Luther College gives guidance to students about how they should handle Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving Break for Luther College students will run from Saturday, November 21st, through Sunday, November 29th.  Luther College Vice President for Mission and Communication Brad Chamberlain has posted online the school's advice to its students on how to handle the break.

As students consider their options for Thanksgiving Break, guidance from Luther's COVID Response Team (CRT), which takes into account information from the American College Health Association (ACHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been made available. Given the recent significant increase in daily COVID cases and test positivity rates in Winneshiek County, the CRT strongly recommends that all students limit their travel and in-person social interactions during break.  If possible, the CRT encourages students to remain on campus while discouraging all students from attending in-person gatherings, including those with families and friends. Additional support will be provided to students staying on campus throughout the break.

The cafeteria will be open throughout Thanksgiving Break, but other service locations on campus will be closed. All meals will be carryout only, and all seating in the cafeteria will be closed. Additionally, the Regents Center will be open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, November 23, through Wednesday, November 25. Dahl Centennial Union will be open 6 a.m.-8 p.m. on all days during the break. The Student Activities Office and Wellness will offer several programs, including geocaching, a Netflix watch party, a shopping shuttle in Decorah and other take and make activities. A full list of activities and resources will be posted on the Student Activities and Organizations events calendar.

If students leave campus for break, CRT encourages reducing their in-person social interactions TODAY in advance of Thanksgiving Break. Students should also limit in-person social interactions with those outside of their household while away from campus and should avoid in-person gatherings. Students should also plan their travel accordingly and limit their stops to and from campus. Furthermore, students choosing to leave campus for break should plan on bringing their class materials for Fall Quarter 2 with them in case they develop symptoms of COVID-19 or are exposed to someone with COVID-19 while they are away from campus and are unable to return to campus until the completion of an isolation or quarantine period.
    
All students should communicate their plans for Thanksgiving Break as soon as possible to the Residence Life Office by completing the form distributed by Hall Directors on Wednesday, November 4.

The format of classes (in-person or online) for Fall Quarter 2 will be announced on Monday, November 16. Decisions regarding class format will be guided by Luther College's system of COVID-19 indicators and alert levels and guidance from local, state, and federal public health agencies. At this time, we anticipate continuing with our tentative plan to begin Fall Quarter 2 with in-person classes and residential living on campus.

Full details of Luther's guidance can be found here.