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Lifting Recent COVID Restrictions

February 27, 2021

Dear Campus Community, 

Last weekend, the university implemented a set of urgent interventions in response to a concerning rise in COVID-19 cases within our community. We recognize that these measures created challenges for many of our students - both physically and mentally - and we want to express our sincere gratitude for your compliance and ongoing commitment to stop the spread of COVID-19. It is our collective work that will help end this pandemic. 

Thanks to cooperation from our community, the number of positive cases on our campus has slowed and our daily positivity rate from the last three days of major testing was approximately 1%. As a result, the sequester-in-place order will be lifted effective today, Saturday, February 27 at noon.  We will continue to actively monitor the situation and intervene appropriately as needed, including requiring additional testing in areas where we may observe increased viral transmission.  

In-person instruction will resume on Monday, March 1, for those courses with a classroom component.

Indoor gatherings will be restricted to 10 persons and outdoor gatherings will be limited to 25 persons, at no more than 1 person per 200 square feet in either case. However, physical distancing and proper mask-wearing are still required regardless of the location and size of a gathering.

Stamp Student Union, including the University Book Center, and RecWell facilities will remain closed through the weekend and will reopen on Monday, March 1. RecWell activities will be supervised and conducted within participant capacity limits. Reservations for informal recreation and limited programming may be made beginning at 6 a.m. on Sunday, February 28.

Dining Services and Stamp will continue to offer grab-and-go dining options only.

Holding our community accountable
While we are now able to lift the sequester-in-place restrictions, our fight against this pandemic is not over. COVID remains present within our community. We do not take this issue lightly, and we have and will continue to impose significant consequences for community members who fail to abide by the 4 Maryland protocols. 

Since the beginning of the Fall 2020 semester, there have been nearly 600 referrals made to the Office of Student Conduct for potential COVID-19 violations. Students have lost housing privileges and we have issued more than 30 interim suspensions. In collaboration with the university, the City of College Park has significantly increased its compliance activities, resulting in over 250 warnings and municipal infractions for violations of noise and gathering limits, and assessing over $35,000 in fines. 

If you witness behavior that could put our community at risk, please notify the university by submitting concerns to the ethics, compliance and integrity website. 

Spring Break reminders
Spring Break will proceed as planned, March 14-21, 2021. We hope this mid-semester recess will provide our community with a mental health break we all need, even as we continue to remain vigilant to mitigate the spread of the virus in and beyond our community. No matter what you choose to do for Spring Break, you must be vigilant and follow public health guidance. If you choose to travel you must follow state requirements for travel and continue to practice all of the 4 Maryland behaviors. They remain our best defense to protect ourselves, our community and our loved ones.

As a reminder, the two weeks of instruction immediately following Spring Break -- March 22-April 2, 2021 -- will be conducted online and students must limit their movement as much as possible upon returning to campus. All students living in residence halls and any student who elects to travel for Spring Break are required to submit a negative PCR-based COVID test before returning to campus. All students are required to get a COVID-19 test as soon as possible after their arrival, confirm their results online and continue to be tested every two weeks. If you have not done so already, please make your COVID-19 test appointment for your return.

Thank you again for your commitment to keeping yourselves and each other safe. 

 

Darryll J. Pines
President

Spyridon S. Marinopoulos, MD, FACP
Director, University Health Center
Chief Medical Officer

About

The University of Maryland, College Park is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 40,700 students, 14,000 faculty and staff, and nearly 400,000 alumni all dedicated to the pursuit of Fearless Ideas. Located just outside Washington, D.C., we discover and share new knowledge every day through our renowned research enterprise and programs in academics, the arts and athletics. And we are committed to social entrepreneurship as the nation’s first “Do Good” campus.

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Academics

Spanning 12 schools and colleges, Maryland offers more than 300 degree-granting programs, many of them ranked among the best in the country. Our faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 58 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. And our students, who include the highest achievers in the state and nation, enjoy experiences unique to our location just outside the nation’s capital, including internships, research, and leadership and service opportunities.

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Research and Innovation

The University of Maryland is one of the world’s premier research institutions. With our strategic location and scores of partnerships with government and businesses, UMD conducts groundbreaking research on some of the biggest challenges facing our global community, including cybersecurity and terrorism, bioengineering, public health equity, food safety and climate change. We strive to discover new knowledge and put it to work through innovation and entrepreneurship, advancing economic development and transforming lives. 

The newly launched Innovation Gateway will guide you to the resources, programs, partners, and spaces you need to activate and scale your fearless ideas into innovations that launch new ventures, catalyze growth, and advance economic development.

Arts

At the University of Maryland, the arts, the humanities and the sciences intersect to address important societal issues and shed new light on the human experience. Our vibrant campus arts community collaborates with local and national cultural organizations such as the Phillips Collection, Kennedy Center and Folger Shakespeare Library. Student and faculty artists, designers, historians, writers and performers are exploring new media, presenting new perspectives, investigating new techniques and engaging new audiences.

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Athletics

Home of the Terrapins, the University of Maryland has one of the nation’s most recognizable and successful athletics programs. More than 550 student-athletes compete each year in 20 intercollegiate sports—12 for women and eight for men. Since 2005 alone, Maryland has won 19 national championships, including NCAA titles in women’s basketball, men’s soccer, men's lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, and field hockey. Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014, UMD has won a combined 32 regular season and tournament championships. Fear the Turtle!

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The Terp experience extends beyond classrooms, labs and studios. It encompasses residence halls and dining halls, clubs and sports, fraternities and sororities, campus events and performances, and countless off-campus destinations. Maryland touts 800-plus student organizations, dozens of prestigious living and learning communities, and countless other ways to get involved. Students here can create a unique identity and grow as individuals, even as they’re part of a close-knit and diverse community. 

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Keep Learning! Earn up to four credits in just three weeks. Courses offered on campus or anywhere online. Meet your goals with University of Maryland’s Winter Session, January 2-22, 2024. Learn more at winter.umd.edu.

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Terps are bold, smart, curious and proud. We do good, in our communities and out in the world. We are fearless. And we are always looking to expand our ranks. Interested in becoming a University of Maryland student? This is where to start.

 

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