He also ordered the 850 students still on campus to leave amid the widening outbreak of COVID-19, commonly referred to as the coronavirus. Those who move out by March 30 are eligible for a $1,000 housing credit.
Students without other options can apply for emergency housing.
“After March 30, no students, other than those approved for emergency housing, will be able to access rooms, their possessions, and associated facilities until further notice,” Garimella wrote in the message sent to students, faculty and staff Monday morning.
UVM spring break ended on March 16, but most students never returned to campus. Instead, the university switched to remote learning, which began on March 18. That method of study will continue through the end of the school year, Garimella wrote.
“It has become clear that the responsible course of action in light of the global public health challenge confronting us is to have our students leave campus,” his statement said.
About half of UVM’s 10,700 undergrads live off campus. Garimella urged those students, if they are not from the local area, to leave their rentals and move back home.
“Many of you share close spaces in a way that presents risks to you and to your roommates,” he wrote. “What will you do if one of you becomes ill or needs to self-quarantine? Most of you will be better off back home with your family. “
Campuses across Vermont and the country shifted to remote instruction earlier this month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools asked most students to move off campus or take extended spring breaks, and, in some cases, to clean out their dorm rooms.
“Unfortunately, many of the celebratory aspects associated with our Commencement do not align with social-distancing principles,”
Garimella wrote.
The emergency housing plans remain unclear. Some of the 850 students still on campus are international students who face travel restrictions and other obstacles in returning to their home countries.
“We understand that some students may not have viable alternatives; we will work with those who have challenging circumstances to provide emergency options for housing,” Garimella wrote. “On-campus residents will receive additional information from the Office of Residential Life within 24 hours.”
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Healthy and movable Nursing Home and convalescing patients from Vt hospitals should be moved into the dorms that are no longer being used to spare them being in long term facilities where the Wuhan Virus is likely spreading
UVM offering a pittance to students and their families is an acknowledgement that UVM has not met its obligations and has not fulfilled its contract with students.
Do NOT accept the $1000.00 being offered by UVM.
Be patient and be prepared to sue for damages. Better compensation will be offered for those who demand it.
UVM student leader: ‘Room cashback a joke’
http://vtdigger.org/2020/03/23/uvm-sends-s…
VTDIGGER REPORTS:
“The announcement of housing and meals credits follows a student petition requesting the university partially reimburse students for their housing and tuition fees for the semester. That petition has received more than 7,000 signatures.
“But some students are not satisfied with the universitys plan to offer credit as a reimbursement.
“Finlay Buchanan-Jacobs, a UVM sophomore who launched the petition, said the universitys response was inadequate as most of this years sophomores who live on campus this year will be moving off campus next year.
‘Since half of the students who live on campus are sophomores and wont be living on campus next year, Im not sure about the applicability of the housing credit,’ he said.
“Plus, at only $1,000 in housing credit, Buchanan-Jacobs said the price tag did not line up with what a true reimbursement would be as the average student living on campus pays $6,677 a semester for rooms and meals, according to the university.
“Students only spent about half of this semester on campus, and Buchanan-Jacobs said students should be reimbursed more, and in cash, not credits.
‘I dont think $1,000, especially in the terms of a housing credit, is really going to settle people down or provide that much of a benefit,’ he said.