Submitted on behalf of Samm Swarts, Assistant Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response
On Friday, December 3, I shared a communication alerting Ithaca College of a rise in confirmed positive COVID-19 cases within our college community. The Ithaca College Health and Safety Advisory Group and the college’s senior leadership have continued to analyze available data to make the best data-supported decisions for our IC community. We share this message with you today to announce that out of an abundance of caution, Ithaca College is updating its COVID-19 operational status from Green: Lower Risk to Yellow: Low to Moderate Risk, effective immediately.
The best interests of the health and well-being of our IC community remains centered in this decision. Shifting to the Yellow: Low to Moderate Risk operational status means that while incidence of the virus remains low, indicators show that mitigation efforts related to certain activities are necessary to control additional spread. The decision to make this operational status change was not taken lightly, but was deemed essential to prioritize our efforts to successfully complete academic coursework and host the December Commencement to recognize our graduates.
Please keep reading to learn about how this shift to Yellow impacts the remaining weeks of the semester.
Academics
Classes and other in-person academic gatherings remain permissible; this includes AT/OT/PT/SLPA clinics and IT labs. Final examinations are scheduled from Friday, December 10, through Wednesday, December 15. There are no associated changes to the academic calendar and final examinations will move forward in their scheduled classrooms at the published examination times. If you have any concerns about your scheduled exam space, please reach out to registrar@ithaca.edu no later than 48 hours prior to your exam meeting to request possible reassignment to a different space.
Social Gatherings
At this time, all scheduled in-person gatherings and events on campus that are not associated with academic coursework are CANCELLED. This includes in-person club and organization meetings, non-academic programming, department end-of-the-year events, Stop and Breathe Week programming, and the Late Night Event in the Towers Marketplace on Wednesday, December 8. Please note that this DOES NOT include December 2021 Commencement (please keep reading for more info).
Residential students are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED from unnecessary visitation between residence hall buildings. Students should limit interactions with individuals not in their residence hall community.
Off-campus students are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED from hosting social gatherings with individuals who do not live in their residence.
December Commencement
December 2021 Commencement WILL proceed as originally scheduled on Sunday, December 12. All Ithaca College attendees should complete their Daily Health Screening the morning prior to attending the event.
Due to the size of the A&E Center venue and the low number of participants in December Commencement, families and supporters WILL be allowed to still attend. We will have a livestream of the ceremony available for family members and supporters who are unable to travel to Ithaca.
All attendees are required to wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status and maintain physical distancing from others outside of their household at all times. Ithaca College also STRONGLY ENCOURAGES that anyone attending the event be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The college asks that anyone currently experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19 refrain from traveling to campus for this event.
Library/Fitness Center/Wellness Clinic
The Ithaca College Library and Fitness Center will remain open for their scheduled operating hours through Friday, December 17. The Wellness Clinic will remain open for its scheduled operating hours which includes Monday, December 20, to Wednesday, December 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Travel
Members of the IC campus community are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED from traveling outside of the Tompkins County area until the conclusion of the fall semester.
We recommend that students who are not experiencing active symptoms of COVID-19 and plan to return to their permanent residence for Winter Break should do so immediately following the completion of their final exams.
Visitors and guests should refrain from coming to campus during this time unless planning to attend December Commencement or participating in a structured pre-registered campus tour via the Office of Admissions. Unstructured campus visits by individuals outside of our IC community are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED at this time.
Athletics
Intercollegiate athletics WILL be allowed to continue with athletic competition subject to sports medicine's guidelines.
Testing
If you are a student actively experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, it is extremely important that you limit your interactions with others and plan to get tested. The Emerson Hall testing site is open seven days a week between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and is the primary location for students to be tested if they are experiencing symptoms. If you are a student who has additional questions regarding testing, please visit the Hammond Health Center webpage for more information.
Employees who are actively experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 are strongly encouraged to seek out local resources for testing including urgent care facilities, pharmacies, or the Cayuga Health System mall testing site.
We continue to encourage asymptomatic faculty, staff, and students to participate in regular surveillance testing by submitting a saliva sample at the various blue drop-off bins located at the following locations: Campus Center Lobby, A&E Center Lobby, Peggy Ryan Williams Garden Level, Farm Pond Road (Employees Only). Please note that these bins should only be utilized if you are NOT actively experiencing symptoms and submissions should only be made on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday in conjunction with pick-up days on Monday-Thursday.
I urge everyone to reaffirm your commitment to good public health practices during this time of elevated risk for our community. Please continue practicing proper use of face coverings (covering both the nose and mouth), frequent hand hygiene, physical distancing whenever possible and limiting your exposure to large unstructured gatherings where good public health measures are not typically followed. Being responsible in our actions and interactions, both on and off campus, will be essential in our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 as we head into the Winter Break. I hope that these measures will help limit the potential for having Winter Break plans interrupted due to illness and quarantine.
Ithaca College will continue to monitor this developing COVID-19 situation and will provide timely updates to the campus community as needed. Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation as we look to bring a successful conclusion to the fall semester.
Sincerely,
Samm Swarts
Assistant Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response