To the University of Rochester Community:
Normally, at this time of year I’d be sending a message welcoming undergraduates back, and wishing everyone a successful spring semester. But as we’ve all learned, this is no normal year. And even as we try to carry on, lives remain upended and restricted. Parents are juggling changes in work life and childcare. Teachers are navigating new educational models. And frontline healthcare workers are pulling double shifts to save lives. Meanwhile, universal vaccination remains a distant goal as the pandemic continues to govern most facets of our lives.
Still, with each passing day, we draw closer to returning to the lives we knew before the pandemic. But for now, we must continue to be vigilant, resilient, and responsible to our collective health and safety by adhering to our COVID-19 Community Commitment. That means we must be resolute in wearing our masks and maintaining social distancing guidelines.
Already, in our first full week of the spring semester, we have seen an uptick of positive COVID-19 cases among River Campus undergraduates, and a corresponding increase in exposure quarantines and isolations. We believe this is largely the result of lax adherence to our public health guidelines brought on by the fatigue we are all feeling about adhering to those guidelines. We all miss the company of friends and colleagues. And we’re all tired of the constraints on our behavior. But the alternative is exposing the people we care about – and ourselves – to a life-threatening illness. More than that, not following the guidelines has the effect of diminishing and undermining the heroic efforts and sacrifices being made by our URMC colleagues to put this pandemic behind us.
So, I ask everyone – students, faculty, and staff – to recommit to these necessary safety precautions. As we do, let’s also be mindful of our community and our place in it. We’re all in this together, and we can draw strength from each other. We’ll need that strength to endure in these trying times.
Despite the necessary constraints we’re now living with, I hope the next few months bring you the promise and rewards the University of Rochester has always enjoyed in the spring: the joy of intellectual discovery and growth; the support of colleagues, classmates, and friends; and the satisfaction of a job well done. We are not back to normal quite yet, but we have cause to be optimistic, as long as we stay vigilant now.
Meliora,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor