Easter Travel Recommendations

Dear SJC Residential Students,
This semester, we have encouraged you to remain on campus instead of traveling on weekends. Thank you to all who have succeeded in following this important guideline. We know the sacrifices you have made. We know that fatigue and restlessness is setting in.

Yet important as it is to many of us, the coming Easter weekend is no exception to our strong recommendation that you remain here, safer at SJC. Rapidly rising case counts across Maine and the country are increasing the risk of infection. Highly contagious and more dangerous variants are now among us. It is more critical than ever that we try to maintain our safe campus “bubble.” We are only six weeks from the end of the semester, and any outbreak has the potential to send everyone home and cancel in-person graduation.

Please think twice before leaving this weekend.

If you decide you must leave, we want to send you safely to your families. We also want your families to send you safely back to us. Therefore we ask you to follow these guidelines:

• You must be exit tested at the Health and Wellness Center on Friday before you leave campus.
• You will not be entry-tested upon your return, because a few days is not long enough for a test to show the presence of COVID-19 that you may have picked up while off campus. This is a very good reason to stay on campus and keep your residence hall safe.
• You will be tested again starting the middle of next week, which is the earliest our testing will identify positive cases from the weekend.
• If you leave campus on Thursday, come for a test next Tuesday.
• If you leave on Friday, get your test Wednesday.
• If you leave on Saturday, get your test Thursday.

Additionally, if you decide to go home, please take the utmost care. There is as much risk in having students leave for the weekend as there is at having a large party in a residence hall suite. Please wear your masks, try to maintain your distance, keep washing your hands frequently, and do not join large gatherings of people – especially inside. If you return to campus and begin feeling symptoms, make your way immediately to the Health and Wellness Center.

For those on campus, the following Easter rituals will be celebrated in person this week and over the weekend:

4/1 Holy Thursday Mass: 7pm
4/2 Good Friday Liturgy: 4:30pm
4/3 Easter Vigil: 7pm
4/4 Easter Mass: 10am & 7pm

We know that this is a very difficult time to miss togetherness with family and friends. Thank you for keeping your loved ones and your college community safe by not traveling this weekend.

Best,
The Pandemic Response Team