Rita Offutt, Editor
On Feb. 4, 2021, La Salle announced the decision to revise their visitation policy for students. As part of the “Return-to-Campus” plan, the University banned off-campus visitors and wrote regulations to prohibit students from gathering in residence halls. The revised policy, which went into effect on Monday, Feb. 8, provides slightly more lenient guidelines for gathering.
The updated policy permits visitors within student residences, but only if those visitors are living on-campus in the same area. In other words, students can gather with people who live in the same building as them or within the same complex, but cannot have visitors from other residence halls. All resident students must abide by these guidelines, but the number of visitors allowed in each area differs depending on the location. A list of the specific guidelines from the official university communication on the matter are below:
St. Katharine: One residential student from St. Katharine may visit another residential student from this area at one time.
St. Albert, St. Bernard, St. Cassian, St. Denis, St. George, St. Hilary, St. Jerome: All remaining buildings in North Dorms will be treated as one residential area. One residential student from this combined residential area may visit another residential student from this area at any one time.
La Salle Apartments: A one-to-one ratio for each occupant within a unit will be maintained. Only La Salle Apartments residents are permitted as guests within this residential area.
St. Teresa Court: A one-to-one occupant-to-guest ratio for each occupant within a unit will be maintained. Only St. Teresa Court residents are permitted as guests within this residential area.
St. Miguel Townhouses: A maximum of three total guests per townhouse, in addition to occupants, will be permitted. Only St. Miguel Townhouses residents are permitted as guests within this residential area
An email, written by Dawn Soufleris, the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, highlighted student compliance with COVID-19 guidelines in her email regarding the policy revision. Soufleris wrote, “[the administration] has observed compliance with the public health expectations outlined by the University in La Salle’s plan. The majority of our residential students have maintained adherence to these policies — like mask-wearing, physical distancing, handwashing, and more.”
Nonetheless, the revised visitation policy will be reviewed on a weekly basis, and the no-guest policy can be reenacted at any time. Students who do not comply with the revised guidelines may have their guest privileges or housing privileges revoked, depending on the frequency and severity of the situation. While visiting or having visitors, face masks and physical distancing are required.
Students hosting other residents are encouraged to keep detailed records of who is in their space and when they are there in order to assist in La Salle’s contact tracing process.
The La Salle Collegian 