When Is The Vaccine Arriving On Campus? What We Know So Far.

Talk about the vaccine arriving to Saint Anselm College has been swirling on campus, but the vaccine might not be arriving any time soon. According to the COVID-19 support page on Canvas, the college may be getting the vaccine around March. But amid some road bumps in New Hampshire’s vaccine rollout, the likelihood seems slim. 

“I think I’d be surprised if [the vaccine arrives] in March,” said President Favazza. “I would say it’s more likely April or May than March, but we just don’t know. There’s so many unknowns with the vaccine rollout.” 

The estimated timeframe of New Hampshire’s vaccine distribution plan is heavily dependent on vaccine doses that are allocated from the federal government and how many people are vaccinated. 

The state of New Hampshire is currently in Phase 1B of it’s vaccine distribution plan, which includes residents 65 and older and medically vulnerable residents under 65. Phase 2B includes residents aged between 50 and 64 and those living in congregate living settings. The college has been designated as one of those living settings. 

“The state of New Hampshire has told us that we would be a point of distribution, but we would be a private point of distribution which means that we would only give the vaccine to our staff, faculty, and students.” explains Favazza. 

All students will receive the vaccine when it becomes available to the college, including those living off-campus and commuter students said Favazza. 

But while it is unclear when the vaccine will arrive on campus to vaccinate the Saint Anselm Community, the college wants to make clear that anyone who can get the vaccine, should get it. For example, nursing students, the monks living in the monastery, and Director of Health Services Maura Marshall have all been vaccinated. 

“I encourage everyone to get the vaccine whenever they can get it,” said Favazza. “The more that we have folks on campus with [the vaccine], it’s just gonna make sense that our numbers are going to go down,” 

If The Past Is Prologue, Saint Anselm College Is In For Another Rough Semester

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Some of the current policies at Saint Anselm College are the epitome of that tried failure. 

This past year has tested everyone – literally every person on earth. A pandemic few saw coming has devastated many, including myself. I had the unfortunate circumstance of grief after my grandfather caught the virus and passed away- something still extremely tough for my family. There are no words to fully describe the chaos and misery brought on the human race by this virus. Schools like Saint Anselm College, however, gave us hope by taking the great first step in announcing in-person classes for the fall semester of 2020. This well-received news was going to give students the opportunity to see friends again, learn, and escape isolation. 

Students knew a lot would be different on campus when they moved back in August, but this was only the beginning. A lot was going to be different arriving on campus this past August, as we the students knew that, starting with move-in. Phased-in and spanned out over 2 weeks, students were constrained to just their rooms and could not eat in the dining halls. After the 2 cases were identified during move-in, the campus was Covid free, with most still in compliance. “Following a surveillance phase when the harshest of restrictions were lifted, the same was true, Saint Anselm was COVID free yet again.”. Inter visitation, however, was not reinstated. Students could not travel within their own dorms, which, unlike other schools, are already segregated by gender. With few alternatives of socialization on campus, some left to get quality time with friends. These actions put everyone in jeopardy of catching COVID, which was spotted shortly after. The rest of the semester, we, the students, never got intervis, and cases continued to grow…

As part of the SGA Student Response Task Force, my fellow Anselmians and I put in countless hours to gather student feedback on the semester and offer solutions in an effort headed up by Student Body Vice President Kevin Chrisom. Let me be clear, this was not a bunch of rowdy college kids simply upset they couldn’t go to the bars. Over the months of work, we heard from over 400 students in student-led discussions and polls conducted on social media platforms. We looked at the data and realized being frustrated at the policies was not a minority view. Almost everyone, spanning grade, sex, major- you name it and we spoke to, was unhappy with how the semester had been going. 

In the middle of November, it was announced by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna that a vaccine had been created and was over 90% effective and possessed few negative side effects. Once we hit December, thousands had been getting their first dose every day, ramping up to a million doses per day by President Biden’s Inauguration. Anyone over the age of 65 in New Hampshire who wanted a vaccine could get one around this time-  including the Monks of Saint Anselm Abbey. It would only make sense to relax restrictions for the second semester, right? You would be wrong if you thought so. After rolling out a new color phase policy, where restrictions are either loosened or tightened depending on the phase, once again students were led to believe things might be different this semester.

