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A student starts their Citrus adventure as they contemplate where to go next outside the VA Building. Read about your Student Arrival (not survival) Guide on page 5.
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ccclarion.com Volume LXXV • Issue 9 Tuesday, March 1, 2022
MARK SNOW - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Daily COVID check leans on trust The pre-screening system emphasizes the honor system as students return to campus BY ANTHONY ROSSI
EDITOR- IN - CHIEF
AROSSI@CCCLARION.COM
Eight questions play a pivotal role for students and faculty as they return to campus in the spring semester. These eight questions come posed from the daily pre-screening feature of the Citrus Mobile application. This feature requires the Citrus College community to answer questions regarding symptoms, past travel and proximity relative to COVID-19. Since its implementation in the fall 2020 semester, the daily prescreening feature has become a rite of passage for anyone who needs to go to campus on that particular day. If the user passes the screening, they will earn a green pass for the day and be permitted on campus. If they fail, they will be given a red pass and not allowed on campus for that day. The most important question in the screening also acts as the lynchpin of this system- whether the screening was answered honestly. “It’s always a balancing act,” Chief Information Services Officer and COVID-19 workgroup member Robert Hughes said. “We have to trust our users and trust our community. The alternative is to be harsh and crack down and try to police things. We would rather trust the users.”
“It’s always a balancing act. We have to trust our users and trust our community. The alternative is to be harsh and crack down and try to police things. We would rather trust the users.”
Robert Hughes
Chief Information Services Officer
The chair of the Citrus College COVID-19 workgroup, Robert Sammis, said the system has served its purpose and made sure people think through if they are well enough to come to work on that day. Sammis said since the beginning of the winter 2022 semester, he has seen an average of 10 red passes given out a day. Hughes said the daily prescreening feature is “on the honor system” and must be used correctly by students and faculty checking to see if they have the necessary green pass. Honesty serves as the common thread holding together this system. “I hope we can all do this with a spirit of cooperation and answer very simple questions in a very honest way,” Sammis said.
MARK SNOW - STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Students get in line for their weekly rapid test outside of the Haugh Performing Arts Center on Feb 23 after completing the daily pre-screening before going on campus.