Iowa State encouraging COVID-19 vaccinations and trying to avoid repeat of last year's packed parties
Phillip SitterAs Iowa State students moved in on Tuesday, administrators described how they expect life on campus and even in programs abroad to be closer to how it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The extent to which things stay that way may largely depend on students' adherence to encouragement to get vaccinated against the disease and wear masks amid the continued spread of the more infectious delta variant, but administrators said they were pleased by what they'd seen so far as students returned to campus.
Neither COVID-19 vaccination nor mask-wearing is required on campus or at Iowa's other two public universities, though masks are required at Iowa State at the student health center, Ames Laboratory, on CyRide buses, areas of the College of Veterinary Medicine and at the discretion of principal investigators or lab supervisors at research laboratories.
Toyia Younger, Iowa State's senior vice president for student affairs, said, "We're confident our community will make informed decisions so that everyone can have a productive and fulfilling semester."
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Younger added that vaccination information will be included with students' move-in information, as well as during the first week of classes.
The university is hosting free vaccination clinics for its campus community through at least the end of September using the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Erin Baldwin — associate vice president for student health and director of the campus student health center — added that at the clinics, incentives for students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated will be available in the form of gift cards for campus dining and ISU Creamery.
The university got thousands of people vaccinated in the spring, though it's not clear exactly how many more remain unvaccinated. The Iowa Board of Regents decided that Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa cannot require students, faculty or staff to report their COVID-19 vaccination status.
However, because the measles vaccine is a requirement at Iowa State and the university often receives students' full vaccine records in being informed about that, Baldwin said while she could not provide a specific number about the incoming class, "we've been really pleased to see how many of our students have gotten vaccinated."
'Good Partners' program aims to avoid repeat of packed 801 Day parties
The university is also taking some precautions to try to avoid a repeat of the start of last school year, when COVID-19 cases spiked and the weekend before classes included large parties without masks or social distancing.
Known as "801 Day," the Saturday before the fall semester traditionally involves large gatherings that begin as early as 8 a.m.
Younger said the university is working with its police department and Ames', and "making sure that we have a presence as administrators."
What happened last year:Ames and Iowa State officials condemn large parties, bar crowds as classes begin
She said Iowa State's "Good Partners" program is educating students about how to be good neighbors. Over the weekend, she said alternative, "more structured" activities will be available Saturday morning — the types of activities she said the university's fraternity and sorority engagement office has also been encouraging among the Greek community.
The university still expects other gatherings on campus and in Campustown, and Younger said staff will be there to provide guidance, masks and hand sanitizer. "We hope that our presence helps lessen some of the things that we've seen in years past."
What the new normal is expected to look like
University administrators and the Board of Regents have been touting since the spring that life on the state's public campuses this fall will be close to how it was pre-pandemic, with classrooms at full capacity and a resumption of student life activities.
Jonathan Wickert, Iowa State's senior vice president and provost, said Tuesday, "We'll have two first-year classes" — incoming freshmen, and sophomores or other upperclassmen who are on campus for the first time or the first time in a while.
Wickert said that while some classes may continue to be available in multiple formats — online, hybrid or arranged independent study, in addition to in-person — "For the most part, academic instruction at Iowa State University will look a lot like it did in the fall of 2019," and in-person instruction will be back to normal for the approximately 6,000 classes being offered.
Baldwin said there was little or no evidence last year of COVID-19 transmission in classrooms, offices and labs.
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Wickert added that co-curricular activities such as research, public lectures, internships and limited study abroad programs will also be available in-person again.
He said 19 study abroad programs that will include a total of 110 students are available. The programs range in size — the smallest ones being only a couple of students — but the largest will be the College of Design's program in Rome, Italy.
He said some of the limited study abroad programs available will be semester-length, but most will only be seven or 10 days long.
Back in Ames, university spokesperson Angie Hunt said there will not be a public COVID-19 case reporting dashboard like there was last year, though the university's public health team continues to monitor data.
Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.