Once again, cases were contained and isolated during move-in, with few cases following for the first two weeks. This is indicative of the Anselmian community- the vast majority of students willing to sacrifice basic freedoms we had last year to create a bubble. What happened when this bubble was created? Nothing. In an email sent out on February 12th, a Friday afternoon, we were informed by President Favazza we would not be moving out of phase orange, a phase that still does not allow for intervis outside of one’s dorm hall. What happened the week after this announcement? A blistering 17 cases, most likely because students realized our lives would not be changing, like the semester before, and were more than willing to leave campus to socialize. I do not condone going out to bars during COVID, but it is beyond understandable considering the lack of incentives to stay on campus. For students, no matter how hard we try, it feels like nothing will change, as nothing has. The administration may feel good about the status quo, but students do not. The real question is, what will be left when the dust settles on this semester? What has really been provided to students? To this day, we still do not know what it takes to move in and out of the phases. We’ve been here a month! Do administrators not remember who they work for? How much longer will students be subjugated to their “family units”? People are beyond done with the lack of transparency, and the brutal restrictions. 

In polls conducted 2 weeks ago by the SAC Student Response Task Force, 52% of students said they had a “negative” overall experience this semester, with 48% saying they were having a positive experience. The same poll was conducted on November 2nd, 2020 with 72% of respondents saying they had a “Positive” experience. That is a 24% swing in the opposite direction. In another poll regarding opinion on restrictions, 89% of students said the restrictions currently in place are “too strict”, with 11% saying they are “too lax”. Both polls combined garnered over 130 student responses. It’s time for this administration to realize the negative effects these policies have on the student body, particularly with both student morale and student mental health (cases of depression and anxiety have spiked country-wide since last March). We all want the same thing- a strong and vibrant Anselmian community. Without that, there is no Saint Anselm College.

COVID-19 Update: An Outbreak Amid New Changes to Saint Anselm College’s COVID Policies and Protocols

As new COVID-19 cases in New Hampshire are tracked to its colleges and universities, Saint Anselm College finds itself included in the upward trend. At the 11th meeting of the Student Senate at the start of the week, President Favazza expressed optimism that the college would be able to enter yellow phase. However, after an uptick in cases, the college will remain in orange phase for the time being.

“We’re up to 20 something [COVID-19 cases this week]. Which we’ve never had, even in the fall semester, we’re gonna stay in orange for now,” said Favazza. “We just got to see some trending in the right direction. We’re not looking for zero positives. We’re looking for small numbers to take some pressure off of our isolation and quarantine space.” 

In reaction to an extreme uptick of cases on their campuses, the University of New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce University, along with others, have gone fully remote in an effort to keep their communities safe. 

On the college’s COVID-19 dashboard, Favazza noted phase red was there for a reason. “If it keeps going up, [phase red] is absolutely on the table,” said Favazza. “I’m hoping that we don’t get there.” 

What’s changed on campus?

After listening to student concerns and an unprecedented fall semester, Saint Anselm College implemented new policies and protocols to try to better address COVID-19. With these changes comes the phase reopening system, increased testing capacity, and efforts for more transparency  between the administration and the student body. 

What has not changed is the college’s need for a “bubble.” The addition of two testing machines has significantly increased the college’s testing capacity. “For move-in testing, we did 400 a day, which is a lot. And then when we repeated to secure the bubble, we did it again,” says Maura Marshall, director of Health Services.

With the increase in testing capacity, the college can more often test students that are higher-risk than others, such as commuters and athletes. With regards to other students that live on campus and do not have to leave for other commitments such as internships or medical appointments, they are tested alphabetically.

“We have certain students that are frequently traveling off-campus, so they go once a week, and then the other ones, we fill in through the alphabet.”

“That’s where people are getting [COVID-19], they’re getting it from off-campus” noted Marshall. “They’re leaving campus frequently, so we want to keep testing them on a regular basis.

