Elizabethtown College has quickly adapted its procedures to combat the COVID-19 omicron variant. After a week delay of the spring semester, it implemented return-to-campus guidelines that staggered student move-ins over three days.
Upon arrival to campus, all students, regardless of vaccination status, were subject to surveillance testing to quell the surge of the virus. However, individuals were advised to self-administer tests before returning to campus.
According to the COVID-19 Taskforce, “Throughout the re-entry testing provided by the College on Jan. 15 through 17, 19 students tested positive for COVID-19…53 students tested positive for COVID-19 between [Jan.] 9 through 14 and returned after their isolation period. 168 students reported having tested positive for COVID-19 between Dec. 26 and Jan. 8, which contributed to the College’s decision to delay the start of the spring semester by one week.”
If a student received a positive result during the scheduled testing, he or she was not permitted to quarantine in Royer; the individual had to either return home or to a different off-campus location, not attending in-person classes.
First-year Amelia Wittmaier expressed disapproval regarding the College’s testing procedures upon arrival.
“It was a little suspicious because [the staff] made you test yourself, so it kind of seemed like students could fake it, so what’s the point if the chances of a false negative are so high?” she questioned.
Having the staff administer the test would have better ensured the safety of the campus community, Wittmaier argues, further saying, “I would’ve known that every student [test] would be more accurate and that someone couldn’t just fake it.”
However, the College took additional steps to stop the spread of the variant by restricting family members from entering the residence halls during the move-in process. Only new students and students with ADA accomodations could have two guests after completing a mandatory health screening.
“I don’t think this was [necessary] because the only people my parents would have interacted with was me. Even if they would have interacted with other people, they would have worn their masks in the building and only be passing people for way under 15 minutes,” Wittmaier stated.
Although Wittmaier would have preferred that guests could have assisted her during move-in, she expressed that she was grateful for her friends and other Etown residents that helped each other during the process.
Aside from move-in precautions, the College continues to require students to wear a mask inside campus buildings, suggesting on its website, “N95 masks are recommended as they provide the best protection against transmission of COVID-19. Face shields, single layer masks and masks with exhalation valves are not recommended.”
The COVID-19 Taskforce maintains that masks play an integral role in limiting the spread of the virus.
“We believe our campus community has done an excellent job adhering to our masking requirements and that is a contributing factor to the relatively low positivity rate on our campus compared to others,” they stated.
The College is not mandating the vaccine at this time. However, the COVID-19 Taskforce emphasized, “Members of the COVID-19 Task Force and Senior Leadership Team continue to revisit the vaccine mandate as an option and should any changes to the policy be made, it will be communicated well in advance to the campus community so accommodations could be made.”
