Saint Mary's Newsroom / Campus Notes

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota has partnered with the Fellowship of Catholic Universities (FOCUS) for the 2020-21 academic year. FOCUS is a Catholic collegiate outreach program we believe will build stronger relationships between Campus Ministry and our Winona undergraduate students by expanding the personal interactions we are able to offer.

Saint Mary’s will welcome two FOCUS missionaries, Emma Smith and Becca Kuehn, to campus this year. Their role is to build relationships with the students, organize and invite students to Bible studies, support Campus Ministry in planning and providing outreach events, arrange mission trips, and by their witness and instruction, promote the evangelization of our students, faculty, and staff.

The missionaries will live with the missionaries from Winona State University, which is hosting six FOCUS missionaries. In response to a generous offer from Winona State, Saint Mary’s will, at times, welcome two of these missionaries, Chris Tibbets and Sammy Pedersen, to our campus, as well.

This initiative is tied directly to the first goal of our strategic plan, Building a Future Full of Hope 2025: Live our Lasallian Catholic Heritage.

Dr. Michael Hahn

Michael Hahn, Ph.D., assistant professor and program director in the School of Education, recently published a chapter titled, “From the Sphere to the Polyhedron: Shaping Communion in a Synodal Church” in “All the Ends of the Earth” Challenge and Celebration of Global Catholicism by Orbis Books.

Cardinals,

Thank you for continuing to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines. I continue to be impressed with this student body and hear from so many that you, along with the faculty and staff, want to remain on ground all semester. I know we can do it, with your help, as together, we are Saint Mary’s.

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

COVID-19 updates:

• Continue to watch for updates on smumn.edu/covidplanning.
• As a reminder, COVID-19 guidelines should be adhered to while off campus as well. Be mindful when downtown and invited over to a home or apartment.
• The lights in the Saint Mary’s bluffs will now be turned on from 7:30 p.m. to midnight seven days a week. Feel free to experience the outdoors even during the evening hours.
• For those who are interested in using the fire pits in the Saint Mary’s bluffs, please adhere to the fire pit guidelines in the student handbook, which includes having fewer than 25 individuals.
• Additional information is available on:
  • Quarantine guidelines (protocols and procedures)
  • Contact tracing
• If you’re in quarantine and wish to receive holy communion, contact the Office of Campus Ministry at campusministry@smumn.edu. One of the campus ministers will assist you.
• Vending on campus will continue (i.e., soda and snacks), but it is highly recommended to wipe off the buttons before and after use.
• With the exception of emergencies, room switches within the residence halls will be limited.
• We ask that you refrain from moving the chairs around in the gameroom, gym lobby, plaza, and Toner Lounge, as they are arranged for social distancing.

Immune from COVID-19

Based on guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), those who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 (within three months) are considered immune and do not need to quarantine even if they are around household members who’ve tested positive. They are not considered infectious. Students should not be retested (as it can result as positive despite their not actually having another infection) and are required to give documentation with the date of the positive COVID-19 test to the Jay Johnson Wellness Center. Students will be asked to quarantine until the documentation is received.

Force majeure clause

Many schools have included this clause in their student handbooks, due to the loss of income they faced last spring because of unforeseen circumstances. However, we do want to assure students that should Saint Mary’s need to send students home early for online learning, we would review the situation and make an appropriate determination about room and board reimbursement largely based on how much time is left in the semester. The clause would only come into play if students returned home very late in the semester and the university would have already incurred the expenses for the duration of the time (such as food service, which orders food two weeks in advance).

Saint Mary’s University will keep the transmission level on our COVID-19 tracking dashboard to green or low for the time being. Despite the rising numbers of positive cases in Winona County, the situation at Saint Mary’s continues to be manageable; our quarantine capacity remains strong; and contact tracing is working. We are pleased to report that no close contacts of students or staff who tested positive for COVID-19 were identified from classroom interactions.

However, we do want to let our community know that positive cases in Winona County have risen significantly since Aug. 27, primarily in the 18- to 24-year-old age group. Prior to the start of the school year, Winona County typically reported between five and seven positive cases a day.

