Kylie McGovern, Editor

Header Image: lasalle.edu

On Friday, Sept. 24, La Salle Residence Life sent a notice via email about updates to the residential guest policy. Prior to this update, the policy permitted only students of the same residential areas to visit one another. However, now the visitor policy has been adjusted to allow for residential students to visit any of the residence halls. This policy was updated because the majority of La Salle’s residential students have been properly following the COVID-19 visiting policies designed to keep everyone in the community safe from transmitting the virus.

La Salle’s Residential department stated the amendment to the policy in an email to students, stating, “[The modification to the guest policy is now to] allow all residential students to visit any residence halls. The policy will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, under the advice of our COVID-19 Response Team that will be monitoring the number of campus COVID-19 cases, student conduct cases, and the impact of contact tracing.” The new rules explain that  including the host or hosts up to four students can be in a residence hall room, and up to six students can be in an apartment, and up to ten students can visit any given townhouse at a time. In addition, face masks are required in residence hall rooms any time guests are visiting. While visiting, the guest must be escorted by their host at all times. 

The Visitor Registration Program is conducted on the internet and utilizes email and text. The student will get a Day Visitor Pass that starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 11:59 p.m. If a student plans to have guests after 11:59 pm, you will need to request an Overnight Visitor Pass. An overnight visitor pass is active from noon-11:59 a.m. the next morning. However,if a student wants to have family members visit, the visit must take place on the main campus or outside of a student’s residential community “in open-air spaces.”  

La Salle students are excited about this adjustment of policy. For sophomore Ceara Grady, this policy adjustment is a step towards a more normal college experience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Grady’s freshmen year was heavily impacted by COVID-19 policies to keep the community safe. Therefore, she was unable to connect with her classmates the way she will now be able to with the adjusted visitation policies. Grady explains that she is “so excited that my friends can come hang out and study in my townhouse now.”