President’s Weekly Webinar: Student Political Engagement and the 2020 Election  

Join the next weekly update webinar on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 4-5 p.m. to discuss how Stetson students are involved in the political process and the 2020 Election. Special guests include alumnus Jim Daughton ’89, President, Metz, Husband & Daughton, P.A., Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Professor of Law with a special focus on election law, and Amelia Maulfair ’22, Director of Stetson Votes.  

Panelists: 

• Jim Daughton ‘89, President of Metz, Husband & Daughton, a legislative affairs firm  

• Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Professor of Law, with a focus on election law  

• Amelia Maulfair, Philosophy and Political Science ’22, Director of Stetson Votes  

• Kevin Winchell, Associate Director of Community Engagement (moderator)  

Thursday, Oct. 1, 4-5 p.m. 
Register for the webinar now.   

Students, faculty and staff can submit suggestions and questions through this online form. 

Previous webinars are posted by date on Safer Stetson under Latest Updates.   

Safer Campus Task Force Updates

Stetson Moves to Tier 2, Friday, Sept. 25  

Our thanks to the DeLand Stetson community. You have shown great commitment to the health and safety guidelines needed to ensure our ability to deliver the best Stetson learning experience possible.  

In our ongoing consideration of community physical and emotional health, Stetson University has determined the DeLand campus will move to Tier 2. This move allows for greater freedom and is supported by recent downward COVID-19 trends and campus data; however, out of an abundance of caution some pieces of the original plan will not be implemented until additional milestones have been reached. The university will continue to monitor various measures, including Volusia County’s active cases, and consult with our AdventHealth partners to ensure we safeguard the health and welfare of our community.  

This change will go into effect Friday, Sept. 25. Please keep in mind that additional movement up and down in the Tiers is always possible based on trends and results. More information on Stetson’s five-phased, tiered approach can be found here. 

Tier 2 changes: 

Residential living 

• Opening community kitchens for one occupant at a time.  
• Only one Stetson guest will be permitted in a room at any time. All present must wear appropriate face coverings. Non-Stetson and overnight guests in residence halls and apartments are strictly prohibited. 

Break rooms and tabling 

• Opening department and building break rooms and common office spaces with occupation limits to ensure physical distancing. These areas are only open to members of the department or building. This change does NOT apply to residence halls.  
• Tabling is now permitted with revised restrictions. Distribution of limited items is permitted with gloves. 

In-person meetings 

• Allowing in-person meetings under 15 minutes with face coverings and at least 6 feet of physical distancing. Larger and longer duration meetings should continue to meet virtually even when participants are co-located in order to avoid person-to-person interactions. 
• Increasing in-person group size to a maximum of 30 individuals for registered and approved non-academic meetings or gatherings. Non-registered and non-supervised student gatherings remain limited to 10 or fewer individuals.  
• Audiences of 30 or less are now permitted for School of Music and College of Arts & Sciences events and performances. Audiences may be comprised of 10 pre-approved, pre-screened family members and 20 screened campus community members. No receptions are permitted. 
• Snacks are allowed at gatherings with specific limitations, including attendees will remain in seats and 6 feet apart from one another and individually pre-packaged items and bottled drinks must be used. 

We ask departments, offices and individuals to review Tier 2 requirements to ensure they are aware of all necessary adjustments. If a department or work group is able to meet the operational needs of Tier 2 while still alternating on- and off-campus work, the department head may approve continuing some remote work arrangements. However, if on-campus work is required, work groups will need to enact other ways to keep physically distanced. 

As Stetson transitions to Tier 2, we ask the community to please continue to follow all associated safety guidelines including facial coverings, physical distancing, group-size limitations, reporting symptoms and hand washing. The success of our plan depends greatly on the continued responsible actions of our students, faculty and staff. 

If you have questions about the move, register for President Roellke’s webinar and submit your questions now or post them tomorrow during the event. 

The College of Law Remains in Tier 1
Stetson University College of Law is committed to a safe environment that fosters collaborative learning and intellectual pursuits for its community. The College of Law campuses in Gulfport and Tampa support far fewer residential spaces, and at this time there is little demand for move to a different Tier, and Stetson Law remains in Tier 1 and continues to requires face coverings while on campus, as well as physical distancing of 6 feet. See the policy.   

Latest COVID-19 Test Results  

Asymptomatic On-Campus Testing  

• Sept. 14-15 – 128 student-athletes and Athletics staff, 1 positive, 0.78% rate  
• Sept. 15 – 93 rapid antigen tests, 0 positive, 0% rate  
• Sept. 16 – 176 PCR tests, 0 positive, 0% rate  

Extended COVID-19 Related Leave Program Offered through Dec. 31 

The Extended COVID-19 Related Leave program is now available through Dec. 31, the end of the calendar year. Originally scheduled to end on Sept. 30, the program is available to staff impacted by quarantine or self-isolation related to COVID-19. Information will be posted in the weekly human resources communications, Hatter Newsletter, on Thursday. 

Flu Season  

Because COVID and the flu have a lot of symptoms in common, it is more important than ever to get your flu shot. If someone shows potential symptoms of COVID or another infection, like flu, COVID must be ruled out. They will take a PCR test and isolate until results come back. According to Florida Department of Health protocol, if someone tests positive for something like the flu, they should still be tested for COVID. Decreasing your chance of getting the flu helps protect you against having to isolate while awaiting COVID results when you actually have the flu. Prevention of flu also boosts your immune system, which protects against getting sicker if you become infected with another virus or bacterial infection. For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Rapid Antigen Testing on DeLand Campus  

Through our partnership with AdventHealth and CentraCare, Stetson will be offering free rapid antigen COVID-19 testing every other week on-campus. Testing will take place from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Rinker Field House in the Hollis Center and is available to students and employees. This testing is not mandatory, but highly encouraged for the safety and wellbeing of the entire Stetson Community. Sign up here for your appointment!  

Appointments are scheduled one testing date at a time. Testing dates are Tuesdays, Oct. 6 and Oct. 20; and Wednesdays, Nov. 4 and Nov. 18.   

Everbridge App Update  

The Everbridge Contact Tracer app for Apple users is now available for download in the iOS App Store. This new application will aid Stetson Health Service with contact tracing, which is an extremely vital portion of our wellness plan. During contact tracing, Stetson Health Service works with patients to develop a list of everyone they have been in close contact with during a certain period. The staff will then contact those people to let them know about their possible exposure so that they can take proper precautions. The app will run in the background (only 3%-4% battery usage per day) and will keep track of all close contact (within 6 feet for >15 minutes). All COVID-19 self-reports will be done on the Contact Tracer app so that all exposure events can be transmitted to Stetson Health Service to initiate contact tracing procedures to keep our community healthy.  

The GPS function of the phone is not utilized to track the location of app users or the specific identities of their friends. To protect the privacy of all parties, individuals are not provided with when, or by whom, they were exposed. If no exposure events are identified, the digital information keys auto-delete from the device after 14 days.  

The app can be found by searching for Everbridge Contact Tracer. Once the app is downloaded, users will select “Single Sign-On.” They will be prompted to enter the single sign-on key phrase which is Stetson2020. The original Everbridge app will remain on the phone and will continue to receive Daily Wellness Checks and any other messages that are sent. No messaging, other than exposure events, will be delivered to the Contact Tracer app.