Student Senate Seeks Greater Transparency From College Administration

At the third Senate meeting of the Spring 2021 semester, Sophomore Senator Christopher Demarkey presented a resolution regarding clarity around the phases of reopening. The resolution states the following, “Be it resolved, that the Student Senate, requests that school administrators provide information regarding the necessary conditions and/or requirements in order to transition between the colored operating phases implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Senator Demarkely verbalized that there is “no information what-so-ever” on the guidelines to move out of Phase Orange and into a new phase. He also argued that it would be helpful for Saint Anselm students to know what these conditions are so students can know what to advocate for and encourage their peers to do. When Dean Finn, the advisor to the SGA, was asked if she had any comments on this resolution, she told the Senate that she “didn’t have anywhere to point students to” regarding any sort of guidelines and she wished to provide no further comment on this resolution. 

After President Rit Flandreau and others expressed concerns that Covid-19 is just too unpredictable for a set list of conditions to move phases to be created, Welfare Committee Chair Tyler Cullen replied, “All we are asking for is a rough sketch… no definitive numbers. We are completely in the dark right now.” Vice President of the Class of 2022, Jackson Peck, expressed a similar sentiment and said that “there is no benchmark.” Academic Committee Chair Aidan Pierce pointed out that it is the Covid Analytics Team (CAT) that evaluates what phase the campus should be on and one of their major concerns is the quarantine and isolation rooms filling up. Given the limitations of available quarantine and isolation spaces on campus, if cases continue to rise it will only reduce the potential for loosening of restrictions and movement between phases. The resolution passed through the Senate with 18/20 Senators in agreement. 

When Senator Demarkey was asked, “What made you want to create this resolution and propose it to the Senate, he responded, “I wanted to create this resolution since many people, including myself, have no idea how we can advance out of the orange phase. I figured the Senate would be the best forum to voice this concern while also letting administrators know that we are always checking out what is going on and what they say and do. In bringing this to the Senate and discussing it with a member of the higher-ups at this school present, I was looking to apply pressure for some change.” In speaking about his resolution, Senator Demarkey also said,, “What I think and hope will happen is this news will be relayed to CAT, who will begin to provide some rough outline of what the standards are. As I said when discussing the resolution, I don’t expect nor do I care if there is/isn’t a phase change immediately- I just wanted more information about the process CAT goes through.” 

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. 

Students Advocate For Students: Student Response Task Force Publishes Report To The College

In an email to students sent out on Monday, the Student Government Association announced that the Student Response Task Force (SRTF) had completed its work and had published its findings in a report entitled, “A Report on the Student Response to the College Policies Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The SRTF was formed in early October under the purview of the SGA by Student Body Vice President Kevin Chrisom. The task force, composed of 12 SGA members, met twice a week through October and November in order to gather student feedback through listening sessions, Instagram polls, and an anonymous submission form in order to then draft their report for the Saint Anselm College administration.

All students were invited to participate in two “Student Listening Sessions” on October 28th and November 4th where students were asked for their opinions on a wide variety of topics related to the college’s COVID policies. Students had a lot to say. The report states that approximately 40 students took the opportunity to make their voices heard, and said things such as, “I have always felt that Saint A’s has supported their students except for this year. It is beyond frustrating to see the school hosting tours and weddings yet I am not even allowed to have my mom or my friends to my apartment for lunch.”

A total of 448 students participated in a series of SRTF sponsored Instagram polls which demonstrated the collective feelings of many students. Out of the 448, 95% of student participants favored extending the hours of the Jean Student Center, and 94% of the respondents also favored some form of intervisitation policy being reinstated. When asked whether or not the college had done enough for student socialization, 74% of respondents said that it had not. Unsurprisingly, 73% of student participants responded that they did not think that online or hybrid classes were as productive as a typical school year. Finally, despite a rather large portion (28%) of students claiming that their experience at Saint Anselm had been negative in the fall semester, 95% of student respondents said that they felt safe on campus.

The SRTF also provided an anonymous feedback submission form for students who were not comfortable attending the listening sessions or providing their feedback in person. 45 students chose this option. Of those students, 9% were from the class of 2021, 33% from the class of 2022, 33% from the class of 2023, and 15% from the class of 2024.

The twenty-two-page report paints a detailed picture of the fall 2020 semester and the effects it had on the students of Saint Anselm College. It highlights some of the measures that students found beneficial such as President Favazza’s Town Halls, a well-designed move-in plan, and quick and effective mitigation of campus outbreaks, as well as some significant areas of student concern. The report lists 27 specific issues that students voiced to the task force, ranging from a lack of enforcement of COVID policies to overbearing course loads. 

Although the student body only recently received the finalized report, the Student Response Task Force met multiple times with President Favazza and Dean of Students Finn to discuss their findings and provide recommendations on how to improve the experience of students in the spring semester. When asked how he would characterize the SRTF’s meetings with Favazza and Finn, SGA Vice President Chrisom said, “I am very appreciative of the level of thought and care both Dean Finn and President Favazza showed to us during our work.” He added, “On a more personal note, I would like to thank both of them for the job they have done throughout the year and look forward to continuing working with them in advocating for the students.”

The publication of the report and its subsequent delivery to the student body marks a major milestone in the task force’s work, and the question now becomes, “Where will they go from here?” When asked, Chrisom said, “There are several avenues to which we could go,” but that the direction of the Task Force will rely largely on the environment and circumstances of the upcoming semester. Chrisom then mentioned that “the task force plans to continue listening sessions and encourages students to continue attending them and voicing their opinions. When the Student Senate reconvenes, the expectation is that many resolutions will be coming up for discussion and for a vote on areas regarding dining services (the reopening of the pub), intervis, etc. The task force was pleased to see students partake in the decision-making process for the upcoming second semester, and will continue to advocate for their involvement.”

The full report is available to read here: 12-28-20-srtf-reportDownload