Be safe and be smart, Bobcats

The following message was shared with the Athens Campus community on Sept. 28, 2020.

To our Bobcats in Athens,

We have been incredibly proud of our students and our community over the past five weeks as students included in Phase 1 and others who returned to their off-campus residences demonstrated that they could and would care for themselves, for their fellow students, and for the larger community by following University protocols and local and state guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19. Thanks in part to this success, we were able to make the decision to increase density on our campus and expand our in-person academic experiences with Phase 2 starting today.

We are reaching out with a simple reminder of our expectation now that more students have returned to learn and live in Athens. We are relying on you to make smart choices. We ask that you familiarize yourselves with our Presidential Health Directives, which require that you wear facial coverings when on campus and while at any location where they are required by law, ordinance, or governmental directive to wear a face covering. You are reminded to follow all local and state protocols including limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people and practicing social distancing, that you comply with contact tracing as well as quarantine and isolation requirements and that you participate in surveillance testing. Any violation of these directives could result in sanctions up to and including suspension.

But far more important than the threat of punishment is the reality that the risks you take right now have ripple effects far beyond yourself. If you want to be worthy of the Bobcat community, you must take that responsibility seriously.

To the many of you who have and will continue to set the example of Bobcat care, we applaud you. Thank you for being a part of our community and making us all stronger for it. We ask that you reflect on the real consequences that could result from one false step. The idea that we succeed together and we fail together has never been more true. It will take all of us working collectively and individually over the next eight weeks to protect our University and community.

We are counting on you, Bobcats.

Sincerely,

M. Duane Nellis
President

Jenny Hall-Jones
Dean of Students

Important COVID-19 resources

Tags:

Coronavirus

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Published

September 28, 2020

Author

Staff reports