mask, or they make take place virtually. We will deep clean classrooms daily. And we have increased the time between class meetings so that you may have time to wash hands and move through buildings more slowly while maintaining 6 foot intervals. Wireless access is also being enhanced across campus so you can more easily access courses or stay in touch with friends and family from multiple locations, inside and outside, on campus.
Dining Hall – Designating one-way entry/exit doors, our dining hall will limit occupancy and rearrange tables to accommodate physical distancing. We will seat no more than 8 per long table. Masks will be required unless you are eating. All food will be served by dining hall employees whose temperatures are monitored prior to their shift and mid-shift, with no guests touching serving utensils, silverware or plates. We will prohibit outside containers. While we will not offer self-serve items like ice cream, we will have plenty of “to-go” meal options to be picked up in both the Dining Hall and The Grill should you decide to eat outside or elsewhere. Dining Hall hours will also be adjusted to allow everyone time to eat and to allow for cleaning throughout the day.
Residence Halls – Move-in for students will be staggered so that physical distancing is maintained. And all students and their allowed 2 guests to help them move will wear masks and will go through a screening process on move-in day. For those of you staying in a residence hall, you will receive more details about your move-in process soon. Private rooms are available to those who prefer this arrangement.
Other Activities on Campus – We will use a combination of in-person and virtual formats for programming such as Cultural Events, student clubs, and student life activities. Athletics is developing extensive measures designed specifically to ensure safety in gyms, weight rooms, and on the practice and playing fields – including limiting occupancy, disinfecting equipment, meeting virtually, and monitoring the health of athletes.
And should someone feel ill…
Quarantine Space – We will use the top floor of one of our residence halls for quarantine space if an on-campus student feels ill or has a temperature. This space has its own ventilation system and is separated from the rest of the building. These residence rooms will be stocked with a quarantine kit (thermometer, tissues, soap, hand sanitizer, and toiletries). We will offer food delivery from the dining hall and remote spiritual and counseling services. We will liaison with We Care, our campus health care provider, to monitor students and deliver special need items, such as medications or hygiene supplies.
Know that we have been working and continue to work this summer to ensure all of our safe returns to campus this Fall. Just as important, we have been working to see that you have plenty of opportunities for robust social interaction and campus events that will make your campus experience a full one. As we adapt to this different time, we are very excited in anticipation of having everyone back – and having you back SAFELY.
Karen Aubrey, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs
LaGrange College