In an email to discourage students from leaving campus, Director of Department of Safety and Security, Rob Browne, it was announced that a third-party security firm would be staffed at entry points to campus, during Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. 

As draconian as the effort sounded, the gates are meant to be a reminder to not leave campus, rather than a real, physical, security checkpoint. “Even though it may feel like it, we are not a prison,” Favazza said, laughing. “We’re not gonna put fences up, spotlights, guard dogs and everything else.” 

Favazza stressed that the risk of leaving campus is not only the possibility of outbreaks on campus, but also spreading COVID-19 to the surrounding area that is not a part of the Saint Anselm community. The rise of COVID-19 cases in NH colleges serves as a reminder that students also have a responsibility to protect others and keep the local community safe as well, said Favazza. 

Admissions Provides Insight into Frequency of Perspective Student Visits

When we returned to campus in August, it was not clear how admissions would be impacted by the pandemic, especially for students hoping to visit the Hilltop during the 2020-2021 school year before applying. With most students on campus, it was important to limit the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak coming from visitors. 

For the beginning of the fall semester, tours and visitors were not allowed on campus, but as the semester progressed, students planning to apply were allowed to visit with increased safety precautions from past years. Students and parents were required to wear masks and stay with admissions staff during their entire time on campus. Tours were also accompanied by a second admissions staff member who cleaned any surfaces touched with sanitizing wipes. 

According to Steve Goetsch, Vice President of Enrollment for the college, students were screened for COVID-19 symptoms upon their arrival, and later in the semester they were required to have a negative test before being allowed on campus.

So far, this has not significantly impacted the number of students who have applied or been accepted for the Fall 2021 semester, nor has it impacted the number of students transferring to Saint Anselm College during the school year, according to admissions staff.

The cancellation of SAT testing in the spring was also expected to impact admissions. Though Saint Anselm College is “test optional”, the nursing program typically requires test scores for admission. The nursing program is also test optional now, and as usual, there was a lot of interest in the program. 

It is too early to tell exactly what impact the pandemic is having on admissions, at Saint Anselm College and across the country, but as application deadlines pass, it will likely become more clear before the next school year begins.

Favazza Promises Progress for Spring Semester; Changes Prompted by Students

In less than a week, the currently sleepy hilltop will be abustle with students, monks, faculty and administration alike, all striving toward the monolithic goal that lays ahead: finish the spring 2021 semester on time, and on campus.

What the Saint Anselm College community achieved last semester, through the dedication and hard work of many, was impressive. While many other schools and institutions (sorry, SNHU) closed for the semester, Saint Anselm College kept students on campus, and closed out the semester without needing a lockdown or any other drastic measures. The students of Saint Anselm, despite the fatigue, strain, and seemingly endless sources of stress, were happier and better off being on campus. This effort, it should be noted, was an imperfect and an incomplete one.

The Student Response Task Force, under the purview of the Student Government Association, compiled and presented to the administration and student body an in-depth look at the achievements and shortcomings of the school during the fall semester, aimed at the goal of improving the school’s response for the coming semester. In an interview with President Favazza in the week before the student body’s return to campus, Doctor Favazza shed some light on the changes the college is making for the spring.

The President of the College began with noting that he, and the other COVID preparation teams, listened to the student feedback. One of the major criticisms the student body levied at the admin was the lack of transparency in the process of loosening restrictions on campus and “opening up” more normal interactions. Despite weeks of “reviewing intervisitation”, these reviews never produced any change, nor inspired any optimism among students. To combat this, President Favazza described a “phase system” where the college would clearly move from different levels of openness and restrictions. Admitting that last year’s methodology of loosening and tightening restrictions was “pretty vague”, Favazza pledged improvement, saying “We are gonna be very clear about the different phases through the semester. We have identified five phases”.

The president stayed mum on what these particular phases would entail, but was willing to provide insight into potential resources that might be “opened up” in the looser phases. Favazza provided some hope when he detailed what might be some exciting developments for dining on campus: “When we get into moderate activity or lighter restrictions, we are looking to be able to open, at least one day a week, the pub, with limited restrictions…hopefully if it can work, open the grille”.

