By Emily Rachael Miller, Senior Copy Editor
It’s no surprise to anyone going back to Saint Leo University Campus that university life will look and feel much different than it has in the past, as Saint Leo makes plans to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The “Return to the Pride” document illustrated the major changes on campus, but still left many unanswered questions.
Dr. Mary Spoto, VP for Academic Affairs; Dr. Melanie Storms, Executive VP; and Dr. Jen Shaw, VP for Student Affairs, filled in some of the gaps the document left: mainly those regarding communication from the university, campus activities, new regulations for Masses, on-campus residency, and new regulations for Dining Services.
General knowledge about the coronavirus is much better than it was in March 2020, but the status of a COVID-19 vaccine and the number of positive cases is still liable to change on a daily basis. Thus, communication throughout this semester from Saint Leo is vital.
The “Return to the Pride” document addresses this, stating that “University personnel are committed to a robust communication plan and ongoing dialogue with students.”
Spoto, Storms, and Shaw write, “As with any other issue, students have a wide variety of faculty and staff available to answer questions. For specific COVID-19-related health questions, Student Health is a great place to start. Depending on the question, other areas may be the best resource—housing questions should go to Residence Life, classroom questions to faculty, and registration questions to your success coach or advisor.”
Students are just as much a part of this communication as administration. If questions or issues arise, students should reach out to the aforementioned places.
Saint Leo plans to lessen the impact of issues caused by coronavirus in several ways. Activities on campus have been adapted to allow for social distancing; some will even be conducted remotely.
There will be “[a]wide variety of activities including a lot of live music—often on the Benedict’s Coffeehouse patio or at the Bowl; Grab-n-Go activities you can do alone or with a roommate; virtual activities like exercise classes and cooking classes; speakers (with some attending in person, some via Zoom); workshops; religious activities; athletic and recreational activities; and more,” write Spoto, Storms, and Shaw.
Last semester’s activities were cancelled, but Fall 2020 is much more promising in that department.
The University Campus community will also be able to attend Mass this semester.
“Mass will continue to be held both at the Abbey and on campus. Depending on the circumstances, Mass may be streamed. The Catholic Church developed COVID-19 era guidance that is available online for how Masses work right now. All COVID-19 guidance must be followed no matter what you are doing: masks, social distancing, etc.,” write Spoto, Storms, and Shaw.
The Saint Leo Abbey Church is following the COVID-19 guidelines that the Diocese of St. Petersburg has provided, as well as their own additional guidelines. These guidelines include, but are not limited to, wearing a mask, washing one’s hands before entering the Abbey Church, receiving Holy Communion only on one’s hands, and choosing center aisle seats in pews that have not been blocked off. More information can be found on the abbey’s website, saintleoabbey.org.
Those who live on campus face additional regulations with regard to their residency situation. The “Return to the Pride” framework addresses those regulations under the “Housing” section. Specifically, it states that the only visitors allowed are those part of the Saint Leo community and that “all residents in the unit must agree that guests are permitted.” Saint Leo’s core values of respect and community play a major role in this situation.
“Just as with any roommate discussion, the roommates determine for their housing unit if they are comfortable with guests in their space. The roommates come to agreement and hold each other accountable. If roommates cannot resolve a situation, they should involve their resident assistant,” write Spoto, Storms, and Shaw.
The coronavirus pandemic has—by no means—created an ideal situation. But respecting one another’s comfort zones can work towards building a welcoming and healthy environment.
Dining services have also enforced new health regulations, many of which were addressed in the “Return to the Pride” framework. Spoto, Storms, and Shaw clarified and added to the previously-written regulations and helped create a clearer picture of what dining services will look like this semester. Specifically, they addressed seating, self-serve options, and waste management.
“Seating in the Dining Hall is limited since we also must account for the lines for the different stations and servers. There is abundant outdoor seating and seating in other areas (Apartment 5 Lobby, for example; outdoor seating by SCC and SAB),” write Spoto, Storms, and Shaw.
Seating in the Dining Hall, as well as other common areas, will be limited through the removal or the blocking off of chairs and benches to allow for social distancing.
The Dining Hall itself has also changed. Though it previously supported self-serve stations, such as the burger station and the salad station in the evening, this feature has been eliminated.
“Self-serve options will not be available at this time. All food stations in the dining hall will be staffed and served by dining staff,” write Spoto, Storms, and Shaw. “In addition, look for the new grab-and-go options on the second floor of the Dining Hall, which are part of the meal plan and the new and renovated Lions’ Lair for other food options. As always, enjoy Benedict’s Coffeehouse and your favorite Starbucks drink!”
