LEWISBURG – Required COVID-19 testing, new classroom spaces and take-out dining are among the plans for Bucknell University’s reopening to students this fall. In a release Tuesday, the university says students will be receiving two sets of tests, a saliva and midnasal swab. When arriving to check in, students will be required to show two negative tests through their Bucknell App. There is no charge for the tests or shipping. Students who don’t already have a recent negative test will be tested upon arrival and isolated until they test negative.
Students who test positive during the semester will be quarantined for two weeks at a local hotel or given the option to return home. Students will also be required to sign a new Community Responsibility Agreement, saying they support the public safety measures on campus.
The university says about 300 students have chose to take classes remotely from home.
In what the university calls a ‘new normal,’ students will only be permitted to live in single or double occupancy rooms, and no visitors will be permitted in residence halls this fall. Dining services has transition to no buffet lines, take-out meals, and limited seating occupancy, and outdoor seating. Increased cleaning measures will also be implemented campus-wide.
Many classrooms will also have cameras and microphones to allow faculty to put lectures online. Most classrooms have had capacity reduced by 50 percent as well. Larger spaces including Trout Auditorium, Gardner Lecture Hall, the Weis Center and Larison dining room will also accommodate classes up to 35 students. Additional outdoor locations are also being explored.
