At Saint Mary’s, we are a community of lifelong learners, who continue to wonder, inquire, and grow beyond the classroom. To continue this tradition, the Saint Mary’s Alumni Association recently launched A Novel Idea, a virtual book club for alumni and friends of Saint Mary’s. This presents an opportunity to enjoy and discuss books with your peers.

All faculty, staff, and students are invited to join. Discussions will take place on the Goodreads app and a virtual gathering will take place at the end of each reading period.

Learn more and register

Cardinals,

I would like to thank you again for all your hard work with adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines. This week, we have seen a lull in our positive test numbers, and I know much of that is because of your dedication and desire to stay on campus through November.

As you know, Winona State University is seeing a large number of positive COVID-19 cases. I ask you to be extra vigilant especially when you are off campus. Please continue to keep our campus safe. This is also not a time to experience COVID-19 fatigue. We are in this together and only together will we successfully reach our goal of remaining on campus throughout the semester.

Tim Gossen, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs

COVID-19 updates

• When we successfully meet our goal of staying in session until late November, students will be asked to leave campus as if they were leaving for break. The residential experience will officially close on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and will not reopen until the second semester. Only students still in quarantine, those needing to quarantine before their travel (pre-approved), and those approved by the university will be allowed to remain on campus. Personal items within rooms will remain, however all items, except for air purifiers, will be unplugged.
• Students in quarantine now have the option to order items from the Cardinal Club store and have a friend pick them up and safely deliver them to you. Items will be delivered to students staying in the Alverna Center. Additional information will be sent to you from the Office of Student Affairs.

Wireless issues on campus

Residential students should use an ethernet cord and plug into the wall jack when using devices. The wireless connection within residence halls will work, but plugging in from time to time will assist with potential bandwidth issues. If you are experiencing wireless issues, contact the HelpDesk at helpdesk@smumn.edu or by calling 507-457-7800.

Just some reminders regarding the guest policy in light of COVID-19:

• Only one guest allowed per room in the residence halls.
• Use the following guidance regarding guests in apartments:
  • 4-person apartments = 2 guests (Residencia Santiago Miller and Brother Leopold)
  • 6-person apartments = 3 guests (Saint Yon’s)
  • 9-person apartments = 5 guests (Saint Yon’s)
• External guests (family or off-campus friends) are not permitted to visit or be inside the residence halls.
• There are no overnight guests allowed.
• With quarantine, no guests are allowed to enter rooms or apartments even if not all occupants are quarantined. If you need to give your friend a school book or have baked brownies to cheer them up, please make contactless arrangements to drop them off at their front door.
• We are encouraging socializing outside with masks and social distancing, especially while it is still nice.
• Guests, including family members, are not allowed in the student dining room.

Senate elections

Student Senate has exciting news as we head into our election season! Senate offers freshmen to seniors the opportunity to participate in Tuesday night meetings at 7 p.m. and influence every aspect of campus.

To run for any position, you will need 25 unique signatures from the student body endorsing your campaign. The available positions are:

• Two class officers for each class, sophomore through seniors
• Hall representatives from each residential hall area, including freshmen residencies
• A representative at large

For more information and the signature form, contact Marcos Pedroza, vice president of media and communications, at pxmarc15@smumn.edu. We look forward to having you join us!

Pledge with us

Thank you to the students who have committed to the “I Pledge” campaign! It is going to require each of us to do our part if we are to stay on campus for the entire fall semester, and I thank each of the 350 undergraduate students who have pledged alongside me.

If you have yet to sign, I implore you to join your fellow cardinals and commit to doing your part to keep our campus safe by filling out this form.

Ann Merchlewitz, J.D., senior vice president and general counsel, shared the “I Pledge” campaign with Cynthia Kenyon, senior epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), who has been the liaison between Minnesota colleges and universities and the MDH during this pandemic. Kenyon intends to share the campaign with Minnesota public and private college and university representatives. In her words … “This is great!”

Kendall Archer
Student Senate President

Will science students who rely on labs to learn vital techniques be able to stay on campus if the decision is made to send students home?
Many students have the need to be on campus for their curriculum, such as those in fine arts and science programs. If the university has to switch to online learning, we will take all of this into consideration. Hopefully, if we continue to strictly follow safety protocols, we will be in Winona together all semester.

What level or how many positive cases of COVID-19 in students and faculty will result in the shutdown of campus?
This decision is dependent on a variety of factors, including how ill students testing positive become, how many faculty are affected, whether we have enough supplies and staff power, and if we have enough quarantine space. It also depends on guidance from local and state officials. At this time, we are keeping numbers manageable, but we will require everyone’s help to keep us green.

At what point does the transmission scale turn yellow? What are the numbers ending and beginning each color?
There are no specific numbers for each transmission color. This is dependent on a number of factors both internally and externally. Right now, we are close to turning yellow, largely based on the high number of transmissions in Winona County. We are also reaching half capacity for our designated quarantine facility. Although a yellow designation is cause for concern, it does not mean we are close to switching to online. It does mean that we need to examine our policies and procedures and see if we can make adjustments to keep us from having to do so.

Why did we have classes on Labor Day? There are many schools who had that day off and are getting out early as well. It doesn’t really seem all that fair.
The answer there lies in the large number of positive cases we had our first week of school. As students travel, they re-expose themselves and bring that all back to campus with them again. Many other universities set this same fall schedule. Although it was tough to be in class on Labor Day, you can look forward to more time at home at the end of the semester.

Have an additional question or concern? Fill out the form and let us know.