Hi everyone, I hope you’re all having a good week.
I’d like to begin with a word of thanks to all of you—our students and their families,
our faculty, and our staff.
We are at the mid-point of a remarkably challenging semester, one that has tested each of us in
different ways.
Collectively, we have had to change how we teach, how we conduct research, how we learn,
how we interact with each other, and how we do our jobs.
We have successfully reached this point only because of your resilience, your flexibility,
your sacrifices, and your willingness to think not just of yourselves but of others.
And for all of that, I am enormously grateful.
I am especially grateful to our students, of whom we have asked a great deal, and who
have responded.
Because of your hard work, your compassion, and your vigilance, our case numbers are down,
our hospitalization numbers remain very low, and we have a good deal of capacity in our
isolation and quarantine spaces.
Given these positive signs, we announced the other day that we are easing up on the restriction
regarding the size of gatherings—going from a maximum of 5 to a maximum of 10.
We did this both because of the drop in positive cases and also because we heard from many
students that the 5-person maximum was especially challenging.
So we wanted to lift it as soon as we could.
The mask requirements and limits on unnecessary travel outside of Charlottesville are still
in place.
In fact, wearing a mask will be even more important when you’re gathering with more
people.
But what you’re doing is working, and we don’t want to put any more restrictions
in place than are absolutely necessary.
At the same time, we have all learned that the path of this virus is difficult to predict,
so we will continue to keep an eye on the case counts and the progression of the virus
and continue to adapt to what we see and learn.
As you may also have heard, we are continuing to expand our testing program for students
on- and off-Grounds.
On Tuesday, we announced that we are going to start testing all students living in residence
halls on a regular basis, at least once every nine days, using either a nasal swab or a
saliva sample.
If you live in dorms, you will receive an email with information about your testing
appointment, which should take less than 10 minutes.
As I’ve said before, the best way to keep the virus in check is to try to stay one step
ahead, and regular testing will help us do that—and will hopefully provide students
a more predictable testing schedule.
We’re also going to increase testing for students living off-Grounds with a combination
of self-administered test kits and saliva screenings.
Symptomatic and asymptomatic testing remain available for faculty and staff.
And volunteers from the health system and the community continue to offer free testing
each week at several locations in the Charlottesville area.
We now have a little more than six weeks to go before the Thanksgiving break, and we are
on track to finish the semester together because of all that you have been doing.
And for that, let me end where I began, which is to thank all of you.
Coming up next is Davion Zeno, who will, among other news, report on what it’s like to
take a saliva test.
Zeno here and I’m back like I left something.
Coming to you with the #Youva team to talk all things covid and news on grounds.
So you guys remember when we were talking about Saliva testing?
There was a whole segment about it with a scientist.
It was very much needed but all the scientific terminology went right over my little old
humanities major head-- so the team decided to try it out and give you the inside scoop
on what the process is really like.
Hey guys, it’s Davion Zeno and I’m here at the garage, at central grounds at University
of Virginia.
We’ve been talking a lot about saliva testing and we wanted to get the student perspective.
I’m here with my friend, Kristin Myers…
Six feet away, in compliance with all CDC guidelines, and she’s going to give a lot
of moral support.
I’m not going to lie to you, I’m a little nervous, just because I’ve never drooled
effectively and fast, and which is being asked of me now.
Actually, in my room beforehand I was googling different ways to drool more effectively.
We’re excited, so let’s do it!
See you, guys.
Hello guys, I just finished up my saliva testing, in my experience it was quick and easy.
However, it was quicker for Kristin because she has the saliva glands that most people
only can dream of.
Those things are out of my control, but you know what?
Me and my saliva glands, we got it done.
And so if you guys need to know tips, please make sure you’re hydrated well beforehand.
I was not, I’m not going to lie, I need to drink more water.
And also, you might want to rub your cheeks to get more saliva out, that’s what helped
me the most.
There’s also thinking about lemons, thinking about the dentist, is what I saw.
That’s what was traumatic for me, because you know I hate the dentist.
But all in all, ten out of ten experience.
Great job with saliva testing, so, see you guys.
Remember to bring your university ID and refrain from eating, drinking, brushing your teeth
and using any tobacco products an hour before submitting the test.
You should receive your testing results in about 24 hours.
Also, if you receive an email and you're in isolation or quarantine, email prevalence-testing@virginia.edu
to notify them and DO NOT GO to the testing site.
I hope that was helpful in understanding the process so no need to be nervous.
On another testing note, please keep using the Hoos Health Check app daily but know that
if you report that you are experiencing Covid symptoms, the app does not notify Student
Health & Wellness -- it’s up to you to call Student Health to get assessed and schedule
a testing appointment.
2020 has been a year filled with obstacles, even more so dealing with a pandemic.
If one of those obstacles is financial, remember that students receiving financial aid can
apply for CARES Act emergency support for food and other needs.
Visit the Student Financial Services website for more information about emergency financial
resources.
The UVA community food pantry is another resource for all to access.
They have various food and hygiene products for those who need them.
The UVA Community Food Pantry is located in the Student Activities Center on the 1st floor
of Newcomb Hall.
