Letter to students – August 25, 2020
Posted on August 25, 2020 by Meredith Woo
Dear Sweet Briar Women,
For the first time since you began arriving on August 5, our campus reported no active case of COVID-19 among the students, and there were no active cases among employees.
You have kept your word. I am enormously proud of you, as are other members of the college community. But it is also true that in young and healthy people, COVID-19 may be “asymptomatic,” meaning you won’t know whether you are infected; therefore, you could be shedding and inadvertently spreading the virus.
The best guard you have is to act as if you are infected, and as if others are also infected. Stay away from large gatherings, and if possible, stay on campus on weekends.
The colleges across the nation are resorting to draconian actions to enforce regulations. Central Michigan has banned all Greek life functions. University of Kansas has issued “cease-and-desist” orders against two fraternities. Ohio State University has issued 228 suspensions to students who hosted or attended parties and gatherings last week. In nearby William and Mary, “party patrol” is being enforced throughout the campus.
At Sweet Briar, we are not resorting to such draconian action. I trust that you will protect each other, everyone in the Sweet Briar community, and your families and friends, by hewing close to the protocols you have internalized by now.
Congratulations in advance for finishing the three-week session. You have some exciting events coming up this weekend. Paint ‘n’ Patches is hosting “Quiplash Virtual Trivia Night,” and Campus Events Organization is showing a movie in the dell, “Princess Diaries II.”
See you there, and be well.
Meredith Woo
President
Sweet Briar College
For the first time since you began arriving on August 5, our campus reported no active case of COVID-19 among the students, and there were no active cases among employees.
You have kept your word. I am enormously proud of you, as are other members of the college community. But it is also true that in young and healthy people, COVID-19 may be “asymptomatic,” meaning you won’t know whether you are infected; therefore, you could be shedding and inadvertently spreading the virus.
The best guard you have is to act as if you are infected, and as if others are also infected. Stay away from large gatherings, and if possible, stay on campus on weekends.
The colleges across the nation are resorting to draconian actions to enforce regulations. Central Michigan has banned all Greek life functions. University of Kansas has issued “cease-and-desist” orders against two fraternities. Ohio State University has issued 228 suspensions to students who hosted or attended parties and gatherings last week. In nearby William and Mary, “party patrol” is being enforced throughout the campus.
At Sweet Briar, we are not resorting to such draconian action. I trust that you will protect each other, everyone in the Sweet Briar community, and your families and friends, by hewing close to the protocols you have internalized by now.
Congratulations in advance for finishing the three-week session. You have some exciting events coming up this weekend. Paint ‘n’ Patches is hosting “Quiplash Virtual Trivia Night,” and Campus Events Organization is showing a movie in the dell, “Princess Diaries II.”
See you there, and be well.
Meredith Woo
President
Sweet Briar College