While he didn’t provide specifics, he also indicated that intervisitation would be revamped for the new semester: “We are looking to add ways where we can make the student experience richer…visitation, moving that to a broader visitation, with lighter restrictions”. While students have heard this before, and might be dubious about these claims, they might be heartened to know that a Student Government proposal to increase intervisitation within buildings was passed through the Student Senate and to the administration before the end of last semester.

Visitation and other social needs are closely tied to what should be remembered as the administration’s biggest struggle of the Fall 2020 semester: student mental health. The college should be commended for keeping the positivity rate low, and being ahead of the curve on rapid testing accessibility, but the scourge of college and COVID-related anxiety, stress, and depression was on full display at the end of the fall semester. In response to this, Favazza detailed some promising changes and programs meant to address this growing issue.

The Anselmian Anchors program, first mentioned in Favazza’s email last week, is a program where college staff and faculty will be assigned to students who test positive or are quarantined as a result of contact tracing: “This is coming out of a recommendation from students, one of the focuses of this is providing more care to those who test positive and to those who quarantine. ‘Case workers’ will be assigned students in quarantine, and will check in on them to see how they are doing. It’s a pretty isolating thing, [quarantine], and it gets to the issue of mental health.”

To further the college’s effort of improving communication with the student body, Favazza also revealed that there will be a COVID-19 resource page on Canvas. This page is to present resources for students who test positive or are in quarantine, make clear the college reopening phases, as well as the metrics they rely upon, and more mental health resources related to the virus.

During our discussion, President Favazza revealed that some (not all) professors indicated to him that they were rethinking the workload they were assigning students. “They, a few faculty have had conversations with me understanding that the workload, perhaps trying to recalibrate this, you have to remind yourself students are taking three or four [other classes]”. Many students throughout the fall semester lamented the apparent dearth of understanding that the administration and many professors had with regards to student mental health, workload, and the unique strain of online learning.

To make in-person learning more attainable, the college has made physical modifications to Poisson and the third floor of Alumni hall. Walls were removed over break to ensure that classes that would have otherwise been hybrid will have the capacity for all the students in the class, thus eliminating the need for synchronous zoom sessions.

If nothing else, students should be assured that the college did not rest on its fall accomplishments this semester. The college has made changes, and claims that many of these changes were made as a result of student advocacy, whether through the Student Task Force or Mental Health Committee, or elsewhere. President Favazza remarked that, unlike last semester where we expected the virulence of the pandemic to increase as time went on, this semester, we are going headfirst into the deep-end.

“I don’t think anyone has any illusions over the first few weeks of the semester, it’s gonna get tough…but it will get better, we will have more options”. Favazza expressed hope for the college as the semester continued, noting that nursing students and eligible faculty would have higher access to the vaccine as time goes on, given current New Hampshire state guidelines. However, the college will be at an advantage this semester when it comes to detecting the virus on campus. The college has tripled its testing capacity, now with three rapid testing machines instead of just one.

The administration has promised, above all else, improvements in communication and transparency for the spring semester. Many of these improvements have come about thanks to the hard work and organization of students, and will be implemented by receptive administrators. If these things don’t end up coming to light, it would not have been for a lack of student advocacy.

The Hilltop beckons us all back to her rolling emerald hillocks and towering umber masonry. We must answer its call and return to our home away from homes, unified in our gratitude for the achievements of last semester, as well as our determination to do better this time. All of us- students, admin, faculty and the monastic community- have a duty to these ends.

President Trump Bows to Bipartisan COVID Relief Bill

President Donald Trump has signed the latest COVID relief bill, which includes more Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses, as well as $600 direct payments to those eligible. This revelation comes amidst a recent veto threat issued by the President if the bill did not have $2000 in checks to the American people. The bill was an evolutionary piece of legislation originally set to be completed this past September, however, talks stalled until after the election.

