Asymptomatic Students Move From Fairfield Inn to East Campus Dorms to Quarantine

Along with changes to the spring schedule, some students are having to change residences  before the upcoming spring semester. Students living in three East Campus dorms were asked to relocate to make more room for students quarantining.

The partnership between the COVID-19 taskforce and the Residence Life leadership team   decided that the asymptomatic students who came in contact with someone positive would shift from going to the Fairfield Inn to the secluded East Campus dorms.

Dustin DuBose, executive director of Residence Life, explained why the decision to switch was being implemented in the spring.

“The short-term solution was to use the Fairfield Inn that is right here at the top of campus,” DuBose said. “But we always knew that would be a short-term solution until we could get to a point where we could utilize some space in the residence halls. So, recognizing that we always have more open beds in the spring than in the fall we targeted being able to do that.”

The dorms in question are East 145, 146 and 185. The relocation will affect around 285 total students. For those being moved, Residence Life aims to be flexible for the students, offering them $1,000 towards their room fees as well as promising to maintain room rates if they have to relocate to a more expensive dorm due to this process.

Some students are not thrilled at the change. 

“I am frustrated about having to move and get a new roommate next semester, because I love my current one,” Darci Sharpe, from East 185, said. “I honestly don’t know why they are doing this.”

DuBose explained that he realizes how students must be feeling.

“We understand it’s not a popular option, and we don’t like it either,” DuBose said. “These decisions are hard for us to make, because we know we are going to inconvenience people, but there’s a balance between taking care of individuals and taking care of everybody, all the students, so we tried to balance those things out as best as we can.”

DuBose shared that for roommates, the office is evaluating the requests as they come in and giving students the option to split up from their roommates or wait and see if more rooms become available as the preceding semester gets closer. He hopes the spring will be more flexible as spring often tends to have more open beds but until then it is up in the air.

Students like Sharpe are concerned with not having a room available next semester, but DuBose shared that this is not a concern that students should have.

“Some may not get exactly where they want to be, which we don’t like, but everybody that wants to remain on campus will definitely be able to have a space,” DuBose said.

For those wishing to move off campus but feel they do not meet the requirements, DuBose expressed that this relocation would be considered in off-campus applications, and while it is not an automatic guarantee, it would be a factor in any decision pertaining off campus housing.

Stephanie Haydon is a News Reporter. Follow her on Twitter at @Steph_Annice.