May 28, 2020

Dear Reed summer on-campus residents:

Congratulations on your completion of a very extraordinary semester at Reed and for our world. As you may know, the state of Oregon is in a phased re-opening process, and Multnomah County (where Reed is located) has not yet applied to re-open, so restaurants, churches, gyms, salons, and other entities remain closed.

As we anticipate a “COVID Summer,” we need your assistance in promoting behaviors that protect your health and the health of others. Earlier this month, facial coverings became a requirement for entering Commons and other buildings on campus. The guidance from the Oregon Health Authority, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and World Health Organization is clear: the use of facial coverings inhibits the most common form of transmission of COVID-19—when one person breathes the respiratory particles of another.

As part of our summer residential community, you are our best indicators and examples of how your fellow students may act should a return to in-person operations this fall be possible. In an effort to safeguard the health of the community, beginning June 1, 2020, facial coverings will be required for all students living in campus residence halls. In addition, all persons with access to buildings on the Reed campus will also be required to wear facial coverings.

This requirement includes the following:

• Cloth face coverings are required at all times in indoor spaces in the residence halls such as hallways, kitchens, common rooms, and lobbies.
• Cloth face coverings are also required in bathrooms, except while showering or engaging in oral hygiene.
• Cloth face coverings are not required when inside your place of residence (e.g. room) with the door closed.
• Cloth face coverings are required in Commons, Grey Campus Center, and all other buildings on the Reed campus.
• Cloth face coverings are not required when outdoors if you can maintain at least six feet of physical distance from others.
• Wearing a cloth face covering does not substitute for a physical distance of at least six feet. All Reed community members are expected to maintain at least six feet of physical distance from others whether indoors or outdoors.
• Reed summer on-campus residents are reminded that their ongoing housing agreement limits their access solely to the building where they reside.

All on-campus residents were previously provided a kit to create a “no sew facial covering” according to the Surgeon General's guidelines. Reed logo facial coverings are also available for purchase at the Reed Bookstore.

Reedies take care of Reedies—it’s the honorable thing to do.

Cindy Anderson
Interim Dean of Students
student-life@reed.edu