A Return to Campus memo dated Feb. 25 reminded students that “staying overnight off campus is not allowed for all students,” as spring break draws near. It also stressed that students are not allowed to travel to other Emirates or commute home for any period of time, even within Abu Dhabi.

Though the memo was sent out to students, faculty, staff and other community members, the section with these guidelines solely addressed students. The Gazelle reached out to the co-chairs of the Return to Campus initiative to learn whether or not these guidelines apply to community members beyond the student body.

According to Co-chairs of the RTC initiative Jessica Sederquist and Peter Christensen and Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Kyle Farley, “the regulations on no overnights and not traveling to other Emirates uniquely apply to undergraduate students.”

“Conversely, undergraduate students have other privileges not afforded to other campus community members. For example, they have the ability to visit each other around campus when residents in B1/B2 are precluded from hosting others, including playdates for children and families,” they added.

On why the guidelines on overnight stays and travel to other emirates apply solely to undergraduate students, Sederquist, Christensen and Farley said: “We have a unique responsibility to protect our undergraduate students during a global pandemic and we take that responsibility very seriously. The very nature of the college experience presents a different and significant level of risk including dorm living and more regular socializing with members outside of your immediate family and household.”

“The cases in the country have increased since the start of the spring semester and as new variants emerge, this is not the time to introduce new risks by permitting travel or overnight stays in different locations with people outside of our community,” they added.

Some students have raised concerns that these unbalanced guidelines constitute a double standard and that asymmetrically lax policies may put students at heightened risk.

İlayda Özdemir, Class of 2023, shared her thoughts on the uneven applicability of these guidelines, voicing the concerns shared by students on social media including the Room of Requirement Facebook group, a platform for questions relevant to the student experience.

“[Students] going to the same gym that faculty goes [to] are in danger and they put their roommates in danger because this is the same faculty who can go … wherever they like and stay wherever they like,” she said. “The point is of course not ‘let's give everyone the free pass of do whatever you want,’ but more so, ‘let's give everyone the same amount of restrictions.’”

Sederquist, Christensen and Farley explained that in spite of the disparities in guidelines, the majority of health and safety guidelines on campus, including wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, limiting gatherings and no external guests, apply to all community members.

According to the memo, the policies on commuting, visiting other Emirates and overnight stays will remain in place over spring break and include a prohibition on overseas travel, regardless of whether the student has received a Covid-19 vaccine.