Dear Students,

Thank you again for your continued cooperation and good work in helping to keep members of the Brown and local communities healthy and safe — our highest shared priority as we continue to work together to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 positivity rates for students continue to be very low. Your commitment to basic but critical public health guidelines — mask wearing, hand washing, social distancing, gathering size limits and testing participation — continues to be instrumental in our success. We know it is not always easy, and we are grateful for your actions to help protect our community. 

Today, I am writing with some information about upcoming events and reminders about where to find campus policies and resources. 

Opportunities and Upcoming Events 

More spaces have started to open on campus for study and informal gathering consistent with the COVID-19 Campus Safety Policy. To learn more about these spaces, please refer to our Oct. 5 message to the full campus on how to access space. In addition, the Nelson Fitness Center recently reopened, and is available for use by reservation, as have other outdoor recreation facilities.

There are a number of events on the horizon, including for Halloween and the November 3 election. Watch for details about University-sponsored Halloween events including a movie on the green, a virtual midnight organ concert, costume and pumpkin- carving contests, and treats under the tents. 

Many departments and offices will be hosting events related to the upcoming election, and more information about these will be shared next week. Among a number of resources related to the election, Brown Votes — a student organization that works in close partnership with the Swearer Center — offers an excellent nonpartisan voting resource for students. On the evening of Election Day, staff across many areas of the University will be on campus — we want you to feel confident that if you need assistance, a significant number of staff will be present and available.

You can also find event information on academic department and center webpages, Today@Brown, the Brown Campus Life Instagram (@browncampuslife) — which includes a digest of events for the week on Mondays — and the Brown University Instagram (@Brownu).

Policies, Guidelines and Resources

As a reminder, Brown’s Campus Activity Status remains at Level 2. At this level, dining and socializing in pods (stable groups of 5 or fewer students or the number of your immediate room, suite or apartment mates) is allowed without a mask. However, you should be especially careful to wear a mask outside of your pod and avoid crossing pods without a mask and social distancing. 

We have received some reports of social gatherings larger than the gathering size currently authorized by University policy, each of which is reviewed by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. We want to remind you — especially as Halloween weekend approaches — that you may not host or participate in gatherings of more than 5 people (or your immediate room, suite or apartment mates if greater than 5) unless you are attending a University-sponsored event.

In addition, all students should continue to avoid commercial establishments except for essentials like takeout food, groceries and medicine — and most importantly, do not go to bars or to establishments with indoor dining. Brown strongly urges all members of the University community, including students, to avoid all non-essential personal travel. At this time, students who must leave campus to travel outside of Rhode Island for emergency or essential purposes must first check in with Student Support Services for guidance on the protocol for returning to campus. Consult this Travel-Related Guidance for Undergraduate Students for more details. 

We understand that navigating relationships and dynamics within your pod is not always easy. Residential Peer Leaders (RPLs), Area Coordinators, staff in BWell Health Promotion, and staff in the Community Dialogue Project can work with you to manage challenges by practicing effective communication skills and building your confidence in having conversations that can be difficult. 

We also know this can be a challenging time during the semester under typical circumstances, and this is far from a typical term. If you need general personal support, deans in Student Support Services are an excellent place to start. Our colleagues in The College are available to provide academic support, and Counseling and Psychological Services and the University Chaplains are important support resources as well.

Thank you again for all of your efforts. Please continue to look for opportunities to engage safely in-person as well as virtually, and remember that we are here to support you at any point you might need assistance.

Sincerely,
Eric Estes
Vice President for Campus Life