LIZ ANASTASIADIS, Editor-in-Chief—As the weather begins to turn cooler, more indoor space is being opened to accommodate small group socializing, according to student development.
In a message sent out by Reopen Denison’s weekly update on Friday, October 2, it explained that small groups can gather indoors for meetings, events and activities by booking the space in advance. Available spaces include the Moonies, Slayter Auditorium, Shepardson College Room, Higley Auditorium and Slayter. Parties must be registered through the Party Registration System, with a maximum attendance of 30 people.
The email also explained that students can use their organizational spaces, (sorority/fraternity space, BSU, La Fuerza Latina, campus org office spaces, etc.), adhering to COVID capacities and by requesting access.
The campus, which is still enforcing strict travel restrictions banning travel from outside Granville, remains in it’s quarantine bubble.
Beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, October 2, all students were also permitted to socialize in one another’s residential hall rooms, according to University President Adam Weinberg. Campus-wide mass testing was administered by Denison’s Wellness Center during the last fifteen days. Testing happened in a phased approach by class year, starting with first-years and seniors. The tests were then sent to Vault Labs, a testing facility that checks not for antibodies but for the possibility of COVID in the patients saliva. Students got test results in around 72 hours.
The results, according to Denison’s public COVID-19 Dashboard, as of September 18-25, from two diagnostic tests and 1,087 signal tests that were administered, only had one positive result. As of October 4, 2020, one person remains in insolation and thirteen community members are in quarantine.
For more information, please refer to reopen.denison.edu.
EDITORS’ NOTE: This is a developing story. The Denisonian will follow up with any updates.