In an interview earlier this week, Marketing and Enrollment Vice President Molly Polk revealed that UHart’s strict guidelines will most likely be loosened next week in order to coincide with Connecticut’s stage 3 reopening.” “We’ve basically said we need two weeks of testing and behavior. If we can get those test results back by the weekend and have a game plan moving forward, it would be sometime around next week.” Said Polk, pleased with the efforts students have made to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campus. October 8th marks the earliest date that the regulations can go into effect.
Currently, The university’s official guest policy prohibits students from entering any on-campus housing that they are not assigned to. Violations can result in indefinite removal from campus. Various common areas like Hawk Hall’s elevator lounges have been shut down as well. Molly claims that the current draft for new regulations will allow students to have “ One person in your room for your floor”. More common spaces are also slated to open. It is not yet clear how the regulations will apply to the more apartment-style housing of Regents, Park River, and the Village Quads.
At the moment, new regulations are still being written up “We want to write all of that up, just like its written up now so that we can all be really clear on what the expectations are”. Said Molly. University administration intends to draft a clear statement so that no students experience confusion regarding new rules.
Although the new regulations are exciting, students should remember that they can very easily be rolled back if COVID cases spike. If the COVID dashboard reports elevated case numbers this week, it is safe to assume that these new regulations will not go into effect. Make sure to keep an eye out for an official statement by the university next week for more information.