Initially, Republicans proposed an $800 billion deal, only for the President to ask for $1.8 trillion, one of the largest spending deals in US history in the lead-up to November. For most likely political reasons, a deal was never reached until after the results came in. Nevertheless, Democratic and Republican lawmakers met for weeks on end through November and into December to reach a deal to help the American people. After the proposed bill still did not have direct payments and only unemployment insurance, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) teamed up in a concerted bipartisan effort to get checks to the American people, eventually getting $600 direct payments added to the relief bill.

Enter President Trump.

After getting bipartisan approval on the bill, the President addressed the nation with a threat to veto the bill if it did not have $2000 in direct payments – over triple the initial amount proposed. In his speech, he boldly stated “I’m also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package.” Had there been real follow through on previous threats, such as Congress fully funding a border wall, maybe there would have been more leverage. Instead, these recent threats came just a few days before the unemployment benefits for millions were set to expire. This situation put enormous pressure and time constraints on the White House to persuade Republicans to go along, all of whom wanted to be back with their loved ones for the Christmas holiday.

House Republicans didn’t go along with the change and stayed on course with their support for the bill that had already passed. With mounting pressure and little support from Republican members of Congress, Trump caved shortly after Christmas and signed the bill, granting emergency relief to those in most need. If the President wants his threats to remain credible and powerful then he must follow through, otherwise, they are meaningless.

Saint Anselm College’s COVID-19 prevention efforts: more reactive than proactive

As the average daily number of new cases in New Hampshire continues to rise, more than doubling now, from 40 new cases a day to 100 new cases a day, worries stir on campus over the college’s COVID-19 response. 

With COVID-19 cases rising in New Hampshire as well as nationally, the second semester will provide a new set of challenges for the college. The Hilltopper spoke with some of the students who have spent time in isolation housing as well as Director of Health Services Maura Marshall to better understand how these circumstances will impact the remainder of the year.

Saint Anselm College has seen a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases compared to other schools in the area such as the University of New Hampshire. Marshall attributes the low transmission rate across campus to the college’s ability to quickly find and isolate outbreaks on campus.

“It has to do with how quickly we can identify the cases,” said Marshall. “I think being from a small campus . . . we can get to the students a lot quicker.”

Students that have been in isolation housing agree with Marshall’s sentiment that the college has been quick with placing students in isolation once they have tested positive.

One student that tested positive said, “I got a call from Maura an hour after my [positive COVID] test. Then she told me I tested positive and she told me to pack my stuff.”

Most students in isolation housing were placed in Collins house, across the street from the college. Students that were in Collins say that they were provided adequate provisions, such as personal protection equipment (hand sanitizer, masks, and disinfectant wipes).

“Those big air loud purifier machines, every floor had one of those. Every floor had hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipe dispensers,” said one student. “Every floor had their own supplies basically.”

Students that were placed in Collins house were given some guidance on what to do in the case of a severe incident. One student recalled a particularly stressful moment in isolation.

“One night, one kid had really bad symptoms, and he was feeling really bad. And we were like, at what point [do we call 911]?” said one student. Students were given guidance in a pamphlet, but unsurprisingly, it was discarded by most students. 

“I’m pretty sure the paper said something, but like you know, in the moment, you’re not gonna like [remember],” they said.

That student has since recovered, but students still say it is unclear why more was not done to inform students about how to respond to medical emergencies while in Collins.

Contact tracing and quarantine for close contacts

The Hilltopper spoke with some students who went out of their own way to request a test out of their own moral responsibility.

“I went out with my friend, and then my friend’s roommate tested positive. So then me and the kid I was with, who hung out with him, went to health services and requested a test.”

Students that do not voluntarily request tests have to be tracked down through contact tracing. The State of New Hampshire leads the contact tracing effort throughout the state, including all colleges in New Hampshire.

“The state is in charge of contact tracing, so as soon as a student tests positive, we have to report that to the state,” said Marshall. “We have to identify close contacts, the state does this, but I help them a little bit . . . A close contact is defined as anyone that you’ve been in contact with less than six feet for more than ten minutes in the last 48 hours.” 

Close contacts are placed in quarantine for 14 days, either in their room or another residence hall. 

