8 | News
How has SNHU mitigated COVID on campus? Joshua Dinapoli and Magdalena Hubickova Staff Writers
AMasked Student. (image courtesy: SNHU Global Education Movement) Looking back on its first post-COVID academic year, the SNHU administration and wider community have reflected on what they have learned and how effective their protocols have been in mitigating the spread of the virus. The fight to stop COVID’s spread is one that involves all departments, and a lot has been learned from the hardships faced. At the center of SNHU’s plan is the COVID taskforce, a committee of representatives of various departments that coordinate college-wide policy and response procedures to COVID. “We’ve been consistent about anchoring our decisions first and foremost on the safety of our students,” said Amelia Manning, the Chief Operating Officer of the task force. The task force started in late February of 2020, even before a global pandemic was declared as outbreaks in Europe became a
concern to study abroad students. Conversations then began about what circumstances would make a closure of campus a necessity. As soon as the campus was closed, the task force immediately began to realign their priorities in order to determine how a smooth transition to online can be accomplished and how future semesters as far forward as Fall 2021 would be coordinated. Now a year later, the task force is trying to make sure athletes who arrived on campus as early as March 1 are being acclimated to a vastly different living experience. “This is a group that did not get to play [in the] spring. It would’ve been two years...lost,” said Manning explaining why the teams were brought back this March. With the increase in campus population, various departments have expected roles in ensuring the continued mitigation of positive cases. While the Wellness Center
coordinates testing and ensuring athletes have campus resources, Public Safety is responsible for contact tracing. In the case of athletes, the Wellness Center has mandated that they are tested twice a week and have their health checked via the app Envoy. To ensure that students are updated with relevant news, they are constantly receiving emails and calls. Besides testing, wearing masks and social distancing, the Wellness Center helps students with their mental health. “We are putting information out on how to take care of yourself on our Instagram page. Counseling is still going on remotely. We are also touching base with people that are in isolation or quarantine.” Karen Estabrook from Wellness stated. The Wellness Center can be followed on Instagram @ snhu_wellness. With the crisis involving all
