SLU Nationally Recognized for Coronavirus Efforts

St. Lawrence received national recognition for it’s COVID-19 reopening plan on CNN this past weekend. 

SLU was brought up in contrast to larger institutions, such as the University of Alabama, the University of Illinois and NC state, to name a few, who have had large scale outbreaks since their reopenings. 

“Now let’s talk about the schools you think are doing it right,” news anchor Alysin Camerota said to Erin Bromerage, a Comparative Immunologist and Professor of Biology at The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, before Camerota name-dropped St. Lawrence. 

Bromerage said “It’s the population size you draw from. We’re in Upstate New York and we’re seeing a lot of the universities in Vermont doing the same thing, you know, doing really well with their opening.” 

According to St. Lawrence’s COVID-19 dashboard, as of September 6, we as a campus have zero active cases, eight students in quarantine and two recovered cases. 

“They also had a really strong plan for how to reopen safely,” Bromerage said. “Quarantine before you arrive, a negative test for everybody before they come, testing soon after.” 

This plan was developed by the Safe Campus Occupancy Taskforce, co-chaired by Lisa Cania and Val Lehr. 

“I was surprised but pleased,” said Lehr, “Surprised just because we are a small college and I wasn’t sure how we got on their radar. But, I do think we have a good, comprehensive plan and it was nice to receive recognition for that.” 

Molly Thompson, Class of ’22 and Thelomathesian Society President, said she was proud that St. Lawrence was recognized by CNN. 

“There are dozens of individuals across campus, from the Student Life Department, Dining Services, Residence Life, Maintenance, Health and Counseling, the faculty and administration that have taken very few days off since March 13th,” said Thompson. “So, it’s great to see the culmination of months of their hard work being recognized on national TV. ” 

In regard to her impression of how the campus is doing, Cania said this year will have both different and similar experiences as other years. 

“This year will be one in which each of us has to remember that the good of the community comes before the interests of the individual,” Cania said. “What I think remains, as always, is the deep, sincere caring that Laurentians have for one another.” 

Lehr said she could see how it would be easy to let our guard down with how well the numbers look, but that it is crucial to recognize that the tests only reflect “moments in time,” and, “even if we all have negative tests, that does not mean that the virus is not present. So masks and social distancing and not gathering in large groups are critical.” 

In terms of areas of improvement, Thompson said that students can improve on holding friends and roommates accountable. 

“One student’s actions impact thousands of people, and students need to remember this if they or their friends are considering breaking the Laurentian Pact,” said Thomspon. 

In a campus wide email sent over the weekend by Vice President and Dean of Student Life, Hagi Bradley, said that more than 10 students have been sent home for violating the Laurentian Pact. 

Cania and Lehr both said that students need to continue to be patient with the ever-changing circumstances of the campus. 

“I’ve heard that there are still people who feel like if everyone has tested negative, we should be able to go back to how things were, and that’s just not realistic,” said Lehr, “I think keys are providing education so that everyone understands that and helping students to identify fun things that they might not normally do, but that this year provide a good alternative.”

Lehr said she had students who have gone canoeing, or have been hiking, activities that some students have never had the opportunity to do while on campus. 

Similarly, Thompson said she encourages students to shift their mindsets from focusing on what they cannot do, to things they can do. 

“You can sit outside on the quad with friends, hangout in your hammock, check-out lawn games from the student center, go for a walk on the Avenue of the Elms, walk to the farmers market on Friday mornings, go for a swim at Lampson’s Falls, bike on the University trails and much more.”