“They sent me to Holy Cross and Holy Cross has a pod that’s completely empty that they save for people that are close contacts. I would get tested like every four days,” said one student who was placed in quarantine and later tested positive. 

In this specific instance of quarantine, The Hilltopper was told that close contacts were not completely isolated from each other. 

The close contacts that were placed in Holy Cross had individual rooms, but still shared a kitchen and bathroom, presenting the possibility for transmission among the close contacts if one did carry COVID-19. 

The student that tested positive in Holy Cross said that they were the only one to test positive in that specific quarantine. 

“The rest of the pod, they were getting tested after me, none of them tested positive . . . I was the only one that tested positive. I told them to stay away since I figured I had it,” they said. 

Only slightly harsher policies

After the recent spike in cases, the college has had to clamp down harder on off-campus travel. A little more than a week ago, President Favazza sent a stern letter reminding students to not go off-campus, especially if going to more high-risk areas such as bars. The most notable part of the letter was the announcement that there will now be gatekeepers at all entrances and exits.

“Starting today, gatekeepers will be taking down the names of all students who leave campus and the time of their departure. They also will be time-stamping the time students return to campus,” said Favazza in the letter.

While the letter suggested that gatekeepers will always be present, they are normally only there during the evening on Thursday through Sunday, the days when most off-campus travel happens.

Additionally, the gatekeepers’ exact time schedules have been observed to be inconsistent, sometimes staying until midnight, and other times, leaving their post by 10:00 pm. 

The college has emphasized they want to avoid draconian-like policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The gatekeeper’s schedule reflects the college’s hesitance to establish stricter and harsher policies on campus. 

“Little ticking time-bombs”

The semester is ending which means around 2,000 students will be going home for winter break. This is happening as COVID-19 cases are rapidly surging in New Hampshire. Gov. Sununu has estimated that by the end of November, new COVID-19 cases will reach 1,000 per day. Only a small number of colleges and universities are requiring students to test negative for COVID-19 prior to their departure. 

Saint Anselm College is not one of these institutions requiring exit tests. 

The college has also not encouraged students to take exit tests before leaving. The most recent data regarding COVID-19 sent out to students reveals that as of November 12th, 81 students are currently either in quarantine or isolation. 

In an interview from The New York Times, A. David Paltiel, a professor of health policy and management at the Yale School of Public Health, said “there’s a responsibility not to unleash little ticking time bombs.”

Without mandatory exit testing, or even encouraged exit testing, there is a real possibility of students carrying COVID-19 back home. In the most recent COVID-19 health update from Marshall, the college has opted to ask students themselves to plan ahead with their families for when they return home.

In a recent email from Marshall, she told students, “If you foolishly decide to take a risk this weekend, please have a conversation about a plan and arrangements with your family.” 

Meghan Query contributed to this story

President Hosts Town Hall, Urges Community To Stay Calm

President Favazza held a virtual town hall over Zoom this Wednesday night in the wake of a small COVID-19 outbreak on campus. Although not all the questions answered directly related to the outbreak, Favazza did use the forum as an opportunity to continue to project what he has attempted to do since the middle of last March: stay ready, stay calm.

He began the evening’s forum by giving the facts about the outbreak: 8 new positive tests, 4 positives on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday. All of the cases are among student-athletes, though he was unable to give more information on the cases for purposes of privacy. It is widely believed on campus that the virus made its way onto campus through Dominic Hall and its residents. State health officials and contact tracers are working on site tracing and containing the outbreak. President Favazza made it clear that there is no one “tipping point” the college would have to reach to send students home but also reminded us that some of these factors include the number of positive cases on campus, the density of cases in the Greater Manchester area, and the college’s capacity to test and contain the virus on campus.

President Favazza assured the viewers on Zoom that not only is the campus ready for this troubling event, but that they expected it and saw it as an inevitability. The President claimed that there could be “increased cleaning” as well as changes to the Spagnuolo Gym reservation system. Moreover, he noted that some athletic team meetings and conditioning sessions had been suspended. Beyond that, however, he continued to reinforce that Saint Anselm College would continue to stay the course, and no other major changes will take place, yet.

