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Semester In The City And Washington Programs Canceled For Spring Semester
The Boston skyline. (image source: Willem Van Bergen) Talib Williams A&E/Opinion Editor On November 3, SNHU announced that they would be canceling the Semester In The City and Washington programs for this upcoming spring. With COVID-19 on the rise across the nation, SNHU was forced to halt all in-person classes and meetings on campus grounds. This also involves the hiatus or cancelation of most
clubs, sports, and programs that SNHU was running, including the Semester In The City and the Washington programs. Similarly but separate from the study abroad programs at SNHU, the Semester In The City program allows students to take their semester classes in Boston, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the Washington program has students take a semester in Washington, D.C.
The programs both invite two students to spend a semester in their designated locations where they take academic classes as usual during the week, while also working with an internship that is specific to that student’s major and chosen career. Both programs have students spend thirty-eight hours on internships while taking only two academic classes a week. The Semester In The
City internships are focused on social change, implying that students will be working with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, or for-profit organizations that have a mission revolving around social change. The majority of The Washington internships are more policy-based, which entails working with government agencies or lobbying organizations. The two programs are run by the Chandler
Center, the group responsible for many of the service-learning opportunities on campus. They also help assist student voting, help plan volunteer work, and oversee the alternative break program. “Tactical experience helps anybody,” says Elizabeth Richards, director of the Chandler Center. “Getting real experience in a workspace where you are there 38 hours a week doing the kind of work you hope
to be doing someday I think is helpful for anybody.” These programs give students the unique opportunity to both learn and work on the career path they envision themselves following. “My hope is once it’s safe to be back on campus and we’re able to reopen and be fully in-person again that well be able to start thinking about running these programs again,” says Richards.
required to take the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, a nasal swab used to detect Covid. Up until recently, residents had to take and test negative for a COVID test every other week. If students lived outside of New England, they were required to quarantine for up to 2 weeks. However, starting the week after Thanksgiving, groups of students are going to alternate taking the test every week. “We are going to in-
crease that testing to 50 percent of the population, so 50 percent one week, 50 percent the next week,” says Karen Estabrook, Assistant Director of Health Services. Beginning next semester, the tests will increase to a weekly occurrence. When a resident tests positive, they are required to isolate in their campus apartment and they must undergo contact tracing, during which public safety contacts them and compiles information on
who they talked to and where they have been. Other residents will also be asked to take another series of PCR tests. Should the number of positive cases surpass the suggested level, everyone would be asked to go home and the campus would be shut down. Recently, the student who tested positive has come off quarantine. “Younger people tend not to be very sick, people are more bored than anything else. And lonely,” says
Estabrook. The Wellness Center wants to remind students that they are open for Telemedicine for New Hampshire residents as well as Telecounseling, which are both virtual methods for patient care and services. In the future when SNHU returns to classes on campus, staff and students will want to know about the plans regarding the developing Covid-19 vaccine. “The Covid vaccine requirement is not a rule-
especially since no vaccine has come out for the public use as of this date. We will have to look at the data once it has been released before requiring it,” says Estabrook. In order to prevent contracting Covid, everyone should wear a mask, wash your hands, and social distance. If anyone is experiencing symptoms listed in the CDC guidelines, immediately contact your medical provider or the Wellness Center at 603.645.9679.
Student Resident On Campus Tested Positive For COVID-19 Taylor Posik Staff Writer
A student in the Monadnock building on campus recently tested positive for the Coronavirus. They have been required to isolate in their dorm and be put under medical monitoring. After the recent positive test, a new plan of action for requirements on campus have been spurred into action. Before coming to campus, students are
