President Sarah Mangelsdorf announced Friday that the University will conduct hybrid commencement exercises on the weekends of May 14–16 and 21–23 that will prioritize in-person participation for our current campus community of eligible graduates, faculty, and staff. All commencement events will be streamed live online for family and friends to remotely share in the graduates’ special day. Any graduate unable to participate in-person will be able to join virtually. Mangelsdorf also outlined planning efforts to offer in-person celebrations for the Class of 2020 at a future date. Read President Mangelsdorf’s message to the University community.

The deadline for seniors to make changes to their academic record and have these changes reviewed for graduation and be reflected in the commencement program is Monday, April 12. Changes include but are not limited to:

• Major or minor declarations and degree changes (BA/BS)
• Changes in major or minor requirements (to be submitted by academic department)
• Drop a major or minor
• Cluster changes
• Preferred name changes
• Classification into or out of the senior class

Subject specific and general study space rooms are now available for additional hours each week. View the schedule or request a private room for an appointment or meeting.

This message may seem to run counter to all of the recent positive news regarding the number of COVID-19 cases heading toward record lows, including those in the greater Rochester area. However, on the River Campus, the number of positive cases among undergraduate students has been comparatively high, and this is a continued concern when it comes to the health and safety of all University community members, as well as being able to successfully complete the in-person spring semester. UHS believes these positive cases are mostly attributable to small clusters of activities, which are actively being addressed. However, there are definitely actions to take that will support a quicker recovery and return to less worrisome numbers.

First, data from the positive cases indicates that students who tend to gather together off-campus are the ones who are exposing themselves to less controlled environments and have a higher likelihood of infection. These off-campus activities include hanging out at restaurants and bars and attending parties where the enforcement of masking and social distancing measures is minimally done. Therefore, please take care of your own well-being when off-campus by wearing a mask and limiting your closeness to others. And better yet, avoid off-campus places where you know there is very little compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures.

Second, students being honest and forthcoming about their whereabouts and interactions in the contact tracing process is incredibly important. When UHS has accurate information to go on, the process of containing COVID-19 exposures is very efficient. However, when contact tracers are forced to puzzle together the pieces of a case based on inconsistent information, the process is time-consuming and truly jeopardizes the well-being of all University community members. Students’ cooperation and honesty in answering contact tracing questions is viewed positively by the University and is the most important part of the process. If students are concerned that they may have violated COVID-19 protocols and are worried about the consequences, it should be clear that most cases will result in only a disciplinary warning and will not become part of a student’s conduct record. Intentionally providing incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading information may result in more severe conduct consequences.

The big message here is to hang in there and keep making smart decisions, which the majority of students are already doing. The safety precautions in place at the University—face masking, social distancing, surveillance testing, and the daily Dr. Chat Bot health screening—continue to be a critical part of keeping the in-person experience going. If you are experiencing loneliness or are personally struggling with an issue and need to speak with someone, reach out to the University Counseling Center for help.