MSLAW AUGUST 2021 COVID PROTOCOL Welcome back. It’s been far too long since we could be together safely. Let’s continue to take the necessary steps to keep us all as safe as possible. We have several different “brown bag discussions” planned for the semester during both lunchtime and the early bird dinner hour—Professor Devlin tells me that’s 5:15- 6:00 just before Wheel of Fortune. Those discussions will be led by your professors on current legal issues as well as mental health counselor and graduate, Jim Cropper, on law school, life, and getting back to “normal”. Regardless of the reason, students who feel ill or are experiencing any unusual symptoms must stay home. MSLAW will not penalize you for protecting your community and staying home when you are feeling under the weather. Since we are presently in an area with substantial or high rates of COVID-19 transmission, MSLAW encourages you to be especially careful and consider wearing a mask indoors. Health experts now advise even fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks if they’re immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19, or if they have someone in their household who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease or not fully vaccinated. MSLAW has many staff members and students who are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19 or have someone in their household who is immunocompromised. Anyone who has a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 may not come on campus and must be tested 5 days after exposure. If you have been on campus after a known or suspected exposure, please inform Assistant Dean Kaldis. To limit the risk of spreading Covid-19 if you have been exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and are symptom free you should still wear a mask for 14 days or until you receive negative test results. You may return to campus only after submitting negative Covid-19 test results taken within 72 hours of the results to the Registrar’s office. If you test positive, you should isolate and notify Assistant Dean Kaldis. You may not come on campus until you are symptom free and provide the Registrar’s office with a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of the results. MSLAW requires all staff, students, and visitors to be fully vaccinated to enter the building. We want to thank the many members of our community who have taken the necessary steps to protect us. Even though we may not always agree on how we get there, it is heartwarming to see what a caring community we have. Nearly everyone inside MSLAW this semester is vaccinated. In rare cases, upon a fully completed application form for substantiated medical and religious reasons, MSLAW may grant students a semester exemption from this protocol. On Monday of each week, those who receive such an exemption will submit to the Registrar’s office negative Covid- 19 test results from a test conducted no more than 72 hours before the results. At all times, those individuals must wear a mask on MSLAW’s campus, practice physical and social distancing, and comply with the general Covid-19 protocols adopted by MSLAW. We must continue to be vigilant. Be careful. Be considerate. Physically and socially distance. Stay home when we should. Use good judgement. Most importantly, show we appreciate that we can get back together in a healthy environment by working and studying hard. Our sacrifices and work ethic are the cost of our dreams. Dreams are easy. Completing the journey isn’t.