These are last week’s Winona County totals:

• Aug. 27 — 38
• Aug. 28 — 12
• Aug. 29 — 25
• Aug. 30 — 37
• Aug. 31 — 19
• Sept. 1 — 35

We know this has been a stressful time for everyone, and anxiety levels continue to fluctuate with the lifecycle of this virus. We are grateful for your hard work and diligence. We want to congratulate students, faculty, and staff who are observing the many good policies and protocols we have in place. We remind everyone that the best way to keep levels low is to maintain social distance, adhere to the mask-wearing policy, and frequently wash hands and sanitize areas.

As a reminder, no external guests are allowed in buildings at Saint Mary’s; all major events have been canceled, rescheduled, or switched to virtual; and most travel is prohibited or discouraged. We ask our students to refrain from going to bars and house parties, where they are most susceptible to the virus, as safety protocols are most often not followed. We strongly encourage students to stay on campus so we can stay green.

We remind students to practice social distancing. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the most important way to prevent the spread COVID-19 is social distancing.

If the university is required to move its transmission level to yellow or moderate, additional mitigation efforts may be implemented including, but not limited to:

• A campus curfew
• Cancellation of athletic practices and scrimmages
• Modification of hours for the Cardinal Club
• Reduced entry to campus

We will continue to re-examine our policies and protocols and will alert our community of any resulting changes, including any additional mitigation measures.

We are monitoring the COVID-19 situation on a daily basis at the university. In fact, administrators are meeting twice a day to review the case of every student who needs to be placed in isolation/quarantine, is in isolation/quarantine, or is awaiting a test result. Appropriate action then flows from those meetings.

We are very proud of the large number of students, faculty, and staff, who are actively following our guidelines. Together, we can keep classes on ground and our students on campus. Together, we are Saint Mary’s.

Despite the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s recent announcements postponing competition until at least January 2021, Saint Mary’s student-athletes are allowed to practice during the fall and must adhere to strict Minnesota Department of Health, NCAA, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines:

• Student-athletes must wear masks to and from practice.
• Student-athletes can only remove their mask in practice and within their assigned “pod” for the first 14 days. Pods are no greater than 10 individuals. After that 14-day “pod” phase, teams are allowed to practice as a full unit without masks.
• All student-athletes have their temperature checked and fill out an online questionnaire about COVID-19 symptoms on a daily basis.
• All coaches are in masks while at practice in close contact with student-athletes.

To my fellow Cardinals,

Student Senate, in conjunction with Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Student Activities Committee (SAC), will be launching an “I Pledge” social media campaign within the next week, and I implore you to join us in pledging:

“I pledge to protect my friends and fellow Cardinals.
I pledge to avoid overcrowded bars and house parties.
I pledge to mask up wherever I am.
Because we can be here for the semester.”

My goal, and I hope yours as well, is to be learning, living, and eating together in Winona for the entire semester. I strongly believe, if followed, these three actions will drastically help us accomplish that.

Although the campaign will not officially launch for a few days, you can start pledging now by filling out this form.

I hope you consider joining me as we aim to keep our campus safe. Thank you for your continued efforts toward reaching our shared goal!

Kendall Archer
Student Senate President

If for whatever reason we had to travel home, would we have to quarantine when we arrived back on campus?
We are strongly recommending no travel. This largely depends on where you are going and if it is considered a hot spot. Please fill out the travel form, and we can help you make that determination.

Would I have to quarantine when returning back to campus if I visit home (Twin Cities area) for the weekend?
You will need to fill out the travel form as you are traveling outside of the region. We are strongly recommending no travel. Although we cannot mandate you quarantine when you return, if you will be involved in activities where COVID-19 safety protocols (wearing masks and social distancing) are not possible, it may be necessary to seclude yourself.

If I live in Rochester, and I had to go home and spend the weekend home, upon my arrival back at school, would I need to quarantine?
Students must notify the university of any personal travel occurring outside Winona County and any overnight travel or travel to high-risk states, with the exception of travel within an hour of campus in the state of Minnesota (Rochester, Red Wing, Wabasha). So, there’s no need to notify for travel to Rochester. If your family has largely been quarantining and/or following safety protocols, there should not be an issue.

