Students living on campus can now visit other residence halls this summer after officials loosened COVID-19 restrictions Saturday.
Residents can host an unlimited number of on-campus students with no time restrictions and new tap access to District House and Shenkman and South halls, the three buildings housing students this summer, according to an email sent to campus residents from Assistant Deans of Students Stewart Robinette and Seth Weinshel last week. The email states outside guests, like students living off campus this summer and people unaffiliated with GW, are still restricted from entering residence halls, except during move-in and move-out periods.
Students previously only received access to their own residence hall, and the change took effect Saturday at 8 a.m. – a day after most businesses were allowed to reopen to full capacity in the District. The officials said they’re confident students will continue to abide by campus health guidelines, and their “commitment” to campus health and pandemic-related safety measures have helped slow the spread of the coronavirus through the University community.
“The summer adjustment is contingent upon continued successful adherence by the majority of residents to the public health measures that have limited the rates of COVID-19 transmission on campus,” the email reads. “All guest restrictions will be reinstated if public health conditions warrant or compliance with the revised guidelines is not met.”
Guests are also prohibited in rooms where someone is under quarantine or isolation, according to the email. The email states students could receive University sanctions or a loss of housing if they violate GW’s guest policy regarding quarantine or isolation.
Officials said both non-residential students and their hosts will “likely” be referred for a policy violation for breaching guest rules at any time. They said they might tighten restrictions or restore the no-guest policy following “public health or behavioral assessments” of metrics like potential increases in violations or the COVID-19 transmission rate in D.C.
The email also states students’ COVID-19 vaccination status will determine how often they must get tested during the summer. Students can upload their vaccination documentation to the University’s medical portal and must complete that process by Aug. 1 to attain campus access for the fall.
The University’s mask mandate will remain in effect in residence halls this summer, and quiet hours will still be enforced from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the rest of the week, the email states.
