JBU students return to campus
■ Students and staff members were required to have a negative covid-19 test.
John Brown University’s 1,171 traditional undergraduate students returned to campus on Monday after a two-month holiday break.
Students left campus on Nov. 25, before Thanksgiving, and did not return until this week. University officials planned the extended break into the school’s schedule to keep students from going home and returning to campus more than once over the holidays, according to Julie Gumm, director of marketing and communications.
The break coincided with the time the number of covid-19 cases were expected to rise; flu season, which complicates covid-19; and cold weather, which would have kept students indoors, she said. Students and staff members were required to get a negative covid-19 test before they returned to campus, and will be following the same safety protocols in place last fall, Gumm said.
In a welcome back video posted on Jan. 28, university
president Chip Pollard reminded students that covid-19 is even more prevalent than when they left campus in November and asked them to keep up the “three W’s — washing your hands, watching your distance and wearing your mask.” Compliance with safety protocols will be especially important in February when it is cold and students are indoors a lot, he said.
The good news is that faculty and staff members qualify for vaccinations and should receive them soon,
Pollard said.
About 65 percent of staff members responded that they would like a vaccine when they become available, Gumm said. The university scheduled a vaccine clinic last week, but the pharmacy they were working never received the shipment because of the same vaccine shortages that are affecting other places, she said. When the vaccines become available, the university has a system in place for administering them quickly, she said.
Pollard told students the university is also planning for fun activities on campus this semester, including a movie night, a luau, and a mystery night, as well as starting intramural sports such as sand volleyball and outdoor soccer. Intercollegiate athletics are also starting up in the spring semester and the university is working on creative ways for fans to watch games, he said.
The semester will end on May 20, slightly later than in previous years, and commencement ceremonies are tentatively planned for May 22, Gumm said.
“We are really looking forward to your return,” Pollard said. “The vaccines give us hope that we will be able to return to normal soon but not just quite yet, so we will need to work together as a community to love our neighbors, to love ourselves and to love JBU.”