Allegheny College Launches Public Health Campaign to Support Community of Mutual Care
As the beginning of the fall semester approaches, Allegheny College has launched a comprehensive public health and safety campaign that asks the campus community to take steps to stay well and purposefully protect each other and the community as a whole.
The campaign is designed to encourage responsibility among campus community members for promoting their own health and helping to keep the Allegheny and surrounding community as safe as possible from the spread of COVID-19 and other infections. The entire campus community is being screened for COVID-19 before August 31, and again the following week. Students are being screened prior to their move-in, which is staggered to limit the number of people moving in at one time.
Students, employees and other campus constituents have been asked to:
- Protect themselves — for example, monitoring their own health, wearing face coverings, washing their hands and reporting any COVID-19 symptoms they experience
- Protect others — for example, practicing physical distancing, wearing face coverings, handwashing and staying home or in their residence hall if they are ill
- Protect the Gator community — for example, cleaning living and workspaces regularly, adhering to testing, quarantine and self-isolation protocols, and complying with travel guidelines.
To reinforce the importance of these actions, the health campaign will include informational posters, decals, videos and social media posts, all with the theme “Keep AC Safe.” Instructional signage is being posted on campus to encourage physical distancing, appropriate use of entrance and exit points in buildings, the wearing of face coverings and staying informed about health news and updates, among other messages.
For example, one poster reads “Be the Fix — Stay at Six” and another details the reopening phase the college is currently in. And even the college’s mascot, Chompers, has assisted, donning a face covering during move-in to help promote the importance of wearing one.
“While we are very excited to reopen for in-person living and learning for the fall semester, we know that it will take the commitment and action of the entire campus community to ensure that we are doing everything we can to create as safe of an environment as possible, not only on campus but also in Meadville and Crawford County,” said Hilary L. Link, Allegheny president. “We have planned carefully, taking into account guidance from medical and public health experts, and will remain vigilant in our efforts as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve.”
To guide the college in the complex planning of reopening for in-person living and learning this fall, Link formed the Allegheny College Health Agency (ACHA). The ACHA — a first-of-its-kind college health agency — is overseeing a comprehensive healthcare system on campus that includes testing, contact tracing and mitigation strategies for the campus community.
In consultation with the ACHA, college officials developed and implemented strategies for physical distancing within learning spaces, dining halls and other campus facilities, along with enhanced protocols for cleaning and disinfecting. In addition, learning spaces have been equipped with technology that will allow students to attend classes remotely; all dining facilities are takeout only, and food can be preordered via a smartphone app in McKinley’s Food Court.
For more information, visit the Allegheny College COVID-19 Planning and Resource website.
View Posters from the Public Health Campaign
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