Dear students, 

As we are now halfway through our second week back together, we want to stop and say thank you for doing your part in keeping your fellow community members here at Calvin safe and healthy. We are off to a great start, our active COVID-19 positive case numbers are low, and our mitigation efforts are proving effective in these initial days of fall semester. Social distancing, wearing masks, and practicing good hygiene are helping. But, as President Le Roy mentioned last week, we are in a marathon, not a sprint, and we need to continue to stay the course.  
 
By continuing to adhere to our community’s health and safety protocols, we will put ourselves in the best position possible to consider easing restrictions as we move further into the semester. Of course, any changes we make would need to align with advice from the local health department and guidelines from the State of Michigan.   
  
Fitness center update  
You may have heard that Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, announced on Friday of last week that fitness centers throughout the state will be able to re-open as early as today. This summer, we developed a plan for how we would gradually open our fitness center when restrictions were eased. We have reviewed the plan over the past few days and are excited to announce that beginning on Monday, Sept. 14, we will be re-opening a few spaces within the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex. 
 
The Morren Fitness Center, the Venema Aquatic Center, and the Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center are the three spaces that will be re-opening. To find out the hours of operation and the requirements for using each facility for fall 2020, visit the Athletics Facilities site and click on a venue. 

Study spaces  
We have identified several drop-in quiet study classrooms around campus for students to use on weekdays during normal building hours of operation. We also want to remind you of other non-classroom indoor study spaces you can consider as well. These spaces are listed in the “Places to Study” section on this page.  
  
In addition to these drop-in quiet study spaces, students who are taking the majority of their courses in-person but who have particular courses that will be fully online this semester will also be assigned a “homeroom” where they will be welcome to engage in their online course(s) during their assigned class time. Your homeroom is listed on your student schedule.  
  
Outdoor activities  
We know adjusting to this new reality of living and learning together on campus in the midst of a pandemic will take time and figuring out the exact expectations for outdoor activities or situations may not be as clear as it is for indoor gatherings. So, we have developed a list of some specific outdoor activities you may engage in and have clarified what the proper health and safety protocols are for each situation. The list can be found in the “Outdoor Activities and Protocols” section on this page.  

Fire pit  
We had hoped to open the fire pit this week near Peet’s Coffee, but construction was delayed. The fire pit should be installed and ready for use later this month. 
 
10 seconds/day 
Please remember to do your daily health check using the #CampusClear App. Put a reminder on your calendar for when you wake-up in the morning. When we all practice this daily discipline, we greatly increase our ability to remain a healthy and safe campus. 
 
Questions/concerns  
What questions or concerns do you have after nearly two weeks of living and learning on campus? Let us know by emailing ResponseTeam@calvin.edu or calling 616-526-6657.  
 
Thanks again for your role in keeping our community safe and healthy for the fall semester. It’s a team effort. 
 
With gratitude, 

The Safe Return Team  
Kristen Alford  
Jennifer Ambrose  
Laura Champion  
Todd Dornbos  
Jim English  
Todd Hubers (co-chair)  
Matt Kucinski  
Brian Paige  
Sarah Visser (co-chair)  
John Witte