The General Board Meeting started at 8:01 pm on February 9th, 2022.
Reports & Presentations
Dean of Students Jonathan Davis started the meeting, speaking on changes to university COVID-19 policy in the new semester. Rapid tests will be available throughout the semester. Currently, Davis is trying to work out the best way to distribute these tests to students. Tests are available periodically in the theater lobby, but they should be available to pick up 24 hours a day from Public Safety. NVU is asking students to test upon returning from the winter break.
Davis also mentioned reduced seating in Stevens Dining Hall to allow only four people per table. This decision came from both Sodexo and NVU-Lyndon on how to combat the Omicron variant. Should cases go down in the next couple of months, Davis says seating capacity will be the first thing reevaluated.
Before accepting questions from the student body, he ended his briefing by mentioning that cases and deaths are going down and the university is hopeful for a “normal” spring.
Student Curtis Bates asked if the mask mandate would be lifted this semester. Davis responded by mentioning that before the Fall 2021 semester the university planned on no mask mandate. As cases started to rise, however, a mandate was implemented. “We are still in a high transmission area, so we base our evaluation on county case count,” Davis says. The university will not reevaluate the mandate until more students have had the required COVID booster, either. According to Davis, the number of students who have received the booster shot is not where it should be, and he’s waiting for the percentage to reach more towards 95%. Davis went on to say there’s still have a way to go before county rates go down enough to consider removing the mask mandate.
Twilight Players Representative Jasmyn Wilkinson asked, “Because Johnson and Lyndon are in two different counties, say one county is doing better than the other, would we all still be required to mask up?” Davis said there are several employees that go back and forth between the campuses, so there might be a correlation, but a situation like that would be out of his hands.
Aaron Florence brought up the controversy surrounding the booster shot, questioning why the school has a booster mandate. Davis stated it is known that the booster shot reduces an individual’s risk of death. He continued to ask “Why aren’t we taking natural immunity into account?” and cited the CDC saying “an individual has 90 days of immunity after infection.” Davis restated that the guidance the Vermont State Colleges were given was “full vaccination is the way to go” and that is what they are sticking with.
Hearing this debate, John Currier, the Campus Activities Board Representative, inquired if wearing masks would still be allowed if the mandate is lifted. “Some students are immunocompromised,” he said, including himself. Davis thinks masks are here to stay, and that they will become commonplace everywhere.
Although the university is not requiring double masks, it is recommended. The mask kiosks across campus are being restocked with 3-ply masks as often as possible to meet student needs. Davis told the SGA another order was placed for more. One student in attendance questioned why KN95 masks were not being distributed, to which Davis said it is hard to source those masks in large quantities.
Questions about quarantine housing also came up. NVU and the VSCS have adopted the newly recommended 5-day isolation period. Davis said there are no capacity issues with isolation housing, so all students that have COVID-19 on campus will continue to be moved to the Whitelaw and Crevecoeur residence halls.
Alexandra Huff, a senior, questioned why the student body stopped receiving emails reporting the COVID case count. Davis said they are only reporting the case count to the NVU website as a way to try to maintain some normalcy unless there’s a large breakout.
As of February 9, there have been 48 positive COVID cases across both campuses. This number includes cases of students, staff, and faculty working and residing on campus before the spring semester began. Only 20% of those cases have been since the first day of classes.
Florence once again spoke up, asking if administration was “aware of the decrease in attendance due to the vaccination policy.” Davis reminded the SGA that the school has given students an exemption option. SGA Vice President Katie Flannigan also countered, challenging that there would also be a decrease in attendance if there was no vaccine requirement as immunocompromised students would be hesitant to attend.
After the COVID-19 discussion, Davis announced Katie Campbell was hired as the new Assistant Director of Student Life focusing on student activities. She will be working with clubs, SGA, and CAB to create programming on campus. She is revitalizing NVUnity, the school’s LGBTQ+ club, and is looking to host a pride parade in April. Her office is on the second floor of the Rita Bole Complex.
In addition, Flannigan is putting together a Spring Day Committee. Anyone interested in serving on this committee or who would like to nominate an individual is encouraged to email her or the SGA. She would love to have as many people on campus involved as possible to make the 4-day celebration as eventful as possible.
The Winter Ball is finally here! This Friday, students will be gathering at Burke Mountain from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm for the SGA-sponsored semiformal dance. The SGA has already paid for a DJ and a photo booth. Tickets are selling for $5, and if you cannot afford the ticket, the Student Government will cover the cost no questions asked. Any NVU-Lyndon student is welcome to buy tickets and fully vaccinated guests are also welcome.
The SGA has $42,726.71 available for spending, with a total of $73,916.95 in the account.
Discussion & Action Items
The Critic updated the club’s constitution, changing general points and grammatical errors. Word choice has also been changed to accommodate the upcoming system merger. The Critic also created a tie-breaking clause and an emergency clause. Voting to approve the constitutional amendments was taken and approved by the Student Government.