Students expected to sign agreement to comply with COVID-19 guidelines in fall semester
University of Iowa students will have to sign a student agreement at the start of the fall 2020 semester, agreeing to wear face protection and adhere to social-distance guidelines.
Candidate for the role of Vice President of Student Life Sarah Hansen speaks during a forum at the IMU on Feb. 4, 2020. Hansen graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Masters in Arts in Sociology.
July 8, 2020
Students will be required to sign an agreement that ensures compliance with social distancing and COVID-19 guidelines upon their entry or return to the University of Iowa campus in the fall.
UI Vice President for Student Life Sarah Hansen and Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Angie Reams held a virtual campus update on Wednesday to provide answers as to how the UI will follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Iowa Department of Public Health guidelines for housing and dining facilities, student organizations, and public spaces.
Social distancing and protective equipment will be required at all events, meetings, and public areas on the UI campus in the fall. Hansen said the community will need to be inconvenienced for the common good.
“We often say that we are the Hawkeye community,” Hansen said. “We have to recognize that our lives are intertwined and that what I do as a member of the community affects you and what one student does affects another student. We are going to have to recognize our roles and protect each other for the health of our community.”
Spacing between tables and entry counts will be regulated at the UI dining facilities and self-service food options will be discontinued, Hansen said. Facilities will also implement touchless payment. All will help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and allow for students to have access to UI dining options, she said.
Reams said student organizations will have to comply with the guidelines set by the UI, which include that gatherings of more than 50 people will be held virtually and social distancing limitations will be placed on sponsored events. Fraternity and sorority life will be under the same guidelines, with recruitment operating virtually.
Hansen and Reams said student behavior and voluntary compliance with the UI’s guidelines will be important for the upcoming semester, and the university intends for participation to instill peer-to-peer empowerment.
“We have to expect this of each other and of our community,” Reams said. “We need to depend on each other.”
