September 29, 2020 (10:38 am) Central Time
Dear Simpson students, faculty and staff –
I am pleased to say that, two weeks after opening some on-campus dining and residence life visitation, we are continuing to see exceptionally low rates of COVID-19 activity on campus. In addition, cases in Warren County have remained stable. These are the two conditions which are specified in our protocols for a transition to the Yellow operational phase.
As we move from Orange to Yellow, following are updated elements of our protocol:
Classes will continue to meet at current, 50% capacity in face-to-face meetings
Dining will continue to offer on-site dining at current capacity. Indoor dining should still be limited to “family groups” and individuals
Events
On-campus meetings and events may have up to 35 people in attendance
Rooms must not exceed 50% capacity
Events should follow continued social-distancing guidelines and all participants must wear masks
The event leader must keep a record of attendance
Student organizations must submit a completed event planning and safety assessment form and receive approval from Rich Ramos prior to scheduling meetings/events
Larger events and any events involving catering must receive prior approval from the Crisis Management Team. Requests should be directed to covidresponse@simpson.edu
Residential students should visit https://simpson.edu/internal/residence-life/housing-during-covid for information about visitation policies.
Some procedures are not changing under Yellow. The following guidelines remain in effect:
Masks are continued to be required
In any indoor, public spaces (that means anywhere other than a private room or office)
In private offices when more than one person is present
Outdoors when you are within six feet of another person
We encourage meetings and other activities to continue virtually to minimize larger gatherings
We will carefully monitor any changes in COVID activity on campus as we move into these new operating conditions and adjust accordingly. For an overview of the updated Yellow guidelines, please visit https://simpson.edu/covid19-plan.
Thanks to all of you, we have been able to manage campus life during the pandemic much more effectively than have many schools around the state and the country. While this pandemic is still not over, it is so good to be able to move — carefully! — toward more of what makes being on Simpson’s campus special.
Be well! #OneSimpson
Heidi Levine
Chair, Crisis Management Team
Vice President for Student Development & Planning