Geography and Western Program professor Dr. Hays Cummins had been a stable presence in the department of geography since 1988, but due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, Cummins decided to retire.
But delays in the United States Postal Service (USPS)— especially as they relate to the upcoming presidential election — are only worsening students’ anxiety about what the future holds.
Geno Svec, executive director of campus services and chief hospitality officer, wrote in an email to The Miami Student that the university made the decision to eliminate the sharing of items like bills and coins that are easily spread and difficult to clean.
OPD Lieutenant Lara Fening said the department hasn’t issued any gathering ban citations in an effort to let community members become informed of the new regulations before penalizing them. Fening also said that issuing citations is at the officers’ discretion.
As on-campus students begin planning to return to campus in September, questions about what residence life will actually look like in the age of COVID-19 are arising.
With the return of upperclassmen students to Oxford in mid-August and first- and second-year students coming to campus in September, Miami University facilities are implementing extra safety precautions to protect the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is how the pandemic is impacting Miami’s campus hotspots:
Miami University President Greg Crawford announced that 10 students and two employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the school year. In an email sent to the Miami community on Friday, Aug. 21, Crawford wrote that the positive tests occurred on Miami’s Oxford campus.
Miami University representatives Jayne Brownell and Kimberly Moore spoke to City Council members about the university’s plan for the fall semester during council’s Aug. 18 meeting.
As Miami University students begin their fall semester remotely, with many in off-campus housing, Oxford City Council voted to ban gatherings of more than 10 people at its Aug. 18 meeting. The emergency ordinance will be enforced until Gov. Mike DeWine declares the end of Ohio’s state of emergency.
Students have until this Friday, Aug. 21, to decide whether or not they will participate in Miami University’s phased reopening. But for some, the decision isn’t as easy as checking a box on an online form.
Miami University President Greg Crawford’s announcement that all undergraduate classes will be held online for the first five weeks of the fall semester was met with mixed reactions from students, parents and faculty.
Oxford City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to mandate face coverings in public. The ordinance was labeled as an emergency, which puts the mandate in effect as soon as possible. The decision occurred during a virtual special city council meeting.
Fifteen students resigned from Miami’s new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Task Force after they claimed instances of internal strife.
After being closed for nearly three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Miami University’s on-campus childcare center, Mini University (Mini U), reopened on July 6.
The new task force is charged with providing “expertise, advice, and insights on DEI efforts across the university and our campuses,” according to its webpage.
Miami University Hamilton rising senior Guan Lian and recent graduate Yanqi Xing both drowned in Jamestown, Ky., last weekend. Interim Director of University News and Communications Carole Johnson confirmed the identities and deaths of both men in an email to The Miami Student.
In the weeks following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, several student organizations at Miami University have released statements responding to their deaths and calling for action. Though all of these statements condemned the killings themselves, some organizations had differing perspectives on the protests that followed.
Miami University is facing backlash after releasing a statement last week on the killing of George Floyd.
President Greg Crawford announced in a campus-wide email today that Miami is planning to welcome students back in the fall with changes to this semester’s structure.
Miami University has extended its confirmation deadline for incoming students to June 1 in response to challenges caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic and lower than average admission numbers, especially among international students.