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Dickinson College updates on Spring 2021

Week of February 1, 2021

Important Testing Schedule Updates

Date: February 1, 2021

To the Dickinson community:

Because of the snowstorm as well as shipping delays we have encountered with UPS, we are making changes to the COVID-19 testing schedule and asking students to remain in a restricted movement period until Friday.

While I know this is frustrating news, we want to ensure we have complete testing results for the safety of our community. This is critically important given the new and contagious COVID variants circulating.

Testing will begin in ATS tomorrow at 11 a.m. All students currently on campus will be tested tomorrow. Faculty and staff should not report for testing tomorrow. Tomorrow’s testing will proceed as follows:

  • Any student who regularly is tested between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. either Monday or Tuesday should report to ATS between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. tomorrow.
  • All students who are scheduled for testing between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday should report for testing tomorrow at their regular time (or as close to that time as their schedule permits).
  • All students who are scheduled for testing between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Tuesday must show up at their scheduled time.
  • We will have additional precautions in place to maintain social distancing.
  • Faculty and staff typically tested on Tuesday should show up when their schedule permits on Wednesday. If Wednesday does not work, please resume testing at the normal time next week.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we work to protect the health and safety of our community.

Sincerely,

Margee M. Ensign
President


COVID-19 Update

Date: February 5, 2021

To the Dickinson community: 

It’s been another active week at Dickinson. Thank you to the staff who worked tirelessly to handle the pipe issue at Drayer, and to the students who handled their temporary relocation from their residence halls with patience and grace. The added element of a northeaster this week was just the icing on the cake. We are a resilient community, and once again we showed that we could manage any challenges by working together. Thank you.

We look forward to welcoming back our students who are moving in today through Sunday, and we will be holding another sign-in ceremony, by pod, for all newly arrived first-year students and new transfer students on Sunday, weather permitting.

I ask everyone to continuing taking the necessary safety and health precautions, and to choose to act in a way that protects our entire community. As you know, new and far more contagious variants of the virus are circulating, and health experts are very concerned about how they will impact the course of the pandemic in the next several months. We must remain vigilant. Information on our campus COVID guidelines, including a COVID dashboard, is available on our campus reopening pages. A new section on classroom safety has been added to the FAQ page.

Vaccinations

As you may remember, we have applied to be a vaccination site but have not yet heard back from the state Department of Health. A number of our employees have received their first vaccine dose through Sadler Health Center. If you are a faculty or staff member and have not previously filled out the form to be put on Sadler’s list, you may do so here. (Please do not fill out the form if you did so previously.)

Community reminders

For students and those faculty and staff members receiving regular COVID-19 tests at ATS, please be sure to show up at your scheduled day and time so we can keep the process on track. Please do not miss appointments.

Dickinson Copes

I know this past year has been challenging for so many reasons. Next week, we will start Dickinson Copes, a program that will allow our community the opportunity to come together virtually to acknowledge our shared experiences of the pandemic and other challenges we have all been facing. Dickinson Copes will take place at 5 p.m. each Wednesday. Everyone is encouraged to share their unique perspectives on our current situation and provide mutual support to each other. All are welcome to join, and we will invite specific staff and faculty members each week who students might not have the chance to hear from regularly.

I will be joining Rabbi Marley Weiner, director of the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life, Todd Nordgren, director of the Office of LGBTQ services and Don Domenici, executive director of the Wellness Center, for for the inaugural discussion next Wednesday.

Thank you all for working with us through these interesting times. Continue to be careful and stay Dickinson strong.

Sincerely,

Margee M. Ensign
President