“I’m just mad about saffron…”
Happy Friday, Deac families, and some great news today! A message went out this afternoon to students about our hopeful return to Yellow Operating Status starting March 12. You can read the whole message here, but I’ll pull out the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):
Positive cases of COVID-19 on campus, in our region and across the state continue to trend downward.
Wake Forest anticipates a return to Yellow Operating Status on March 12, creating more opportunities for campus engagement.
Keep wearing masks and social distancing.
So the good news is we want to continue moving back to as normal a college experience as feasible given the pandemic. We need everyone’s help to get there.
I had a question come to me about why we haven’t jumped from Orange straight to Green, as our on-campus case numbers are low. There are a couple of reasons for that. In managing both the fall surge and the one we just went through, it took about two weeks to see trends stabilize post-surge, and then another two weeks to monitor sustainability of those lower rates. We also needed some time to shift operations (that means everything from updating signage to moving furniture to training on new processes to having enough staff volunteers, etc.).
I also had a question about student access to vaccines. The state announced this week that many college students will be eligible to receive the vaccine beginning March 24th. There are some stipulations: those students must live in congregate settings (i.e., residence halls). Want to note, too, that student workers – including RAs – who have been paid for hours worked in 2021 (and whose work requires them to be on campus) received a message about vaccine eligibility.
Wake Forest continues to work toward becoming a vaccine distribution site. As we get closer to March 24th, we will communicate what we know about where and how students who live in residence halls can get the vaccine, as well as guidance for students who live off campus and will be eligible to be vaccinated in the next phase. Students can use the Find Your Spot tool to see eligibility. Thank you for your patience until we have more detail.
It will still be a little chilly but lots of sun, so your Deacs can get outdoors and enjoy the weekend. And as I hope you saw from some of the pics yesterday, students are finding ways to have fun and do college things! (Also need to make a correction to yesterday’s blog re: the photos; some of those were from our master photographer, Ken Bennett).
So let’s keep our eyes on the prize: spring is coming and we all are eager for better times ahead! Here’s a song to help you kick off the vibe we’re feeling here.
— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)