On March 20, 2021, Res life emailed Montclair residents informing them that our bubble has been broken due to a rise in COVID cases. Beginning March 21st, no visitors from outside of a residence hall, including other buildings, were permitted until Sunday, April 11th. Additionally, students who failed to get a covid test were notified that they would be removed from the residence hall. However, April 9th rolled around and Montclair residents received another email saying there will be no guests allowed until further notice. 

ALL residents get a PCR test every 2 weeks and 2 rapid tests the week they don't receive the PCR test. However, there are still plenty of people coming and going on campus. This includes tour groups and commuters. They do not get tested and they can easily infect others causing a spike in cases. There are LARGE tour groups around campus, and multiple students have seen large tour groups going into Bohn Hall and Machuga Heights. Why must residents fill out a mandatory form just to leave campus, but commuters and tour groups can freely roam around campus?

I believe if residents get tested every week they should be able to go into each other's dorms. If there is a spike in cases, there should be stricter monitoring. ALL resident halls should be treated the same, including the village and apartments. Students who are being placed in quarantine should be following quarantine guidelines. It should not be difficult for them to get 3 meals each day. If Montclair truly wants to slow down the spread, they can put students into Bohn Hall to quarantine.

Montclair should allow residence students to sign in guests (especially guests who live on campus because they get tested every week). If one wants to sign in a guest from outside, they should present a negative COVID test when they arrive.