Erin KillionAs students, faculty and staff approach the semester, many still have questions regarding university housing and dining. Here is what the university has released about housing and dining so far:
- Groovin’ at Move-In, the university’s usual move-in day operations, have been altered for this semester, and campus housing move-in will now take place Aug. 15-21.
- Students who live on campus will need to set up an appointment to schedule a move-in window and will only be allowed two guests to assist with move-in. Face masks must be worn by everyone in the building throughout the move-in process.
- As per the Freshman Residency Requirement, all freshman students at Ole Miss are required to live on campus for two consecutive semesters. If a freshman’s classes have been all moved to a remote or online method, that student can submit a housing appeal through their student housing portal, but course schedules will need to be verified after the tenth class day of fall classes before an exception is approved.
- Students will be required to wear masks in all common spaces throughout the semester, including lobbies, laundry facilities, bathrooms and lounges. In Stockard Hall, the largest residence hall for men, each floor houses up to 47 students who share two community bathrooms.
- No guests will be allowed in dorms, even if the guest is also a university student or also living on campus. Guests are allowed to stay in building lobbies, but they can not enter residential areas.
- University housing encourages students to social distance from their roommate within their dorm whenever possible. In Martin Hall, the largest freshman residence hall for women, a standard double room is approximately 11.5 feet by 14 feet.
- Isolation housing will be available for students who test positive for COVID-19. More information about these plans will be available in the Student Housing COVID-19 Contract Addendum, which has not yet been shared with students.
- When Associated Student Body President Joshua Mannery met with Chancellor Glenn Boyce to discuss plans for the upcoming semester, Mannery said that Boyce explained some of the university’s plans should classes transition to completely remote. Mannery said that it was his understanding that if campus closed at some point during the semester, Student Housing “will be recognizing concerns regarding the consideration of student refunds.” When on-campus operations were halted in the spring, students living in campus housing were given a prorated refund.
- There are guidelines to frequently clean dining facilities, including day-at-a-glance cleaning guides for each campus worker, and the Ole Miss Dining website specifies that employees will pay extra attention to cleaning high-traffic areas like door handles, condiment stations and light switches. The On-campus dining options will also no longer accept cash payments in order to reduce contact between workers and customers. According to the CDC, COVID-19 is more commonly spread through the air and through person-to-person contact than through touching a surface with the virus on it.
- Hand hygiene will be a priority in dining facilities, where there will be frequent hand-washing stations for diners and no-touch service options. Employees will be required to wash their hands every 20 minutes and use gloves. Dining Services will adjust seating and reorganize the food service stations to meet social distancing standards and minimize crowding. Masks are also required in dining halls until seated.
