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The old well in summerThe University will continue to start undergraduate in-person instruction on Monday Feb. 8, as planned, while allowing faculty the flexibility to stay with remote instruction this week, and begin in-person instruction on Feb. 17, following the wellness days on Feb. 15-16, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Bob Blouin wrote in a campus message Sunday. Faculty should communicate any temporary alterations in plans with their department chairs or deans and their students directly. Staff should continue their normal work schedule, as originally planned.

The decision came after hundreds of Carolina fans — many, presumably students — flooded Franklin Street to celebrate Carolina’s men’s basketball victory over Duke Saturday night. Guskiewicz and Blouin wrote that they made the decision after consulting with the deans of the College and professional schools representing the greatest number of courses scheduled to be taught in-person on campus. They agreed that the University needs to be flexible in its modes of instruction.

About the victory over Duke, Guskiewicz and Blouin wrote that “in any other year, this would be a typical, joyous occasion. Of course, this is not a typical year for our community. As we said in the Chancellor’s statement last night, this type of behavior is unsafe during this pandemic and creates health risks for our entire community. At the start of the Spring semester, our students agreed to adhere to our COVID-19 Community Standards that include following the state gathering limits, as well as wearing masks and physical distancing, and those standards do not include exceptions for winning basketball games.”

Student Affairs has already received hundreds of Student Conduct complaints, the pair wrote, adding that those leads will be evaluated and students found to have violated our COVID-19 Community Standards will be subject to developmental or disciplinary action.

The timing of Saturday night’s event with the start of in-person classes tomorrow created concern among students, faculty and staff.

“Our faculty and students have told us in-person instruction is still the preferred way to teach and learn,” Guskiewicz and Blouin wrote. “Today we spoke with our infectious disease and public health experts as well as Orange County Health Department officials and they continue to tell us that our campus COVID-19 mitigation tactics make our classrooms among the safest environments. That remains unchanged.”

The campus environment remains de-densified: Only 31% of Carolina’s undergraduate students will take one to two courses in-person, which will all be small class sizes and require masks and physical distance. All students who are scheduled to attend in-person classes are required to test twice weekly.

“We know the Carolina Together Testing Program is working to slow the spread of the virus,” the message continued. “We also know the vast majority of our students are practicing the 3-Ws and are doing their part to maintain a safe and healthy campus and community.

“As our nation prepares to end the first year of this historic and transformational pandemic, we find ourselves on the eve of positive trends: positivity rates, hospitalizations and deaths on the decline as America rolls out a robust vaccination program. We are, once again, asking our students, faculty, staff and our neighbors who call this area home to stay vigilant with the established safe practices — wear a mask, wash your hands and wait 6 feet apart. Get tested regularly and, as soon as you are able, get vaccinated. We can do this together.”

News courtesy of UNC’s The Well