The University is set to transition into Campus Activity Status Level two Monday, lifting some restrictions on mask wearing and in-person learning and gathering, according to a community email from Executive Vice President of Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91.
Similar to Level 1 regulations, students are required to wear masks unless by themselves in a room or office, partaking in personal hygiene, eating or social distancing six feet from others. But, students may now forgo masks while socializing with people within their pods, which are self-selected groups of around six students who agree to a shared set of public health practices, according to the University website.
Courses with 19 or fewer students may now be held in-person, as per the University’s plans to begin hybrid instruction Oct. 5. Students can also attend advising meetings and office hours in-person while wearing masks and staying socially distant, according to the University website.
As part of Level 2, undergraduate students are allowed, along with medical and graduate students, to reserve spots at the University Library through LibCal, and they may reserve spots in the Sayles Hall to study, according to the University website.
Public spaces will be equipped with necessary cleaning materials and staff to control density. But permissions to access these spaces may change in the future in accordance with the public health situation.
Events organized by the University staff (such as lectures, outdoor movie screenings and religious events) may now also take place, but student groups must continue to hold their independently organized events and meetings virtually.
Social gatherings remain limited to five students, or the number of pod members — pods may consist of more than five students if students live with more then five immediate roommates or housemates. The University advises that any such events occur outside and with proper social distancing and masks if they include participants outside of a single pod. Students may use tents set up on the greens and reserve spaces in Alumnae Hall auditorium and the Kasper Multipurpose room for informal meetings.
“University athletic and recreational facilities — including outdoor fields and courts and the Nelson Fitness Center — will become increasingly available to students,” Carey wrote.
Any larger events may only take place if “University sponsored and University-organized in-person events hosted by staff mostly outdoors, with mask wearing and social distancing,” Vice President for Communications Cass Cliatt wrote in a follow-up email to The Herald.
While the University’s Level 2 guidelines list “possible limited in-person dining,” Carey advised the community to still refrain from such activity and “not go to bars or other settings with crowds where social distancing and/or mask-wearing is not taking place.”
Students studying in Providence are still bound by out-of-state travel restrictions, and any remote students or outside visitors may not come to campus without explicit approval from the University.
“Continued vigilance on everyone’s part will be critical to staying in Level 2, including making well-informed personal decisions based on accurate public health guidance,” Carey wrote, adding that “masks and social distancing remain among the most important health and safety measures we can take as individuals and a community.”
“Moving to Level 2 is a positive and important milestone, and all members of the Brown community should take pride in doing so,” he wrote.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that in-person gatherings have expanded from a maximum of five to 15 students, when in fact, social gathering should remain limited to five people or the number of pod members. Pods may be larger than five students if the number of immediate roommates or housemates is greater than five. The only other events which may include more than five people are “University sponsored and University-organized in-person events hosted by staff mostly outdoors, with mask wearing and social distancing.” The Herald regrets the error.
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