Residence Life Supporting Small Population of Students on Campus

Residence Life will be housing the remaining 577 UMass Amherst students on campus in approximately 20 of the university’s 51 residence halls, and has begun a sequenced process to consolidate locations this weekend.

Last weekend, 825 students who left campus before spring break returned to pick up their personal belongings in five residence halls – Oak, Sycamore, Prince, Brett and Gorman. However, when Gov. Charlie Baker issued new orders earlier this week for state residents to avoid travel and stay at home, Residence Life suspended further move-outs indefinitely.

Moving forward, Residence Life will continue consolidating the locations where the remaining students are living. Currently, there are small numbers of students living in each of the 51 residence halls on campus. According to Dawn Bond, director of residential operations, this consolidation takes into account social distancing and no hall will be completely occupied. Instead, students will be spread among the 20 or so halls, and strict daily cleaning protocols will be in place for bathrooms, public spaces, door knobs, hydration stations and several high-traffic surface areas.

To comply with social distancing, no social events will be held in the residence halls and outside guests are prohibited. Students are expected to remain on campus for their safety. The Berkshire and Worcester dining commons, along with Blue Wall in the Campus Center, will remain open to provide take-out meals to the remaining students living on campus as well as those living off-campus who have meal plans.

Currently, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on campus. If a student living on campus tests positive for COVID-19, they will be moved to a location where they can be in isolation for a minimum of 14 days. Students experiencing symptoms should first stay in place and call the UHS triage nurse at 413-577-5229 for medical guidance.