Franklin is a community defined by openness, acceptance of diversity, and experiential Liberal Arts education offered to students from around the world. The situation in Ukraine is heartbreaking and I invite students who are affected by it to reach out to an OSL staff member or another faculty/staff member if you would like to talk.
This week is the week before the Academic Travel period and students are encouraged to practice a healthy lifestyle: eat nutritious meals, get plenty of rest, and to take precautions in an effort to remain healthy. Students are reminded to reach out for support from campus resources, including: the Writing and Learning Center (WLC), Library staff, University Counselor, Coordinator of Student Medical Services and Well-Being, and other faculty/staff available to provide support and expertise.
Two positive cases of COVID-19 were reported last week by individuals who were present on campus during the five days before their diagnosis. Individuals who had close contact without masks were identified during the contact tracing and asked to follow these instructions, get a COVID test (a Rapid Antigen COVID test is FREE by scheduling one at a local pharmacy), monitor their symptoms, and wear a mask at all times. Franklin students who test positive must present a negative COVID test result to medicalservices@fus.edu before returning to class, campus buildings, or campus activities. Franklin employees must submit a negative COVID test result to VP Tomaso Rizzi before returning to campus.
Students without fever who may be experiencing allergies or slight cold symptoms may attend classes but must be vigilant about wearing FFP2 masks and adhere strictly to hygiene rules: social distancing and frequent hand washing/sanitizing. As mentioned last week, in order to protect our communitythrough Academic Travel and our community’s return to campus after travel, Franklin continues to mandate FFP2/KN95/N95 masks in all classrooms, meeting spaces (conference rooms, offices, etc.), libraries, auditorium, and shared offices until March 31, 2022. A 3g COVID certificate is required for entrance to the Tone Athletic Center (TAC) and either a 3g certificate or a mask requirement is in place for campus events and programs until March 31, 2022.
The community update messages will continue after we return from the Academic Travel period.