Moving Forward:
Campus Contingency Planning Post covid
National College Decision Day is May 1 — an occasion which usually marks the deadline for incoming first-year students to commit to a college or university. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, over 400 colleges nationwide extended this deadline, including the Universities of Massachusetts Lowell and Boston.
As remote learning ends for the current academic year, colleges across the U.S. are considering their options regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic for the fall 2020 semester. On April 29, Mount Holyoke announced new planning measures being taken in preparation.
After weeks of planning, consulting and researching options, college administrators have put forward a proposal for fall semester contingency planning to faculty and small student focus groups. Following a virtual town hall in which administrators presented the College’s proposal on Thursday, April 30, multiple professors confirmed that a module plan was in the works.
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“As of Wednesday, April 1, the Mount Holyoke College campus is closed to the public. Campus buildings and facilities are open only to Mount Holyoke students, faculty and staff residing on campus and/or with essential on-campus work. All athletics facilities—including the track, fields, and tennis courts—are closed. Members of the Mount Holyoke community should carry their College-issued identification cards (“One Card”) at all times. This decision aligns with today’s announcement that the Town of South Hadley has closed its recreational areas. The public’s assistance to comply with these actions is appreciated.”
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A COVID-19 vaccination will be required for all faculty, staff and students at Mount Holyoke College as of July 8, 2021. This mandate extends to those who work with or regularly interact with the College and its campus, according to the Mount Holyoke College web page “Opening the Gates.”
Hampshire County has received the lowest number of doses per capita of any county in Massachusetts, but the county has still managed to vaccinate a larger share of the population than many other counties. Hampshire has consistently had the lowest number of doses throughout the pandemic.
The Mount Holyoke campus moved back into the first operating level — Normal COVID-19 Operations — on Thursday, Feb. 25. Marked by low positive case numbers and contained transmission, Operating Level 1 will allow students more freedom on campus and within a 10-mile radius.
In late January, the South Hadley School Committee approved a phased-in learning process set to begin on Feb. 22. On this date, high needs students, or middle and high school students whose parents are essential workers or need critical child care, will start to return to school for four days a week.
After a rise in community and student COVID-19 cases, with 393 active positive cases as of Feb. 18, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has declared a “high risk” operational level, implementing the most restrictive measures outlined in the university’s virus safety protocols. At the Feb. 8 Amherst Town Council meeting, representatives of the administration announced that the university would implement measures to control the spread of COVID-19, including transitioning to entirely online classes, canceling athletic practices and competitions and instituting a self-isolation order for the student body.
After a number of students tested positive for COVID-19 in North Rockefeller Hall, the College placed one floor — and then the entire building — under temporary quarantine lockdown.
According to several students, one floor of North Rockefeller was put under modified quarantine last week. When further test results showed cases on a different floor of the residence hall, the entire building was locked down — though students were still permitted to leave for normal to-go meals at the Dining Commons. During the quarantine period, Health Services visited the dorm to administer COVID-19 test swabs to students each day. The initial full-building quarantine period, which began on Jan. 31, was extended twice, once on Feb. 2 and again on Feb. 4.
It has been 10 months since Mount Holyoke announced its campus shutdown. This spring, the College reopened its doors to nearly 700 students across 12 residence halls and one apartment building, which is reserved for Frances Perkins scholars.
Mount Holyoke College released its yearly report on philanthropy in an email update to community members on Dec. 2, 2020.
“As I reflect on the past year, I am uplifted by the generous outpouring of support from the generous alums and friends of Mount Holyoke College,” Vice President for College Relations Kassandra Jolley wrote in a letter to the community included in the report.
In addition to the usual donations and awards, the report detailed the “extraordinary” community support necessitated when Mount Holyoke shut down in March due to COVID-19. Between March and June, more than 600 students were supported by the Student Safety Net Fund which raised $346,000, according to the report. Support ranged from aid with housing, travel and storage to purchases of technology and other academic supplies.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging across the country, this year’s Thanksgiving was different for Mount Holyoke students, as most were already home or staying with friends. Many students celebrated with their households and decided not to have family visit or travel.
Fiona Milton ’22 was at home with her parents this year and celebrated the holiday with them. She was not able to see her sister or grandmother for the holiday because they live in other parts of the country.
“[It was] the first Thanksgiving without my older sister or my grandmother, but we had to do what was safest,” Milton said. “I couldn’t see anyone this year, so I just made people cards instead.”
Mount Holyoke students received an update on student employment from the College on Sunday, Nov. 29. The email included information on winter break employment as well as guidelines for the spring semester.
The statement provided a reminder of general remote work policies for student workers. Under federal regulations, students who are living abroad are barred from working for the College. Students who have worked for the College previously and currently live in the U.S., as well as any student currently living in California and Massachusetts, can work remotely. There will be limited in-person work allowed for students living on campus.
The Mount Holyoke Board of Trustees met virtually between Oct. 8 and Oct. 10 to discuss the College’s endowment, enrollment and non-discrimination policy.
On Oct. 28, the College released an update via email from Chair of Trustees Karena Strella ’90 about the Board’s recent virtual meeting. According to the update, “a Mount Holyoke graduate and trustee and her family have committed a $10 million lead gift for the College’s upcoming financial aid fundraising initiative.” This donation is the largest gift in support of financial aid that Mount Holyoke has ever received. The update expressed gratitude for this “extraordinary generosity, which ensures that now more than ever students have access to the distinctive, 21st-century liberal arts education offered at Mount Holyoke, and, in turn, give rise to a better world for all.”
Joe Biden was announced the projected winner of the state of Georgia on Friday, Nov. 13. Leading by 0.3 percent in the state, the win pushed Biden to 306 electoral votes, leaving President Donald Trump with 232. Biden is the first Democratic nominee to win Georgia in 28 years after Bill Clinton last did so in 1992.
“I think we were all really surprised. I feel like it’s kind of an assumption that southern states are normally red. … When Georgia flipped [blue], I was kind of like, ‘Is it real? What's going on?’,” Syd Williams ’23, who was involved with MHC Votes!, said. “I’m happy, but I feel like there is still so much that is in the air.”
President Donald Trump announced that both he and the first lady had tested positive for COVID-19 just before 1 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 2. During a news conference the next day, however, White House Physician Dr. Sean Conley said that Trump had tested positive “72 hours ago,” which would have placed the positive test on Sept. 30 — 36 hours before the public was informed. The White House has yet to disclose when Trump last tested negative for COVID-19, drawing speculation from politicians, contact tracers and journalists about when and how the president contracted the virus.
During peak lockdown in early April of this year, carbon or CO2 emissions dropped worldwide by 17 percent as compared to 2019. Current CO2 emission levels are nearly equivalent to those measured in 2006, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. However, researchers emphasize that this decrease may not be sustained, as CO2 emissions will likely only drop by about 4-7 percent depending on the trajectory of the pandemic.
In the wake of COVID-19 , some countries have already made decisions to move toward a greener future. The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, put forth a $572 billion economic recovery plan with the goal for the EU to be climate-neutral by 2050. South Korea has also introduced the Korean New Deal, which puts a $135 billion investment in green and digital technology. President Xi Jinping announced recently that China will aim for carbon neutrality by 2060 and plans to peak its carbon emissions by 2030. China is currently the world’s biggest emitter of carbon and the largest energy financier with the biggest market. These moves from China, the EU and others put pressure on other countries to follow.
For private liberal arts colleges like Mount Holyoke, tuition and room and board fees make up a significant portion of annual operating revenues. The potential of continued distance learning into the 2020-2021 academic year calls the economic stability of these institutions into question.