A senator asked if, in his communication with administrators, President Clay had learned anything about plans for dealing with the Covid 19 situation, especially contingency plans in case things get worse.
President Clay responded that the Green and Gold Commission meets next week to assess the situation. He noted that we are ready to go virtual if that becomes necessary.
A senator asked what we are supposed to do about student noncompliance with the mask mandate. President Clay replied that we can provide masks to students who don’t have them and ask students to leave if they refuse to mask. Faculty can also report noncompliant students to Dean of Students Arlen Sims.
Another senator asked if the university is requiring vaccinations and the answer was, “No.”
4. Faculty Regent Updates
Faculty Regent candidates will address the Senate later in the meeting.
6. General Education Update. [5 minute time limit] NA
7. Administration Updates [5 minutes each] Dr. Dailey- Distance Learning & Technology NA
Dr. Deams/Dean Sims-Student Engagement
Dean of Students Arlen Sims addressed the Senate saying that masks are required inside all KSU buildings. Students know this. Let Student Engagement know about noncompliance by sending an email with the student's name. There is no wiggle room in this policy. We are working on a student-led "mask up" campaign that will roll out soon.
Excuses for student absences should be coming from Amy Olds, or William Mink while Ms. Olds is on vacation. Contact tracing is handled by Nurse Todd.
A senator questioned whether reporting students to Mr. Sims would solve the masking problem. "It's my word against theirs," the senator said, noting that faculty have not always been backed up by administration in such situations.
Mr. Sims replied that building relationships with students can work, too. He said you can send in the names, or you can also invite me to your class to address the problem.
Another senator reported that he experienced no compliance problems in class, but that in the hallways compliance was zero.
President Clay noted that when he sees this he offers the student a mask. President Clay also noted that he will take up this issue with the Green and Gold Commission and in his next meeting with Acting President Stamps.
Nurse Todd- Safety
Nurse Todd reported that regarding information about Covid cases at KSU, she has provided the link for the Dashboard and asked that it be updated regularly. She hands in weekly updates to Brand Identity, but the Dashboard has not been updated since August 19.
So far this semester we have had 52 positive tests. Twenty-one are already recovered, and there are 21 active cases. In August the school administered 1206 tests, 900 of those were for athletes. Regarding mask compliance, she noted that students show up at Student Health without a mask. When this happens in class, she said, please ask them to leave and report them to Mr. Sims and Dr. Deams.