Dear Students,
For those of you who celebrate either Passover or Easter, I hope you had a good holiday. And for those of you who traveled to be with family, I hope you are coming back somewhat refreshed for the final full month of the semester. We have completed week 10 of our 15-week semester – two-thirds of the way through!
The good news is that the number of positive COVID tests last week was about a dozen, which was less than a third of what it had been the prior week. Additionally, early last week we had almost 100 students in supportive housing. As of today, we only have 25 students (which is about 11% of our capacity). We certainly hope that our numbers continue in this positive direction, but we do not know what the impact of weekend travel may have. If there is another bump, we will probably begin to see that later this week and early next week.
As you are probably aware, there is significant concern about a fourth wave of the virus nationally. The number of new cases in the Northeast has been increasing daily. Experts are seeing more young people in these numbers and more hospitalizations. Our country is in a race to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible in order to keep any new surge from growing out of control. Right now, we have no special access to vaccines for students, but as the situation evolves, we will be looking for ways to help students gain access to vaccines when they are eligible. We do, however, encourage anyone who is eligible to try to get vaccinated as soon as you can.
I am sharing all this information to reinforce the point that we cannot relax. We must remain vigilant. We must follow all of our COVID protocols. We are all tired of the pandemic, but the virus does not care how tired we are. Please help each other to stay the course.
And we will help. The days are longer and the weather is warmer, so it is time for Naismith Beach to open for business! In addition to the traditional programming that occurs this month, Student Activities, Residence Life, Campus Recreation, and Harvest Table have even more planned for you. We know it has been difficult for all of you, so we will continue to try to bring more sunshine into your lives!
Hang in there!
Sincerely,
Patrick
Patrick G. Love
Vice President for Student Affairs
Director, Student Affairs Administration graduate program
Springfield College
(he, him, his)
springfield.edu
o: (413) 748-3100 c: (732) 543-4853 Twitter: @pglove33