Some students pushed on this during the question-and-answer part of the evening. Some asked if the possibility of quarantining or testing all of Dominic Hall was in the cards. Favazza did note that there would be increased testing in Dominic, and as far as quarantining the building and whether or not it was a possibility, he said “Certainly. We are not there yet”. 

Throughout the evening, President Favazza answered questions from students who sounded concerned, frightened even, about their health and safety on campus. Favazza continued to tell these students if they aren’t normally contacted for random testing or by contact tracers, then they are at liberty to go to health services and request a test. However, President Favazza cited the college’s testing capacity as one measure of success, and there are concerns that increased student requests for testing would quickly stress that capacity. 

Continued partying and unsafe social practices were also frequent topics of discussion during the 60-minute forum. Students expressed concerns about crowds on the quads and in courtyards. To this, Favazza repeated the phrases, “We can’t be everywhere at once”, and “I would encourage them not to do that” more than once. There won’t be increased observation of student social behavior on campus; such a role is reserved to the student body and Residence Life staff. 

On the topic of RA’s and Residence Life, Favazza recognized the difficulties they have faced this semester with their increased risk and responsibilities. “I know they’re in a tougher role…Try to make it a little bit easier for them” he appealed to the student body. He also noted that if any RA, in the course of doing their job, feels as though they were at risk, they can request a test. There was no further mention of increased PPE supplies or assistance to student Residence Life employees (student employees were given face shields after increased complaints some time ago). 

Continuing on the path and staying the course was the theme of the night, with Favazza trying to project calm preparedness in his remarks. When asked about potential changes the college could make, he accepted some as possibilities, including adding Ben-and-Jerry’s ice cream to Davison Hall but balked at others, including Grill reservations, relaxing intervisitation, and a concrete plan to get student representation on the Board of Trustees. The Board is losing several senior members this year, including the Chair and Vice-Chair, and the administration has stated they want to wait until the legal dispute ends until they begin to add students on the BOT. Not only could this take months or years, but would likely be past the end of the pandemic and this inflection point is where student input is so sorely lacking.

During his remarks, President Favazza took time away from the outbreak on campus and directed his attention toward racial justice. He took his stance on the issue, which was nuanced but well measured. He affirmed unequivocally that “Black Lives Matter”, and called on the student body to recognize that in the history of our nation and society, Black Americans have faced myriad prejudices and disadvantages impeding them on the path to full citizenship. He remarked on his past growing up in Memphis TN, where most of the people he was around were black, and despite being from the same place, he recognized that his experience was different, because of the color of his skin. He called on the school’s duty to face racism “with courage”, but also to avoid depicting law enforcement with “broad and negative strokes”. He asked for “open minds and hearts”, and affirmed his belief that standing with and saying “Black Lives Matter” does not put one against law enforcement. 

The class of 2020 was not to be forgotten this evening, as the President discussed the ongoing dialogue between 2020 graduates and the school to host their commencement in a way where all graduates can celebrate. These talks are still in progress, but Favazza noted the 2020 banner in Davison Hall represented the unfinished business and commitment the school has to the class of 2020.

There were several positive notes on the night: CAB, Health Services Director Maura Marshall, Dining Hall staff, Residence Life staff, custodial staff, and many more were thanked and applauded for their efforts by Favazza. It is paramount that the Saint Anselm College community thank the selfless services of all those trying to make campus safe, and do all that they can to emulate the caring, community-oriented actions of those individuals and groups.

Despite the sometimes cheery mood (glad to know Pres. Favazza is a Patriots fan), the night was dominated by a sense of anxiety. President Favazza did his best to assuage the worst of these fears, but the campus is still tense. Even though Favazza was sure to say that no finger-pointing or blaming should take place, and he is right to do so, it is impossible to deny that students might be walking a bit faster past Dominic Hall this week.

*Since this article was written, 2 more cases of COVID-19 have been reported; 1 on 9/17 and 1 on 9/18. This brings the total number of positive cases on campus in the past week to 10.