As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Stan State has implemented a number of changes to ensure the health and safety of the many students, faculty and staff who are still coming to campus on a regular basis.
Most of the Stan State campus community is working remotely, but there are still 55 courses that have been approved for on-campus, in-person instruction. There are also numerous departments and services on campus that are operating on location as they have been deemed essential.
On August 23, Stan State President Ellen Junn released a statement saying that “…the health and safety of all faculty, staff and students continues to be our top priority” and detailed all of the precautions that the school is taking to ensure the health and safety of those having to be on campus this fall.
The precautions listed in Junn’s statement include an increase of hand sanitizer stations across campus, increased and intensified cleaning, the installation of sneeze guards and barriers at many campus locations, having some restroom sinks and urinals be put out of order to ensure social distancing, and the disabling of restroom air dryers. To reduce the amount of person-to-person contact, the new Stan State Student Center will be closed, and indoor dining will not be allowed. Instead, meals will be “grab and go” only.
The university has also released a list of recommendations and guidelines for all individuals to follow if they must come to campus. Those recommendations are that individuals are social distancing when possible, that everyone washes their hands extensively, avoid touching the face, common surfaces are cleaned before and after being used, and that all who are feeling ill or experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19 to stay home.
Additionally, all individuals on campus are required to wear a mask or other sort of facial covering when feasible. Stan State has set up an online COVID Supply Store for those who need supplies such as facial coverings before coming to campus. Masks can also be purchased through the Stan State bookstore.
Although buildings like the new Student Center will be closed, outdoor seating options will still be available for students to work, study, and connect to campus wifi. Even outdoors, individuals are encouraged to social distance and where a mask when appropriate.
To help those determine whether it is a good idea for them to come to campus, the university has also created daily self-screening tests that all individuals who are scheduled to be on campus are required to take prior to their arrival. There are separate tests for staff students, faculty, and staff, but they all ask the exact same questions of whether or not an individual is feeling ill or if they have a body temperature of 100 degrees or more.
Stanislaus County currently has had over 15,700 confirmed cases and over 14,900 recoveries of COVID-19 at the time of this story’s publication. The county is currently averaging about 104 new cases of the virus per day.
The campus community can learn which departments and services are operating in-person by going to their individual web pages on the Stan State website. Each department and service that does have remote services available can be found here along with their available methods of communication. Additional questions and concerns regarding Stan State and efforts to combat and protect the campus community from the coronavirus can be emailed to Safety and Risk Management or submitted to the school’s Covid-19 question form.
Junn concluded her statement by encouraging the campus community to take the virus and the precautions surrounding the virus seriously. “I urge each of us to take personal responsibility in taking precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of ourselves and each other.”