The pantry is open to all students and staff during the SAC’s hours.
To get to the pantry, enter the SAC and follow the hallway past the information desk.
The pantry will be to your left, with a marked door.
This past week, a Credit/No Credit option was approved for all undergraduate courses.
But unlike in the spring, students will need to make the switch in SIS from a standard
grade to the Credit/No Credit option between Monday, November 2 and Friday, November 6,
2020.
If you don’t make the switch by 11:59 on the 6th, you are out of luck, so be sure to
plan ahead to combat any technical difficulties that may arise.
Ima wait to see how these midterms grades look before I make a decision.
In other news, the IM Rec Center has lots of ways for you to exercise and socialize
safely, so let’s learn a little bit more about the fun activities you can join in on.
Socialization and exercise and recreation is fundamental to our health, and we put a
significant importance on the ability to do that and we're doing as many activities as
we can to continuously engage with students and provide those opportunities.
We have the Aquatic and Fitness Center open, as well as the North Grounds Recreation Center.
We spent the summer planning to meet the state requirements for ten feet of distancing while
exercising, so we've converted the basketball here at AFC as well as North Grounds to host
all of our cardio equipment as well as some flexorized weight machines.
In a normal semester, we're offering intramural sports, which is flag football and soccer
and so on, but these sports are not able to comply with the proper distancing requirements,
so we are trying to provide opportunities for students to have healthy and safe outlets
through recreation and social engagement.
We have a roommate obstacle course coming, we have a kickball league happening as well
as volleyball and tennis, we have lots of outdoor hikes and outdoor opportunities with
our outdoor program, we had movie night in the pool last week, we have two more coming
up where we float on tubes in the pool and watch a movie on the big screen, we have an
upcoming zombie run for Halloween, we've got laser tag and Simon Says.
We're navigating each day as it comes with the regulations and the restrictions, and
trying to add an element of fun, despite it.
For information on all of our events, you can go to our website, it's recsports.virginia.edu.
Download our app where you can find all of our events, register for the events, check
out capacity in each of the facilities right from your phone.
Now I’ll leave you with a message from UVA’s chief operating officer, J.J. Davis, who is
going to tell us more about UVA’s testing plans.
Hi everyone.
I’m so glad to be on the show this week.
It gives me a chance to give a big shout-out to all of you!
I want to share a very heartfelt thank you to our students, faculty and staff.
The COO team continues to leave me in awe of their intelligence, dedication, and hard
work.
Since mid-March, people all across Grounds have come together to adjust how we do everything
from housing to dining to transportation to Human Resources to It to Housekeeping and
everything in between.
In addition, the last seven months have given the academic, health and administrative teams
a unique opportunity to partner and collaborate.
I have truly appreciated working closely with President Jim Ryan, Provost Liz Magill, Dr.
Craig Kent, Pat Lampkin, and all of their incredible team members.
It has been an honor for us to work side-by-side with our faculty, supporting their teaching
and research.
I am humbled to be part of this hard-working team.
So many of you have picked up different responsibilities over the last seven months, and you have done
so without missing a single beat.
We notice and we are incredibly grateful!
I’m glad to see our students, staff, and faculty wearing masks and practicing physical
distancing.
Because of your commitment and cooperation, we have been able to continue to offer in-person
learning, and keep libraries, recreational facilities, and other spaces open.
Thank you for this and keep up the great work!
So much of what we have spent our time on in recent months is outside of our normal
job descriptions and has required us to work together in new ways.
Though it hasn’t been easy, there are silver linings in the relationships that we have
strengthened and the new ways of working together that have been established and will continue
in the future.
I’m grateful to our partners in the Charlottesville/Albemarle community, including the health department,
local governments, and area non-profits.
We are all in this together.
So with that, I’ll leave you with a quote from everyone’s favorite men’s basketball
coach, Tony Bennett.
Coach Bennett said this right after we beat Notre Dame in overtime last season: “This
is a different year, but it’s our year.
And our way is our way, and we’re scrapping and we’re fighting.
I know it’s not perfect, but we’ve got each other’s back and we’re all for one.”
We will get through this together and we will come out stronger on the other side.
Thanks for everything you are doing to help keep our community safe and healthy.
Go Hoos!
Remember, hit the @YOUva team on Instagram or email us at youva@virginia.edu with questions,
concerns, and good news.
This has been Zeno and I'm out like a light.
I'm Jody Kielbasa, Director of the Virginia Film Festival,
and Vice-Provost for the arts,
and I'm thrilled to welcome you all to
the 33rd annual Virginia Film Festival,
coming up this week on October 21st
through the 25th.
Our program will feature two safe and
socially distanced drive in movie locations,
as well as a virtual program of over seventy films,
including this year's most celebrated first-run features,
documentaries and short films,
as well as a stellar guest line-up, headlined by Annette Bening,
Leslie Odom Jr., Linda Hamilton and Ethan Hawke.
You can find our full program and order your virtual pass
at VirginiaFilmFestival.org.
And remember, full time UVA students have until noon
on Monday, October 19th to request a free virtual pass
through the UVA Arts Dollars program.
See you at the festival.