As you know, for the health and safety of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to hold Fall 2020 courses online.
One question we considered carefully was whether or not to provide on-campus dining services during the fall semester.
Our pandemic response team, together with the executive leadership team and our student affairs staff, has determined that we do not have enough demand—even among residential students—to provide affordable dining services this fall.
Due to the low numbers of students, faculty, and staff on campus and the prohibition on catered events, our best option came to an average of $19 per meal with a requirement that all students opt in for daily lunch service. Most of our residential students prefer to cook their own meals, so we determined that not only was this too expensive, but also not a good fit.
We know this might pose a hardship for some, so we will continue to work with all students to ensure their needs are met. The food shelf will be stocked as usual, and we have grocery gift cards available. Bockman Hall residents have access to its kitchen and “kitchenettes,” located on the first and third floors, which are being sanitized regularly with our enhanced cleaning protocols.
We will be monitoring this situation closely as the pandemic unfolds and plans for future semesters are brought into focus.