If my family member is staying at a hotel in Winona, would I be allowed to stay there overnight? And would I have to fill out a travel form?
No travel form is needed as this is within our community. We would ask you to continue following safety protocols by social distancing, wearing a mask, and sanitizing your hands.

Why are there fewer food options this year? Many items offered last year aren’t offered this year even though we are paying the same amount. For example, there are no omelets at breakfast which is a favorite for many and can be served safely.
You are correct that omelets can be served safely, but they also take time to prepare individually. And with our current situation, we need to offer items that can be served more quickly. We are hoping that once we work through some of our serving issues, we can expand our offerings. We continue to make changes and will work with Chartwells.

Will Campus Safety be monitoring who goes in and out of Saint Mary’s?
The front guard booth is not staffed, but Campus Safety is patrolling the university. Only outdoor venues are open to the public at this time.

My friend told me that because they had COVID-19 earlier this year, even though they were in direct contact with a confirmed case, they don’t have to quarantine. Is that true? Can’t people still transmit it even though they’ve already had it?
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, those who have tested positive in the previous three months do not need to quarantine.

If I am quarantined in my residence hall and I am not sick, can I use the printer for class purposes?
Yes, you may use the printer within your residence hall. Please continue to follow safety protocols by wearing a mask, social distancing, and sanitizing the area frequently.

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

Freshman Retreat: Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10 a.m. in Saint Thomas More Chapel
Come pray with us, meet classmates, play games, join small groups. Runs throughout the day.

Mass: Sunday, Sept. 6 at 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. in Saint Thomas More Chapel
Confessions: 1 hour before both Masses in Saint Thomas More Chapel
The 10:30 a.m. Mass will be livestreamed on Campus Ministry’s Facebook page for those who are quarantined and unable to join in person.

Daily Mass: Weekdays at 12:10 p.m. in the Saint Thomas More Chapel

All Day Adoration: Tuesday, Sept. 8, in the Saint Thomas More Chapel

Community Night: Wednesday, Sept. 9, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Plaza
Join us for games (hike with s’mores has been postponed to ensure additional precautions during COVID-19).

Movie Night: Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. in Salvi
Watch “Breakthrough” with free popcorn.

Kayaking on Lake Winona: Saturday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m.
Meet at Campus Safety.

Mass with Father Burns followed by Eucharistic procession around campus: Sunday, Sept. 13, at 10:30 a.m.

The Writing Center is ready and waiting for you. We help students in all phases of the writing process, from understanding an assignment to brainstorming, drafting, and revising. The Writing Center is fully online this semester, with two options for assistance:

• Synchronous Zoom meetings
• Asynchronous email sessions

To make an appointment, go to write.smumn.edu, select UNDERGRAD (WINONA), and Get Help with a Paper (Winona). There will then be an option to ‘Make an Appointment’ (Winona Writing Center) for a Zoom meeting or ‘Submit to the Online Queue’ (Winona Undergraduates) for an email session. After you answer a few questions, your appointment will be made, and we’ll be there to work with you.

If you have questions about how to make an appointment, please reach us at write@smumn.edu or 612-728-5154.

The Saint Mary’s men’s hockey team is hiring a director of hockey operations for the 2020-21 season. The team is looking for a person who is interested in learning more about the inner workings of college hockey. The ideal person for this position must be hardworking, punctual, and willing to work long hours. This position requires some travel and does pay through work study.

Daily duties may include (but are not limited to):

• Assisting with practice planning and execution
• Filming practice
• Assisting players with equipment
• Assisting with travel and meal planning
• Assisting with video breakdown
• Assisting with game day planning
• Assisting with in-game promotions
• Assisting with fundraising programs

Game day duties include:

• Setting up film equipment
• Assisting players with pregame equipment needs
• Overseeing the collection of in-game statistics
• Assisting players with in-game equipment needs
• Assisting coaches with in-game needs

If you are interested in this position, please contact Coach Egan at regan@smumn.edu to schedule an interview. This job posting will close Tuesday, Sept. 15.