As was laid out in the most recent email regarding fall residential and academic options for the beginning of the Fall semester, the University of Minnesota is reviewing a plan to postpone move-in and regularly scheduled in-person classes by at least two weeks. This plan was proposed, and rolled out in a manner that was counterintuitive to its intention. With only nine days separating the Board of Regents meeting and the first of the move and stay opportunities, this plan could have the inverse effect of forcing students to cancel airline tickets, return items previously bought for the purpose of bringing to their residence hall, and rearranging their own class schedule.

The MTest system which has been rolled out to attempt to mitigate an outbreak, while not foolproof, is a formidable fighter against COVID-19 on campus. We believe that the University of Minnesota is up to the challenge in taking on the virus, and we hereby request that you:

• Allow students who wish to cancel their housing contracts to do so, while allowing those who would wish to live on campus and accept the inherent risks of doing so in a pandemic to do so. 
• Require tests and isolation upon arrival of students on their regularly scheduled move-in date.
• Enforce a policy that would bar a student from entering a residence hall that is not their own.
• Continue to require mask usage until there is an immunization against COVID-19.

We truly appreciate everything that President Gabel and the Board of Regents have done to help our community navigate this emergency, however, with all the precautions that have already been set into place, we feel that this abrupt cancellation and closure is an unnecessary and redundant next step.