Hello Residents,
I hope midterms are going well! I wanted to share some reminders and information about upcoming events:
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There will be a Snow Building Competition happening this Sunday, February 21st from 1pm to 4pm on Skinner Green!
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There is also Tuesday Crafternoon: Quilling coming up next week, where you’ll get all the supplies for and learn about quilling (can do this in your own time or with others).
Please note that pre-registration is required for both events and you can pre-register on Embark.
Community Compact Reminders
Mount Holyoke is a smoke free campus and community.
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Smoking of any kind is always prohibited in our residence halls. Failure to follow this policy may result in your removal from campus housing.
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The aerosols created during smoking and vaping facilitate transmission of COVID-19.
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COVID-19 impacts the respiratory system, and second-hand smoke (including vapors from e-cigarettes). It is more important than ever that we ensure no one is smoking in our residence halls or any building or on campus grounds.
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You are free to walk out to the Village Commons or even College Street, Park Street or Morgan Street if you need to smoke, but smoking is strictly prohibited on campus grounds.
There are no guests allowed in our residence halls at any time.
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The definition of “guest” includes:
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Any non-Mount Holyoke student
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Any Mount Holyoke student that lives in a different building
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Any Mount Holyoke student living off campus.
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By bringing in unauthorized guests, you are subjecting your fellow residents to an unnecessary risk.
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You are part of our on-campus testing program. Your guests are not. If a guest were to test positive for COVID-19 there is no guarantee that Mount Holyoke would be notified and that guest would have unknowingly infected your fellow students and our community.
The Community Compact states that you cannot have more than one person in your room at any time.
As a community, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable for our actions. You have an obligation to share any information that will help our community prevent community compact violations from happening.
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If smoking and guest concerns persist and we are unable to identify the exact student responsible for guest or smoking violations, the whole floor or building may be held accountable.
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If you know something, say something! Let’s all work to uphold our Honor Code and our Community Compact. We are in this together.
We are working to protect the health and safety of all our students and we need each of your help to do this successfully.
Masks and Cloth Face Coverings
The CDC has released new information about layering your masks and face coverings. The CDC website says:
Adding more layers of material to a mask (layering) is a good way to reduce the number of respiratory droplets containing the virus that come through the mask. One layering strategy is to use a cloth mask that has multiple layers of fabric. Another strategy is to wear two masks or a “double mask.”
Improve Mask Fit and Filtration by Wearing Two Masks (Wearing a “Double Mask”)
Wearing a second mask on top of a first mask (to create a “double mask”) can:
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Improve fit by pressing the inner mask closer to the face, thereby reducing the amount of air that leaks around the edges of the masks.
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Improve filtration by adding more layers of material to reduce the number of respiratory droplets containing the virus that come through the masks.
One way to do this is to wear a medical procedure mask underneath a cloth mask. A recent study conducted in a laboratory found that this “double mask” combination provided much better protection to the wearer and to others as compared with a cloth mask by itself or a medical procedure mask by itself.
Please note that the CDC does not recommend wearing two surgical masks, as this provides no additional protection. Additionally, you should not double-mask while using a KN95 mask.
We encourage you to use medical procedure masks and couple that with your cloth masks.
If you are struggling with the cost to purchase masks, please reach out to the Safety Net Fund. The college is looking at other ways we can help you get easier access to medical procedure masks and will share more information soon.
Asymptomatic COVID Testing:
We have found that many of you are still not signing up for your testing dates and times in Embark. This is leading to long lines and insufficient staffing during busy times, because the staff is not prepared for unscheduled arrivals. Here is a reminder of testing information that we sent to you on January 19, 2021.
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You MUST test twice a week.
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Testing is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 7:00am-5:15pm
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You MUST test once on Monday or Tuesday and once on Thursday or Friday. A Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday schedule is ideal.
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There are limited spaces for each testing slot. You must sign up in Embark to select your testing times.
You will use Embark to self-schedule your tests each week. Please review the complete instructions for scheduling a test here.
Signing up for testing and getting your test twice a week is mandatory and something you all agreed to in the Community Compact. Failure to do so will result in your removal from campus housing.
Some good ways to remember your testing times and information:
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Put testing in your calendar so you don’t forget. When you receive your confirmation email after signing up, there will be a link to add your time slot to your Google calendar.
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Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to go to testing.
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Tie testing to your meals so you go right before or after you get food, when you have already left your room.
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Find a testing buddy in your hall. This helps you have accountability to each other, you can remind each other to go to testing and walk over together.
This testing protocol is intended to help us detect any concerns as early as possible and protect our community to the best of our ability. We greatly appreciate you following all campus health and safety measures. This individual and collective responsibility will help us mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep the Mount Holyoke community safe and strong.
Best wishes,
The Office of Residential Life
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