they don’t have a fever for at least 72

Amid concerns of coronavirus, TU required students to move off campus and detail plans for housing and dining refunds.

Madison Connell News Editor

After an email from Interim President Janet Levit on Thursday, March 19, students who lived in on-campus housing had only 29 hours to pack their necessities and leave campus. Access to students’ residences, and any belongings, will be severely restricted until after the semester is over or until social distancing ends, with few exceptions. This decision is one of many made in light of rising concerns of the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, with the desired effect to “flatten the curve” of infections of the virus, giving the healthcare system a better chance at treating those who have it with a limited number of resources such as beds and ventilators. Following Janet Levit’s initial email, Associate Vice President for Campus Services Dr. Melissa France sent an email detailing the changes at 1 p.m. on Thursday that all students who were able to, must leave campus housing by Friday, March 20 at 5 p.m. Students were encouraged to leave their live and study in close quarters, social distancing is simply not possible. Our decision is supported by guidance from public health officials and agencies and consistent with actions taken by other colleges and universities across the country.” With the short notice, many students were either unable to pick up their belongings within the timeframe or rushed back to campus to pick up their things. Grace Havrilka, a junior computer science major, was one of the former. Her family lives in St. Louis, where she was when she received these emails. Harvrilka lived in a campus apartment. “I have summer storage so I don’t have to move furniture but I don’t have most of my clothes or things I want to live somewhere for months.” Students are able to return back to campus if they had been gone during spring break to retrieve their necessities such as technology and textbooks that would help them for classes as well as medication and request an appointment through a link in the second email. As of the time of writing, slots for 15-minute or hour-long appointments are available through April 5; exceptions to this policy may be made on a case-by-case basis. Morgan Mayberry, a senior mechanical engineering major, opted to move out as much as possible in her on-campus apartment before the deadline.

“‘On a residential campus where students live and study in close quarters, social distancing is simply not possible.’”

possessions on campus and to pick them up at a later date. The exceptions policy about moving out included if a student whose permanent residence was outside the country and were unable to travel back as well as personal circumstances such as the student being a part of the foster care system, the student and their family not having a permanent address, the home community is quarantined, returning home is a health or safety hazard or if returning home will provide a technological barrier that limits access to classes. Referring to the decision, France said, “On a residential campus where students “I certainly didn’t want the University of Tulsa to be my landlord another second,” said Mayberry. “I called the leasing office of an apartment I had just put a holding fee down for, then I screenshotted the email and sent it to friends on campus, then I texted people closest to me to inform them I was being kicked out of my apartment with barely 24 hours notice, then I called the roommate I had lined up for May to have her sign our lease ASAP, then I called a moving company. That was all in the first half hour.” While against housing policy, she moved her furniture out that Friday morning and has been slowly moving her things out since. “I would feel degraded if I had to make an appointment with someone to access my stuff in my own apartment, so the grab-n-go approach advised in the email was unreasonable to me.” Even though Mayberry’s family lives in Tulsa, she decided to move in with a roommate: “I’d like to maintain a sense of normalcy as much as possible — for my own sanity. Living out of a suitcase is not in my best interest.” France said the difficult decision to restrict access to housing was made very quickly due to the rapidly evolving situation. “Overall, the process worked well — not perfectly — and we were able to respond to almost all of the exceptions that were requested.” The housing and dining refund process was shared with The Collegian prior to its public release. According to the release, “Students are only eligible for housing refunds if they

“‘Living out of a suitcase is not in my best interest.’”

In the second March 19 email, France wrote that students would be informed about any potential reimbursement for housing and dining charges by April 6. A linked FAQ page tells students to hold onto their residence hall and university-owned Greek housing keys but to return their apartment keys, regardless if they still have things remaining in their residence. For some, that promise for more information at a later date was not enough. “The payment we made at the beginning of the semester for our university apartments cannot currently be used for emergency housing during the mess that University of Tulsa Housing has now caused, which puts many students in an unfortunate situation financially,” said Mayberry. On the whole, Mayberry believed this to be a wrongful eviction. “Stating that we may store out belongings in the apartment does not mean that we are not evicted,” claimed Mayberry. “Eviction is removing the tenants, and the University is removing the tenants. It is not a ‘strong suggestion’ for me to move out of my apartment if I have no other choice, and I am constantly bothered by calls, emails and unwanted visitors to my apartment until I cave. According to Oklahoma law, landlords must wait for fixed-term leases to end before eviction without cause. It is unknown if the same laws apply to university-owned dormitories and apartments, as these residencies have no de facto “lease,” but rather a license, and if the pandemic would be a proper cause in the housing license that students sign. have left their campus residence for the remainder of the spring semester and turned in their apartment key (for those students living in apartments) to the Housing Office. Students who were enrolled in a spring meal plan and have left campus for the remainder of the spring semester are eligible for a dining refund.” The refund process then states that all refunds and adjustments for residence halls will be effective March 21, dining charges as of March 23 and apartment charges will be based on when residents returned their keys. How the refund will be sent back to students is based on a variety of factors. First, any outstanding balance will be paid off by the return. Any additional money will be returned via direct deposit or check. Scholarships will be prorated and no refunds will be given to students with full housing and dining scholarships. For those with partial housing and dining scholarships, scholarships will be adjusted and students will receive a refund for any balance. The refund process did not detail if students who are no longer living in their apartments will continue paying for their electric bill.

Campus Security will remain on campus to protect students’ belongings. To stay current on campus updates, visit utulsa.edu/ coronavirus. Email housing@utulsa.edu for questions about calculation of housing and dining refunds. For questions about how the refund will be disbursed, email bursarsoffice@utulsa.edu.

Know the signs and symptoms of coronavirus

Familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of coronavirus and how it differs from the flu.

