Culture
Culture Editor: Katelin Pompa – xzgw@iup.edu Lead Culture Writer: Haley Brown – tbfx@iup.edu
(Kate Pompa/ The Penn)
IUP enforcing new rules due to COVID-19
Staying safe and germ free at IUP during a pandemic Haley Brown Lead Culture Writer tbfx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP While IUP students are busy with getting their materials and instructions for the start of their new Fall 2020 courses, the campus staff has been keeping equally busy in order to properly prepare our campus for the students who have been allowed to come back to the university this fall. Despite the hopeful push to allow all students to return, IUP is aiming to invite back only about a third of the pupils that usually grace the school grounds for the safety of all students and staff and to attempt to aid in the slowing of the spread of the unfortunately well-known COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure that the campus is as safe as possible, the staff of the health services, maintenance, and custodial departments of IUP, as well as the IUP dining and housing services offices, have been working tirelessly to create the most sanitary conditions as possible and to provide the resources to allow for a healthy and safe experience for everyone
Culture
who plans to return to campus. In order to help and encourage the students to protect themselves and their peers’ health, every student is to receive a student safety kit. These plastic-bag kits will include a thermometer, hand sanitizer, washable face masks, tissues, and pamphlets that will include plenty of health and safety information concerning COVID-19, how it is spread, and how to stay as healthy as possible during these strange and unprecedented times. Masks are, of course, required on campus when you are in any of the buildings, and they are also going to be required outside when social distancing is not an option. Many lecture classes are planned around a hybrid model. This means that small groups will be determined, and the groups will rotate between being present physically in the classroom and being connected to the professor and their classmates through a Zoom call, or another similar video chat platform, for the length of the normal class period. In most classrooms, IUP has
installed special cameras called Meeting Owl Pro Smart cameras. These cameras are capable of capturing video in 360 degrees and can choose to split your screen between being able to see whoever is speaking including the professor and the board or screen they are working on, or being able to see the entire 360 degree video of the classroom. Signs have been placed everywhere across campus encouraging passersby to maintain social distancing from others whenever possible. One-way traffic flow signs have also been placed where it is maintainable, such as entrances and exits for certain buildings like the dining hall and the HSS buildings. There are even “stay-in-your-lane” markers with arrows to further enforce this type of movement. Elevators are limited to three passengers per ride and priority is given to anyone with disabilities. The cleaning crews will be constantly sanitizing high-traffic touch areas such as door handles, stairway railings, elevator buttons and bathroom stalls. All food services that are open will allow mobile ordering through the Grub-Hub app so
August 24, 2020
students can order before they arrive and pick up their food when it is ready to further limit social contact. North Dining and the HUB Food Court are also allowing face-to-face ordering and limited seating will be available at North Dining. The POD stores will be open to students who need to shop for limited groceries and “grab and go” bags will be available at Folger Dining Hall. Most students who live in residence halls will have private rooms and some will have private bathrooms. Gathering spaces in all buildings will be regularly sanitized so that students can work together at safe distances from one another. Seating in computer labs will be limited, but the IUP computers will still be available for use. If you require health services, you must make an appointment since no walk-ins will be allowed. You can also request a skypestyled appointment with one of the nurse practitioners or a physician. Touch-free temperature-check kiosks are scattered around campus and are not mandatory but can be used for discretionary use.
The library will remain open, and study spaces will be limited and spaced for social distancing. In order to receive books you need, you will need to request them at the front desk. The HUB fitness center will be open with limited hours and will include a wellness check when you arrive. Limited capacity in the gym ensures that appropriate social distancing guidelines are being followed. The Co-op store is to be open on Aug. 14 and 15 from noon to 4 p.m. to allow students to pick up books they have ordered online. Other shopping will be open at limited capacity as well. Crimson connect and IUP’s other social media platforms have more information about events, both in-person and virtual, that are still occurring in Indiana. Despite these complicated and sometimes frightening times, IUP is always fully committed to providing all of their students with the highest-quality education possible. COVID-19 may have complicated our lives, but IUP has stepped up and continues to actively prioritize and ensure the health and safety of all campus-goers.
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