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Santiago Barreto

Harvey Mudd Eases COVID Restrictions, Increases Maximum Gathering Size From 10 To 20

A policy update from Dean Marco Valenzuela sent to Harvey Mudd students yesterday announced that Harvey Mudd will be moving into Tier 2 of the college’s three-tier social protocol system. This entails an easing of restrictions on social gatherings put in place to combat COVID-19. Most significantly, the college will now allow social gatherings of up to 20 people, as opposed to 10 people, which was the gathering limit up until today.

Private parties with 20-60 people are now authorized if they are registered with the Office of Campus Life, and 1C parties of up to 100 Mudders are allowed if registered with the Social Directors.

Additionally, off-campus guests are now permitted, if they are registered through the HMC Off-Campus Guest Registration Form. All guests are required to submit proof of Covid-19 vaccination and a negative test taken no more than 4 days before arrival, and each student can only host one overnight guest or up to two day guests at a time.

Nevertheless, various restrictions remain, such as the ban on food and drink sharing and bar openings. Moreover, “all social events must be outdoors and masked if not actively eating or drinking.” Everyone attending social gatherings are still required to scan QR codes. Social gatherings are still banned inside suites. And, in accordance with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, masks are still required indoors if not actively eating or drinking. And Harvey Mudd still “strongly encourages masks outdoors if not actively eating or drinking.”

The updated protocols come a week after The Claremont Colleges announced the return of 5C activities and parties. Harvey Mudd is the only college of the consortium that, for the time being, will not host a 5C party or allow its students to attend parties hosted by the other colleges.

Despite the corresponding backlash from students regarding last week’s announcement of the return of consortium-wide events, Mudders may still not attend the other 4C’s parties as of today. However, today’s email from Dean Marco states that “the decision will be re-evaluated the week after the first 4C party, as we continue to monitor the cases in the consortium, as well as the comfort levels of our students.”

Earlier this week, ASHMC sent out a survey to all Harvey Mudd students inquiring about their comfort levels regarding the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. From a scale from 1 (least comfortable) to 5 (most comfortable), 5 won in every category regarding all reopening criteria. While there was some hesitancy among students regarding some aspects of reopening such as sharing food, a large percentage of students at Mudd are very comfortable with reopening.

The results of this survey were considered largely in Harvey Mudd easing its Covid-19 restrictions. “[Associated Students of Harvey Mudd College’s] Senate and [Student COVID Advisory Board] will also continue sending out surveys to guide future policy discussions, and are currently hoping to send the next one out in mid-October to gauge student comfort levels after a couple weeks in Tier 2.”

 

Image Credit: Harvey Mudd College

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