September 7, 2021
Dear Students,
Happy second week of school! I hope you are all settling in, enjoying being on campus, and getting connected to your faculty, peers, and community at Scripps in a way that feels nourishing and supportive. I write as a follow-up to President Marcus-Newhall’s community message sent on Monday, August 30th with reminders and updates about Scripps COVID-19 Protocol. This is a long email. Please take the time to read this email carefully and thoughtfully.
Scripps College COVID-19 Dashboard
In the coming week the College will share the new Scripps College COVID-19 Dashboard. The dashboard will include the number of tests administered by the College and number of positive cases disaggregated by students and employees, and the number of available student isolation and quarantine spaces.
Weekly Screening Testing
President Marcus-Newhall announced on August 30th an update to the Scripps College testing protocol, ALL vaccinated students, faculty, and staff will be tested once a week beginning this week. Unvaccinated students, faculty, and staff will be tested twice a week. To comply with this requirement, all students, faculty, and staff must download the Healthfully app.
All Scripps COVID screening test scheduling will be done through the Healthfully app. All testing for Scripps College scheduled by Scripps will be located at the College’s COVID testing center, located at the 240 House on 11th Street. Scripps’ Weekly Testing Center is for screening testing only.
The testing center will be expanding its service to include drop-in testing times for students over the next few weeks. If you have any questions regarding testing, please contact Scripps Testing. If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have been identified as a close contact, please follow the directions below for symptomatic testing or guidance from Student Health Services (SHS) Contact Tracers.
Same-Day Testing
In addition to the weekly required regular screening testing at Scripps, all Scripps students can visit one of the three Student Health Services (SHS) Testing Sites to get tested without an appointment. Below are the testing sites and times:
- Tranquada Center, NE Patio: Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am – 4:30pm, Closed for lunch from noon to 1:00pm daily
- Pomona College, Walker Hall: Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am – 4:30pm, Saturday-Sunday 10am – 2pm
- Harvey Mudd College, Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons East Patio: Monday – Friday 7:30am – 4:30pm, Closed for lunch from noon to 1:00pm daily
More information about how to prepare for your test can be found on the SHS Screening page or you can watch this short video. If you experience any problems with testing at SHS, please reach out to me directly.
Symptomatic Testing
Any student, regardless of vaccination status, who is experiencing COVID-like symptoms should make an appointment at Student Health Services (SHS) immediately by calling (909) 621-8222. Students should schedule an appointment to see a provider to discuss their symptoms and get a COVID test. A SHS provider will provide guidance on next steps. We are approaching cold and flu season; students may experience symptoms that are not related to COVID; however, we suggest making an appointment with SHS to have a provider assess symptoms.
Isolation
As I shared with our community on August 23rd, any student regardless of vaccination status, who tests positive, will be required to isolate. The College has acquired isolation and quarantine spaces adjacent to the College. All students in isolation will receive support from many departments across campus. SHS will provide daily medical monitoring and check-ins; Malott Commons will be delivering food daily; and the student’s Primary Contact Dean will work with each student to ensure they are connected to their faculty and other support and resources during their time in isolation. Students who test positive for COVID-19 will immediately enter the contact tracing process through SHS to identify and notify close contacts.
If a student tests positive that student will be contacted by the location where they received the test. If a student has tested at SHS or the Scripps testing center, they will receive a call with further instructions from the provider. The Dean on-call (DOC) will also be notified. The DOC will work with the student to move them efficiently and quickly to an isolation space. A student should pack all items they will need for 10-12 days while they will be in isolation. As stated above, food will be delivered by Malott Commons. If a student gets a COVID test at an off-campus location and they received a positive result, they should call the DOC immediately to begin the process in moving to isolation space.
Modified Quarantine and Quarantine
An update to the College’s quarantine and isolation protocols is any asymptomatic and vaccinated student who has been named a close contact with someone positive for COVID-19 will be put on modified quarantine status per guidance released from LACDPH on August 6.
Students on modified quarantine will:
- Be able to stay in their current residence, attend class and other functions essential to academics, attend appointments at SHS, and pick up food from Malott Commons or the mobile pickup station,
- Not move around campus except for attending to the above functions,
- Be able to use shared bathrooms,
- Remain masked at all times except when brushing teeth, showering, actively drinking and eating, or when sleeping,
- Not be able to participate in any social events on or off campus,
- Be expected to get a COVID Test from SHS when indicated, usually between 3-5 days after exposure, and
- Follow all guidance from SHS and the College.
If the test comes back negative, students will be released from modified quarantine per SHS approval. If the test comes back positive, the student will be immediately moved into a College isolation space.
If a vaccinated student has symptoms, they will be required to quarantine in the College’s isolation and quarantine location. As with students in isolation, they will be monitored by SHS, receive support from their PCD, and receive food from Malott Commons. Students will be expected to get a COVID test from SHS when indicated. Students will be released from SHS upon assessment of symptoms.
