Wednesday, May 12
Dear Students:
Welcome to summer at Lewis & Clark! Whether you are an undergraduate student in residence, or a student living off-campus but who will be coming on campus for class or work, I have some important messages for you.
I hope the summer can provide you with some rest and rejuvenation. At the same time, it is important that we do not let our guard down related to COVID. COVID and its variants continue to circulate in Multnomah County, leading to a current classification of the county as “high risk.” Here is what the College is expecting from you in order to support our community health for the summer:
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Continue to wear masks, indoors and when you are in larger crowds and social distancing is more difficult. You no longer need to wear a mask if you are outdoors and engaged in activity alone or only with a roommate, or you are in an uncrowded space. Continue to social distance, and practice hand hygiene.
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Get vaccinated as soon as possible. Each week, it becomes easier to get vaccinated, as more vaccine supply is available. Fully vaccinated students will not be subject to quarantine or surveillance testing requirements this summer! Once you have received your last dose of vaccine, follow these directions to immediately upload your proof of vaccination into the Health Information Portal.
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Self-monitor for symptoms of COVID everyday, and if you have any symptoms, please be sure to immediately self-isolate, following the summer guidelines for self-isolation; follow the directions related to completing the SCARF form in the Health Information Portal to alert us of your situation; and choose your preferred option for getting medical consultation.
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If you live on-campus, it continues to be OK to visit students in other residence halls. Students who are not vaccinated should continue to limit their close social contacts as much as possible. Students in the residence halls may not have visitors from off-campus. To support social distancing, room capacities in the residence halls are limited to the occupancy of the room plus two people.
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At this time, students are allowed to go off-campus for both essential and non-essential trips. It is critical that students wear masks and maintain social distance in all of their travel and off-campus activities. For the summer, we have suspended the requirement that students obtain prior permission for off-campus activities.
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If you will be traveling by plane, train, or bus for any long distance; attending any higher-risk social gatherings (e.g., weddings, funerals); or engaging in any other higher-risk activities, please contact Ami Hanna (hannae@lclark.edu), Wellness Services Contact Tracer and Case Manager, in advance of the activity so that she can support your safe travel, engagement, and re-entry to the community.
Depending on the status of COVID transmission in Portland over the summer, we may need to modify the above expectations.
We are currently conducting a survey of vaccination status for students who will be staying on campus this summer. Based on the results of that survey, we will be deciding what sort of surveillance testing might be needed for the summer.
Testing is not the best solution for staying healthy and safe in this pandemic. The best solution involves wearing masks, social distance, and hand hygiene. Because LC students were so faithful to these practices this past year, we were able to offer in-person instruction and residential living. WeB4Me@LC was our motto. Let that be our motto for this summer!
If you have any questions about these expectations, please e-mail covid19info@lclark.edu.
In good health,
Robin H. Holmes-Sullivan, PhD
Vice President for Student Life
