Although the last day of in-person instruction was on Nov. 24, some students still remain in quarantine.
Because of this, the Student Opportunities, Advocacy and Resources team (SOAR) is working with students who need assistance while they are in quarantine and away from friends and family.
Lyndi Felan, SOAR coordinator, said that students we given an opportunity to stay after Nov. 24 if necessary.
“There was an application sent out a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving break where students could apply to stay on campus if they lived on campus,” Felan said.
Even with a majority of students gone for the break, Felan said that the few students still on campus are getting the same assistance if it were the middle of the semester.
Students in isolation and quarantine are receiving help navigating different situations they are left with after being in or possibly being in contact with COVID-19.
“For all our students in isolation and quarantine, SOAR has called each of them throughout the semester and continues to remain available to them if they need help,” Felan said. “We’re helping them navigate getting food, how they’ll get groceries, what they need to do moving forward, how they can get connected to the clinic, how to get tested, how to afford getting tested and things like that. But obviously our workload has minimized significantly with students leaving campus.”
Students in quarantine are also given a faculty or staff member-volunteered care coordinator.
“For students that are quarantined on campus or in UP they also have a care coordinator who helps them with getting food and groceries and helps them navigate safe ways to be healthy and safe around others while they are quarantined,” Felan said.
Even though students are still needing to be taken care of, Lauren Carrizal, housing coordinator for residence life, said that she is thankful many students we able to go home for the break.
“It’s been a lot of hard work,” Carrizal said. “There’s been weeks where we are exhausted at the end of the them because of navigating this. We are thankful that many of our students are very responsible and we’re thankful that things seem to be more under control compared to other places.”
Carrizal said that while students still on campus will be accommodated if quarantine causes them to stay on campus, the goal is to have each student home by Dec. 11.