Throughout Winter Term and Spring Semester, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley is providing regular email update messages to keep students and parents informed about the efforts related to COVID-19.
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
As we make the transition between Winter Term and Spring Semester for undergraduate students, please carefully review the email message from Dr. Jeff Stein on Tuesday, January 26 (archived here) for important information about signing up for required COVID-19 testing for all students, faculty and staff. Students, remember that you must sign up for a testing appointment THIS week AND ALSO for the date and time you will use throughout the Spring Semester for required weekly testing, which will begin NEXT week. If you have testing questions, call 336-278-2020 or email ready2020@elon.edu.
Students who have been on campus for Winter Term are strongly discouraged from traveling this week – we ask that all students remain on campus and minimize the risk that comes from non-essential travel and being exposed to others outside the Elon community. This year’s calendar was developed to shorten the “Fake Break” period between the Winter Term and Spring Term and to discourage travel off-campus. Residence halls, dining halls and other campus services will remain fully open during the four days between terms. Student meal plans will transition from fall to spring on Thursday morning, February 4 and the Elon Dining website lists the menu and hours through the weekend. Many student organization events and campus activities scheduled for this weekend are available by logging into PhoenixCONNECT.
Current status
- Elon’s current COVID-19 alert level is “Level 1 – Moderate Alert.” The Elon COVID-19 Dashboard is updated daily at 4:00 p.m. with case counts on campus and in the county, as well as weekly testing results.
- Since last week’s email update, Elon has received new reports of 51 PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students and employees.
- As of yesterday afternoon, there were an estimated total of 57 active cases, with 167 students in quarantine or isolation.
State of NC modified stay-at-home order extended through February
Last week NC governor Roy Cooper extended the modified stay-at-home order to continue through Sunday, February 28. All state residents are encouraged to be at home from 10:00 p.m. – 5:00 a.m. Most businesses will close at 10 p.m. and the only exceptions to the modified stay-at-home order are for essential purposes like buying food, accessing health care, or going to school or work.
Here at Elon, during the modified stay-at-home order most campus facilities will close at 10 p.m., including Campus Recreation and Wellness facilities and the Moseley Campus Center, and student organization events and campus activities must transition from in-person to virtual by 10 p.m. Residential dining facilities will also be closed by that time, although several campus outlets will have to-go food options available after 10 p.m. (check the Elon Dining menu and hours website for complete information). Belk Library will remain open for study and accessing materials until 12 midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Update your contact information
Students should update phone and local address information in OnTrack as soon as possible. The Registrar’s Office will be at COVID-19 testing during the week of February 8 to verify your information and make additional edits needed. Staff will be located outside the Alumni Gym with a preprinted card for each student to review, correct and edit contact data.
College Coffee returns next week
With the start of the spring semester, College Coffee will return at its regular time, Tuesday mornings, 9:40-10:20 a.m. With COVID-19 guidelines in place, there will be three locations to ensure physical distancing: Scott Plaza (in front of the Alamance Building), in front of the Koury Business Center (by Chandler Fountain), and Under the Oaks (near the entrance to Snow Grand Atrium). Coffee and pastries will be grab-and-go, and individuals are encouraged to maintain physical distancing and only remove face coverings when actively eating or drinking.
Wellness moment and Chaplain’s reflection
Sleep is the foundation of self-care. Sleep consolidates memory; a lot of the information you take in while you’re awake is processed while you’re sleeping. Staying up all night to study actually hinders your memory, ability to solve problems, concentration, and judgment. Likewise, sleep deprivation adversely impacts emotional regulation and you are more likely to be reactive. As you move into the spring semester, here are some healthy sleep tips.
University Chaplain Jan Fuller’s weekly reflection is offered to help us in our search for meaning during this challenging time – this week’s reflection, “Listen to Loss,” can be found here on the Truitt Center blog.
Information is updated regularly on the Elon Ready & Resilient website. Next week we will resume the regular semester schedule for email updates, which will be distributed every Wednesday at 10:45 a.m., between class times in the undergraduate schedule.
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Dr. Jon Dooley
Vice President for Student Life