The university conducted COVID-19 surveillance testing this week for all residential students.
The Office of Student Affairs sent an email to residential students Nov. 3 that they would receive a testing kit to screen for COVID-19. The tests were conducted Nov. 5-8 on a virtual, Zoom appointment with the campus clinic.
Levi Harrel, dean of students, said the screening is both in response to the university’s power outage and a preemptive measure before students travel home at the end of the semester.
“The goal is two-fold. First, it meets that need that we–in these already unprecedented times–we had an ice storm in the middle of October that caused people to go off-campus for heat, electricity and resources, but it will also provide an insight to students as the end of the semester approaches and will at least provide a snapshot for them and some reassurance as they return to their families at home,” Harrel said.
Though students who live off campus may schedule an appointment to be tested for COVID-19 at the campus clinic, they are not part of the mandatory testing program. Levi Harrel said he recommends off-campus students be rigorous in self-monitoring symptoms.
“If they feel fatigued, if they have a loss of taste and smell, if they are running a fever, if they have persistent headaches, my advice is to get tested and not second-guess that for themselves and their own friends and family,” he said.
Joey Croslin, vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer, said students who live on campus pose the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission.
“It’s nothing to be alarmed about, but we just want to do a check-in with all of the events last week and Halloween. We are concerned about the issues the ice storm and power outage could have caused as it relates to our management to COVID on campus. We’re watching that very closely,” she said. “We want students who may have been in large gatherings or who have traveled, not wearing masks or social distancing, to report that, and we can allow them to quarantine, and they can get a screening test at the clinic. If they have concerns, we would encourage them to do that.”
Zac Butler, film junior, said it makes sense the university would conduct a COVID-19 screening before the break.
“I think, just to be safe for their families or whoever they’re going back home to, or to just keep the end of the semester safe for people, it makes sense,” he said. “It can obviously be a little annoying and out of the way to do it, but if it keeps people safe and everyone aware of who has COVID or who doesn’t, it’s okay.”
Butler said he thinks it’s important to limit transmission of the virus on campus.
“I think whether you believe in COVID being that lethal or not, it’s still a problem, and people need to take it seriously before it goes away. Even though we’re a smaller school, keeping it low-to-minimum risk is ideal, and if the only way we can do that is to test and quarantine, then that’s what we’ve got to do,” Butler said.
Rachel Hundley, psychology freshman, said she thinks screening residential students is a good idea.
“I think, honestly, it’s the safe thing to do because, with the ice storms, a lot of people were out of the state, and since it coincidently fell on Halloween, there were a lot of people going to a lot of unsafe parties,” she said. “So, I think that it is a safe and almost necessary precaution just to make sure that our numbers aren’t rising, and if they are, that we handle it correctly.”
Hundley said she feels safer knowing the university is taking the pandemic seriously.
“I think I do feel safer, especially since I just don’t know where my peers have been. The majority of my classes are in-person, and it just kind of adds an extra sense of security to know the school is taking this seriously and is aware that people were at an increased risk of exposure this past week and are doing something about it,” she said.
Students can schedule a COVID-19 test by calling the campus clinic at 405-373-2400.
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