YORK, Pa. — York College president Dr. Pamela Gunter-Smith announced this week that the school was going into precautionary "fall break" to limit on-campus student gatherings after a "small uptick" in the number of COVID-19 cases among students and staff.
The break began Thursday and will continue through Oct. 15, Gunter-Smith said. The break may be continued if deemed necessary, she added.
While York College's COVID-19 numbers are "still relatively low," Gunter-Smith said, the decision to implement a fall break is necessary to mitigate the spread of the virus and "to better ensure that we can finish the semester here on campus."
Gunter-Smith said the majority of students at the college are complying with requests to wear face coverings, maintain social distancing and wash their hands.
"Unfortunately," she said, "others have not been as diligent and/or have intentionally chosen not to adhere to our campus public health guidelines, which has resulted in the current uptick in cases."
The following are changes to the current living and learning activities at York College as of Thursday, according to Gunter-Smith:
ACADEMICS
- All students will continue with hyflex learning in classrooms. (Those who have received accommodations to learn remotely will continue in that way.)
- Commuters and off-campus students will be permitted to enter campus ONLY for classes and academic requirements.
- Students will continue to participate in experiential education opportunities such as clinicals, labs, internships, etc.
- Schmidt Library will remain open with lower density seating.
RESIDENCE LIFE
- No visitors (students or guests) will be permitted in residence halls. Students must restrict their movement from residence hall to residence hall. They should interact only with others on their residence hall floor.
DINING SERVICES
- Meals will be picked up as carry-out. There will be no eating in our dining facilities or in other areas without social distancing.
- Should students choose to eat outside, they must maintain the appropriate social distance at all times and replace their face covering immediately after eating.
- Retail dining locations like Spart’s Den will have reduced hours.
ATHLETICS AND RECREATION / STUDENT ACTIVITIES
- No practices or conditioning sessions will be scheduled for student-athletes.
- The Grumbacher Center will remain open, but only for students (no YCP employees).
- No in-person meetings will be permitted for student clubs and organizations. All meetings will be virtual.
STUDENT BEHAVIOR
- Students who host or participate in unauthorized gatherings that violate York College policies or the Student Code of Conduct will face a student conduct referral that could result in suspension from campus and/or the College.
Residential students should remain on campus unless they are leaving for jobs/internships, clinicals, or to run errands for food or supplies, Gunter-Smith said. Residential and commuter students are permitted to continue their work assignments on- and off-campus.
Should students be required to travel away from York, they must quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus, Gunter-Smith said.
"These further restrictions may not be welcomed; however, they are necessary to avoid taking actions that are more stringent," Gunter-Smith said. "I hope that this break will provide the opportunity for us to reset and return to our normal operations at the end of this period of time.
"Now more than ever, we need everyone to cooperate and follow guidelines to ensure that can happen. Take care of yourselves and one another."