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Mimi Chapman, Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, says that this is "obviously in response to the letter that came out today," regarding the letter from the Orange County Health Department.
Kevin Guskiewicz wants to be clear that the university has been working with the Orange County Health Department for months, and that Interim BOG President Bill Roper has been in contact with Mandy Cohen, the CDC, and the ACLU. Says the letter came in at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday nite
There is a memo going out to the campus community in response to the letter, Guskiewicz says that they acted on it immediately when they received it last week. He says that when they received it, students were already moving in.
Guskiewicz apologizes if anyone felt "blindsided" by this letter.
Blouin speaking now. He says that when he read the letter, he was "a little bit surprised, and a little bit uncertain as to what the language meant," specifically the term "recommendation to consider."
He met with OCHD Director Quintana Stewart and Erica Pettigrew the day after this letter came out. Afterward, he and Guskiewicz met and decided that they would "circle back" to Quintana/Erica and the system office.
Blouin says that because they felt that they were in a very good place, they were keeping it as an internal document until they knew what was expected of administration.
The letter, reported on by @JoekillianPW, said that classes should be online for the first five weeks of classes AT LEAST, and the dormitories should be kept to those who absolutely need to live on-campus. http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2020/08/05/orange-county-health-director-to-unc-chapel-hill-go-online-as-default-for-fall-semester-restrict-on-campus-housing/">https://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2020/08/0...
Guskiewicz says that they have been informing the system office and keeping them up to date on "de-densifying" campus. Says he talked to Peter Hans about it today, and says that they& #39;ve said "all along" that there are risks in reopening.
Committee member Deb Aikat brings up the video where there are women walking around without masks (presumably a sorority). Guskiewicz says that there& #39;s a "team looking into that."
Mimi Chapman asks if there is a hotline for concerns about violations of community standards, or some other reporting procedure. Blouin says there is, and that in his Thursday communication to campus, there is a URL for people to share comments or concerns.
Guskiewicz also mentions the "Carolina Ready" app that was released today has a way to report these violations.
N&O reported that the Board of Governors expects the chancellors to comply with local public health guidelines, Joy Renner brings up. Guskiewicz says this isn& #39;t accurate.
Renner, to Guskiewicz: "I think this was good to hear from you, and Bob, instead of the newspaper."
Guskiewicz says that they& #39;re updating the dashboard and that information is "changing by the day," and that it will keep people updated on how many students are living here, and other information about campus issues.
Sue Estroff: "If everything was going so well, why did they feel they had to write this letter?" She says, "it sounds like they& #39;re concerned, and there& #39;s a reason they wrote it."
Guskiewicz, to Estroff says that when he reached out to ask about the intentions of the letter, he says that he feels like they "clarified a lot" in the conversations at the end of last week, but can& #39;t clarify why they wrote it. Blouin says he was surprised by the letter.