Dear Mines students,
Spring Break is rapidly approaching, and as you finalize your plans for March 27-April 4, we wanted to share some guidance to make sure we all can celebrate this time off safely – and return to campus ready to finish out the spring semester.
For starters, we highly recommend that you stick around campus and Golden – or at least Colorado – and take advantage of the fun activities available close to home (including all the cool things SAIL, MAC, Rec Sports and others have planned on campus). While COVID-19 case numbers on campus are lower than they were earlier this year, non-essential travel is still not recommended by public health officials.
But, as with Martin Luther King Jr. and President’s Day weekends, we’re not asking you to skip your trip home to visit family. Instead, if you do plan to travel, we ask that you travel the COVID-smart way.
The more we all do to minimize viral spread before and during Spring Break, the less likely we are to have a large outbreak on campus in the days and weeks after we reconvene for the remainder of the semester.
And let’s face it: No one wants to spend E-Days in quarantine – or sick.
If you test positive and/or are identified as a close contact of a positive case the week after Spring Break, your quarantine or isolation period will likely extend through E-Days, which is set for April 15-18. And that means no in-person E-Days activities for you (if you are directed to isolate or quarantine, your tickets will be automatically canceled and refunded, FYI).
Read on for specific guidance for before, during and after Spring Break – including the return-to-campus protocol we’re asking all students to follow:
Before traveling over Spring Break: Know before you go
- Research the testing requirements and viral situation for your destination. If your plans involve out-of-state or international travel, make sure you know what to expect when you arrive at your destination. How do the COVID-19 case numbers compare to those in Colorado? What restrictions are bars, restaurants and other businesses operating under? Do you need to provide proof of negative test upon arrival?
- NOTE: Orediggers are expected to wear face masks in public and whenever they are around people they don’t live with at all times – even when visiting locations where mask mandates have been rolled back.
- Campus residents: Let us know your plans by March 21. All students who live in Mines housing (residence halls, 1750 Jackson and Mines Park) and fraternity and sorority houses are required to notify Residence Life/Fraternity & Sorority Life of their travel plans for Spring Break. A link will be sent out shortly in a separate email.
- Be extra cautious leading up to your trip. Avoid contact with people outside your immediate household, and avoid other high-risk activities such as:
- Going to large social gatherings
- Spending time in crowds like in restaurants, bars, fitness centers or movie theaters
- Know before you go: Get tested 2 to 3 days before you travel. Keep a copy of your negative test result with you during travel in case you are asked for it.
- Sign up for a free COVID-19 test on campus at https://www.primarybio.com/a/mines
- Cancel your trip and do not travel if you are sick, develop symptoms of COVID-19 or receive a positive test result.
- Consider what you will do if you become ill while you’re away. If you become ill with COVID-19 while traveling, you will be required to complete isolation at your travel destination. Similarly, if you are exposed to COVID-19 while traveling, you will be required to complete quarantine at your travel destination… and that could very well mean having to celebrate E-Days virtually from your childhood bedroom.
- Keep your travel partners limited to those you already live with. This isn’t the year to rent a vacation house (in the mountains, on the beach, really anywhere) with 10 friends from 10 different households.
During Spring Break: Be COVID smart
- Think critically about the risk of activities at your destination. It’s not just parties at the beach that are a COVID concern. Family gatherings are known viral transmission points, no matter their size, and both Easter and Passover are happening over break this year.
- Outdoor activities are always preferable to indoor activities.
- If you do gather, always keep your distance (at least 6 feet) from anyone you don’t live with during the school year. That includes family members, unless you live at home full-time.
- Avoid large crowds at all times.
- When indoors, improve ventilation by opening windows and doors or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation if you can.
- Wear a face mask that fits snugly whenever you are around others – regardless of the requirements of the state you’re in. Wear a cloth mask with multiple layers of fabric or if you prefer to double mask, a disposable mask under a cloth mask.
- Masks are required in Colorado, as well as on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within or out of the U.S. and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. If you don’t have access to soap and water, use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
After Spring Break: A safe return to campus
Upon returning to campus after Spring Break, all students are asked to adhere to the following protocol:
- Continue to attend in-person classes as scheduled.
- Get tested, especially if you traveled outside Colorado over break. Sign up for a free COVID-19 test on campus at https://www.primarybio.com/a/mines
- Campus residents: All students living in residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses are required to test twice a week following Spring Break through the end of the semester.
- Off-campus residents: Please get tested the week after Spring Break. Continue to test regularly for the remainder of the semester.
- Wear a face mask in public and whenever you’re around people you don’t live with – even if you have had COVID-19 within the last 90 days or already received the vaccine.
- Carefully monitor your health and check for COVID-19 symptoms daily. If you develop symptoms, report them to CRIT. If you are concerned about your health, contact the Student Health Center for further guidance.
During the first full week after Spring Break (April 5-10), we will be carefully assessing the viral situation on campus. As such, we ask that all students scale back their activities during the week – and until they have received the results of a COVID-19 test.
To support this assessment period, all Mines Dining locations will be take-out only and indoor student events will be limited.
- Mines Market and Periodic Table will be take-out only April 3-11. Seating will reopen on Monday, April 12.
- There will be no in-person student events or meetings permitted the week following Spring Break. Normal protocol will resume April 11.
Until you receive a negative test result, all students are also asked to:
- Only socialize in person with your roommates/housemates
- Take all meals to-go (including from local restaurants) and dine outdoors or in your room/home
- Do not invite guests into your room or off-campus apartment/house. Only you and your suite/roommate(s) should spend time together in your room.
We’re almost there, Orediggers
Thank you so much for your continued commitment to the Oredigger Promise – and staying together on campus during this challenging time. That Mines has been able to maintain its academic calendar without changes – and have a Spring Break at all – is a testament to you, your sacrifices and your love for the Oredigger community.
And with vaccines potentially available to all who want them by this summer, we’re almost there, Orediggers. In the meantime, let’s not let our guard down. Keep wearing those masks, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from anyone you don’t live with, staying home when sick and washing your hands often.
Be well and thank you again, Orediggers!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Flintoft
Associate Vice President of Student Life
Dan Fox
Vice President of Student Life