We are introducing the COVID-19 Community Compact, which provides guidance to faculty and staff relative to expectations during the continuing pandemic.
Occidental’s mission speaks to how every member of the Oxy community is empowered to create a campus environment characterized by a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation based on shared values that include trust, integrity, discipline, and selflessness. It is on these Oxy values that we depend to keep our community, and the larger community of which we are a part, safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is these values that shaped this Oxy Community Agreement, which lays out the expectations for students, faculty and staff to exercise the kind of mutual respect and cooperation that will safeguard the Oxy community and make it possible for the College to continue its educational mission.
Each semester we ask the Oxy community to renew its commitment to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves and each other during the pandemic. The agreement reflects the most current scientific guidance from federal, state and county public health officials; the common health interests of faculty, staff, students and neighbors; and the judgment and decisions made by College leadership during the pandemic. It is crucial to our sense of community that we understand and accept our shared responsibility for keeping ourselves and our fellow community members healthy. As our understanding of COVID-19 continues to evolve, the agreement may need to be adjusted over time.
In order to minimize the spread of the virus and protect the Oxy community, the College has implemented health and safety requirements that apply to everyone: those who are living or working on campus in addition to any remote-working Oxy employee needing to visit campus. These include:
- Wearing a mask at all times in all public spaces, indoors or outdoors.
- Staying at least 6 feet from other individuals at all times, not gathering in groups, and staying out of crowded spaces.
- Frequently washing your hands or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Using the College-sponsored monitoring app to complete daily symptom and temperature screenings before arriving on campus, and staying home if feeling unwell.
- Complying with all testing requirements.
- Alerting Emmons Wellness Center and observing all isolation and quarantine requirements if you test positive for COVD-19.
- Completing all required health and safety training.
- Actively monitoring all College communications about COVID conditions and changing protocols.
You can find the most current and comprehensive information on the pandemic at Oxy on the College's COVID Health & Safety webpage. The relatively small number of COVID-19 cases at Oxy thus far speaks eloquently about the way students, faculty and staff have stepped up the challenges posed by the pandemic. Given the potential impact that one person’s behavior can have on themselves and the broader community, the College must take violations of health and safety measures seriously.
Specific guidance for students, particularly those living in residence halls and those living in the surrounding communities can be found in the Student Code of Conduct as well as the COVID-19 Student Compact. These resources further clarify rules pertaining to students and associated potential ramifications of policy violations. Faculty and staff will be subject to the provisions of the updated Spring 2021 Workplace Guidelines as well as the Faculty Handbook and Employee Handbook, respectively.