All unvaccinated students who have been a close contact with a person positive with COVID-19 or symptomatic will be moved into a quarantine space. Students will be expected to get a COVID test from SHS when indicated, usually between 3-5 days after exposure. If the test is negative, students will be required to stay in quarantine for the duration of the recommended quarantine time (10 – 12 days). If the unvaccinated student tests positive for COVID-19, they will be considered in isolation and immediately enter the contact tracing process by SHS to identify and notify close contacts.
Close Contact
A student will be considered a “close contact” if they have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Exposure is defined as being within six (6) feet of someone with COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period; or being exposed to bodily fluids with someone with COVID-19. Exposure to bodily fluids includes coughs or sneezes and saliva from sharing a drink or utensils or kissing.
Masks and Face Covering
In Los Angeles County, individuals two years of age and older must wear a mask in all indoor places (including indoor/outdoor classrooms), whether they have been vaccinated or not. Masks are not required inside a student’s individual residence hall room, suite, or apartment. Those areas are considered your “household.” Any 7C student visiting a Scripps College residential hall must wear a mask at all times.
Per the most recent LACDPH guidance, masks will be required for all large outdoor public gatherings. As we continue to monitor the transmission rates in LA county, the College strongly encourages students to wear masks outside when they cannot adequately keep their distance. Please keep a mask with you at all times; it is better to be prepared!
Monitoring Your Health
As we approach cold and flu season, students might experience symptoms that would normally be attributed to cold and flu but are now read as COVID-19 symptoms. If you begin to experience any symptoms, the first and most important thing to do is to remain calm. I want to remind our entire community; we have close to 99% vaccination rate at all of the Claremont Colleges; chances are much higher that symptoms are from a diagnosis other than COVID-19.
If any student is experiencing any COVID-like symptoms there are three options to get access to support, care, and medical recommendations.
- Students can call Scripps College Nurse triage line at (909) 308-2711. The nurse triage is available daily from 7:00am – 8:00pm Monday – Friday and from 9:00am – 2:00pm on Saturday and Sunday. The Scripps College nurse will be able help students evaluate symptoms and advise on testing. Based on assessment of symptoms, the nurse triage will advise the student on next steps for testing and/or isolation or quarantine. The nurse will provide any necessary update to the College via the Dean on-call, so students are supported in adhering to the recommendation.
- Students can contact Student Health Services (SHS) on weekdays to schedule an appointment to see a provider to discuss their symptoms and get a COVID test. If a student received a test from a SHS test tent COVID and do not see a provider, the student will not receive a medical evaluation regarding symptoms. Based on assessment of symptoms, a SHS provider will advise the student on isolation or quarantine and provide an update to the College via the Dean on-call so students are supported in adhering to the recommendation.
- Students will receive test results in real time from the lab process for all COVID-19 tests for the Claremont Colleges, usually in less than 24 hours. If a student receives a positive test result, they should contact the Dean on-call immediately to inform the DOC of the test result and begin the process to move into isolation.
- Students can also contact to 7C.Healthand speak to a telehealth provider. A 7C.Health provider will assess the student’s symptoms and discuss next steps. When calling 7C.Health it is important to get all recommendations and ask for next steps. That information must be shared with the Dean on-call so they can support the student in taking the next recommended steps.
Per the Scripps College Community Compact, all students were required to sign upon arrival to campus, students are expected to conduct themselves responsibly and exercise diligence in the risk reduction strategies outlined in the compact. As policies and guidance are updated, students must familiarize themselves with those policies as they will be held accountable to them. More information can be found at the Scripps Strong website and the Guide to Student Life.
Support Services
I encourage each student to review our Student Resources Guide which outlines a number of support services available at Scripps and the Claremont consortium.
The Scripps Strong support series starts on September 9th. The series will take place throughout the fall and support students in the transition to college, navigating social environment, self-care, and other topics as it relates to holistic student success. For more information and to register for the first workshop on September 9, visit this link or contact Dean Simone Hicks.
Primary Contact Dean
Every student is assigned to a Primary Contact Dean (PCD) based on the student’s last name. Primary Contact Deans are an excellent source of information to answer questions, both big and small. I encourage every student to take the time to get to know your PCD, attend their office hours, and never think twice about reaching out for support or if you have a question.
I am also here for support! The first Dean of Student office hours of the fall semester will be Thursday September 16th from 5:00 – 6:00 pm. Be on the lookout for more information!
And finally, thank you to all of you! It has been so amazing to see how our students have returned to campus putting care of our community and each other first. Many of you have shared with me that is so wonderful to be back, but it also takes a lot to get used to being around so many people and navigating the Colleges’ social environment. I encourage each and every one of you to take it slow and do what feels best for you. Take a breath, take a pause, reach out for support and care, we are in this together.
In Community,
Dean di Bartolo-Beckman
Interim Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students