“By removing the pressure of final grades, we can channel our collective energy into encouraging adventurous writing and sustaining our classroom communities in virtual spaces,” the announcement wrote.
According to the new policy, students who receive need-based financial aid, have already worked durinb the Spring 2020 term, and will not be working at the University, either in person or remotely, through the end of the term are eligible to be paid normal wages.
According to the update, University Health Services (UHS) is aware of 36 students and 17 employees who have been tested for COVID-19 as of 4 p.m. Out of the 53 tests the University is aware of, 15 have returned positive, eight have returned negative, and 30 are currently pending results.
This is not this Bridge Year group’s first major disruption. The students originally planned to spend their time in Bolivia but were relocated from Tiquipaya in November following a controversial, contested election result and “significant civil unrest” nearby.
Violating the order could result in fines or imprisonment.
The sixth Princeton resident to test positive recently returned from a trip to Spain and developed symptoms while in isolation in the United States. The seventh was a “close contact” of an attendee of the Feb. 29 house party affiliated with all other positive test results in Princeton.
The Princeton Health Department is “in the process of identifying and contacting all those who may have come in contact with the infected person,” according to their release.
The University has canceled 2020 Reunions amid COVID-19 concerns. No decisions has been made regarding Commencement and other end of year celebrations for the class of 2020.
Room draw will now take place starting on Monday, April 6.
The petition outlines 16 demands, which seek to establish a “universal floor for all of the Princeton community members,” according to Hrishi Somayaji GS, one of the petition’s authors. Somayaji expressed hope that the University will standardize compensation and other policies across academic departments.
Though students will be permitted to P/D/F more than one class this semester, it is unclear whether classes currently designated non-P/D/F (npdf), such as writing seminars, foreign languages, and hundreds of other courses, will be required to transition to grading that allows for the P/D/F option.
Students were informed of this new policy at varying times by their individual departments, in some cases only a day before the deadline by which they were expected to move out of their dorms and leave campus.
As of today’s announcement, University Health Services (UHS) has tested three students. The first student tested in McCosh Health Center’s results came back negative yesterday. One of the students awaiting results is “currently self-isolating on campus at a UHS designated site,” while the other is “self-isolating at home.”
The student was exhibiting flu-like symptoms and was tested and immediately placed in self-isolation on March 11 due to what the University’s latest update called “an abundance of caution.”
Though the curfew is only a recommendation, all “non-essential retail, recreational, and entertainment businesses” will be forced to close after 8 p.m. each night.
On Sunday, a third University staff member tested positive for COVID-19, according to an exclusive statement to The Daily Princetonian from University Deputy Spokesperson Mike Hotchkiss.
Citing a declaration from the World Health Organization of COVID-19’s status as a pandemic and heightened alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University is recalling students from Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Kenya, Panama, the Middle East/North Africa region, Singapore, and South Africa.
On Saturday, March 14, Senior Associate Dean of the College Claire M. Fowler, wrote to the Class of 2020 regarding a change in the exemption status for senior thesis accommodations. “Only a small number of seniors who have been identified by their departments as having a critical need to access campus resources to complete their thesis requirement will be permitted to stay,” she wrote. “The key word here is ‘critical.’”
The first staff member had previously tested positive on Friday, March 13. Both of the staff members will remain in self-isolation, and the University stated it is “working to ensure they have the support and access to care that they need.”
Forced to monitor the evolving crises both in the United States and abroad, international students continue to grapple with unanswered questions, most pressingly whether they can and should stay on campus.