Brooke-Lyne Holland Student Writer

Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is an infectious respiratory illness that attacks the lungs and is spread easily among the public. Symptoms that pertain to the coronavirus are commonly confused as flu symptoms and are often overlooked by a substantial portion of the population. Because of this, many people confuse COVID-19 symptoms with those of the flu and don’t get tested. Scientists suspect this to be one of the reasons that the virus is spreading so quickly between people, which is causing a higher fatality rate than the flu. Despite similar symptoms, the two illnesses are caused by different viruses and require different courses of action.

periencing symptoms of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Common symptoms include fever, tiredness, difficulty breathing, a persistent dry cough and diarrhea. The only difference is that coronavirus can have shortness of breath whereas flu usually does not. A new symptom arose since the outbreak of COVID-19 that may result in loss of smell. No research has been conducted on these new symptoms but according to LiveScience.com, these symptoms may be an early indicator of infection. However, not all patients experience the symptoms as severely as others, some are carriers and some can recover on their own. It is thought that the elderly and people with certain underlying medical conditions, such as asthma, heart disease or diabetes, are more susceptible to more severe symptoms and even death. As of today, there is still no vaccine for the Coronavirus, however, researchers across the world are currently working towards a vaccine.

“Common symptoms include fever, tiredness, difficulty breathing, a persistent dry cough and diarrhea.”

Coronavirus is the name of the family of viruses that include the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). According to Mayo Clinic, the current novel coronavirus name is known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CO-2), also known as COVID-19. Compared to the flu, COVID-19 is currently much more dangerous. According to Medicinenet.com, the flu is caused by RNA viruses of the Orthomyzoviridae family that also infect the respiratory tract of mammals. This means that because they are from different virus families, they have to be treated differently. The flu also has an incubation period of 1-4 days compared to the 1-14 day incubation period of COVID-19. The main difference between the flu and COVID-19 is that COVID-19 takes longer to detect in humans and does not have a vaccine yet; there is treatment for the flu within the first 24 hours.

According to Mayo Clinic, as of today’s research, the incubation period is between one and 14 days before a patient starts exThe CDC advises people to help prevent the spread of the illness by: · Avoiding large groups of people or close contact with infected people or those experiencing symptoms, especially if COVID-19 is in your area · Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds or use a 60 percent alcohol-based hand sanitizer · Avoid touching your face if your hands are not clean · Stay at home if you are sick unless you are going to get medical treatment · Do not wear face masks unless advised by a healthcare provider If you or anyone you know is experiencing symptoms that relate to the COVID-19 illness, please contact your health provider and find the nearest testing center near you, or if you reside in Oklahoma call (877) 215- 8336 or 211 for Oklahoma’s 24 hour coronavirus hotline.

Coronavirus: don’t believe everything you read

With all of the misinformation spreading about the novel coronavirus, be sure to verify your information.

Brooke-Lyne Holland Student Writer

There are many unreliable sources publishing misinformation on COVID-19, including social media and internet articles. Popular misinformation includes the claim that China manufactured the virus in a lab and peddling dangerous DIY home remedies that claim to battle the virus. False: By swallowing, gargling or inhaling products such as bleach, essential oils, salt water, alcohol or any hot liquid, you can protect yourself from COVID-19. True: Doing these things will not help protect you and may be potentially dangerous. Do not consume anything harmful or corrosive to the human body and read the labels on everything. The only medical intervention medical staff can provide is IV fluids and ventilation if needed in cases of respiratory distress. Do the following to help protect and slow down the spread of the virus: ·Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, or use hand sanitizer if soap is not available · Do not touch your face · Avoid close contact with people who are sick

· Stay at home if you are sick or experiencing symptoms False: The coronavirus was created in a lab and was deliberately released into the public as chemical warfare. True: According to Scripps Research Institute, after researching and running a genomic sequence of the virus, it has been concluded that it was not man-made or engineered. Research is still being conducted on how it developed and where it originated. No definite answer has been released to the public yet. False: You can contract the virus from products that are shipped from a different country, like China. True: Research is still being conducted on how long the virus can live on surfaces. Originally, it was said that the virus can live on non-living surfaces for up to a few days depending on the material. If this is true, there is a low chance of contracting the virus when buying something online, depending on timing. However, the majority of shipping times are too long for the virus to survive.

According to Health Harvard, the virus can survive on the following surfaces: · four hours on copper · up to 24 hours on cardboard · up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. However, there are still unknowns about the virus’s lifespan, and research is still being conducted. According to a CDC report, recent findings have shown that the virus’s RNA stayed alive on the Diamond Princess cruise ship up to 17 days after passengers vacated the ship. The virus was found “on a variety of surfaces in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infected passengers” before disinfection procedures were conducted. False:A face mask will protect you from COVID-19 True: Only certain models of professional, tight-fitting respirators, like the N95 model, can protect a person from the virus. According to the CDC, it is not recommended for people to wear masks, especially the lightweight disposable masks. This is because they do not fit tightly enough and still allow tiny droplets to get into the mouth, nose and eyes. Also, due to the sudden surge of patients, medical supplies like disposable masks are limited and are needed in the hospital for those working on the front-line and those who are immunocompromised. Do not wear these masks unless you have a respiratory illness and have been advised to do so by your doctor. If you have any masks that you bought and do not need, consider donating them to your local hospital. Do not believe everything you hear on social media and stay updated on the virus via reliable sources like the CDC and WHO or through reliable news outlets. Stay safe and keep your distance from people. If you or anyone you know is experiencing symptoms that relate to the COVID-19 illness, please contact your health provider and find the nearest testing center near you, or if you reside in Oklahoma call (877) 215-8336 or 211 for Oklahoma’s 24-hour coronavirus hotline.