By Jake Zabski
If you plan on leaving campus for Easter break, there are new guidelines to follow to ensure that you have a safe break and return to campus.
With advice from Stonehill’s medical team, the school announced this month that students expecting to travel off-campus for Easter break, even if they are staying in Massachusetts, must complete a form that identifies where they are going and how long they are staying there. The form had to be completed by March 26.
Students leaving campus will need to return to campus on April 5 and test at the testing center. Students will need to quarantine in their dorms until they get their results but can leave for meals throughout the day.
Following the initial onboard test and quarantine, students who left campus will also have to test for a second time that week between Wednesday and Friday.
Students who are remaining on campus also needed to let the college know their plans by March 26. Students on campus will be allowed to keep up their normal restricted activities, with potential programs like an Easter Mass service and changes to dining being planned.
Junior and Maine resident Abby Guilfoyle is choosing to stay on campus this Easter weekend.
“I am not going home for Easter break because I am in such a rhythm being on campus with my suite bubble that I’m nervous traveling home would be too dangerous,” Guilfoyle said.
Guilfoyle said that while the guidelines may seem strict or unfair to some students, they’re for their best interests so that we can safely complete the semester in-person.
“The restrictions are fair because it’s all an effort to keep the people who have traveled and the kids who stayed on campus safe,” Guilfoyle said.
Junior Kristen Thornton is planning on heading home to Quincy for the weekend.
While she understands the need for onboard testing, she thinks that the testing center should accommodate students who will be using the testing center when they return.
“I think the restrictions with quarantine and testing make sense, but they should make the testing hours flexible again,” Thornton said.
The testing center heard students’ concerns and has extended hours for testing on April 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on April 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Pauline Dobrowski, the Vice President for Student Affairs, is hopeful that students who choose to travel for the break will make the right decisions.
While Stonehill has not completely restricted off-campus travel this semester, it is currently advised that students only should leave campus if absolutely necessary. When students are off-campus, they must follow campus guidelines like wearing their masks around others and limiting their social interactions.
“We are encouraging students, if they need to travel for the Easter weekend, to be mindful of their interactions with others and limit their exposure. As we always talk about, what we do to protect ourselves, protects others, so we ask that students work to keep themselves and our community safe,” Dobrowski said.
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