Representatives from the University of Massachusetts reported that 354 students were referred to the conduct office between Jan. 1 and Feb. 5 at the Amherst Town Council meeting on Feb. 8.
“The University has the authority to address all issues on non-compliance via established procedure in the Code of Student Conduct,” the report read.
Violations include breaking back to campus quarantine regulations such as room capacity limits, face covering requirements, social distancing rules, noise levels, guest policies, failure to comply with contract tracing and failure to comply with federal, state and local COVID-19 guidelines.
Sanctions for violations are suspension, removal from campus housing, probation and reprimand.
“[The Public Health Promotion Center] team conducts a detailed case investigation, including fathering information about their living conditions (bathroom access, shared spaces, access to food, etc.) for on-campus cases. The university is working with the State’s CTC for contact tracing students living off campus,” the report read.
There are 5,350 students living on campus including Resident Assistants. Of these students, 3,100 students are first-years. There are 6,000 people enrolled in face-to-face classes, however due to the new regulations under the high risk level, all classes are currently remote.
Off campus, there are 7,137 students living in Amherst and Pelham. Of these students 5,540 are undergraduates and 1,606 are graduate students.
The report also touched on community testing, writing that 14,000 tests have been conducted since Dec. 14.
The vaccination clinic at UMass is providing vaccinations for Phase 1 and Phase 2. According to the report, approximately 4,000 have been distributed so far and another 1, 700 are expected this week.
Another section of the report outlined outreach and education as strategies to confront the outbreak. Some measures include weekly meetings with Greek House Directors, direct emails to all off campus students from Off Campus Student Life and Public Health messaging at apartment complexes.
The University also outlined their expectations for the community which include compliance with federal, state and local government guidelines and University directives relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation with contact tracing and following the specific testing requirements and protocols as designed by the University.
Cassie McGrath can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @cassiemcgrath_.
