Important Move-in/Testing Information for Residential Students

Aug. 10, 2020

Dear Billiken Companions,

First of all, let me say how excited the SLU community is to welcome you to or back to campus this week. So many of us have been working all summer to get to this point, and we could not be happier that our SLU community will be less dispersed than it has been since March. This message is for students who are preparing to move in this week. For those who aren’t coming to campus this week, we are excited that you are starting or resuming your SLU journey online soon.

For those who will move in this week, we knowDr. Pestello’s announcement on Friday raised many questions about how testing will work and how it will change the logistics of move-in. Thank you for your patience as we finalized the details and put together a plan to make the testing and move-in process as integrated as possible.

I believe the information we’re sharing here will answer most of your questions, but you can always emailpandemic@slu.edu for additional information.

It is important to know that students are not allowed to check in or move in to their assigned campus housing unless they test negative for COVID-19 on their move-in day. This means even those who recently tested negative for COVID-19 must be tested again on their move-in date. (Test results are a snapshot in time; students who tested negative a few days ago could have contracted COVID-19 since that test.) Of course, if a student is tested –– and receives a negative result –– on the same day they move in, they may present documentation to that effect and likely will not have to be tested on campus. (But you may find it’s easier to get quick results from a COVID-19 test on campus than it is at area testing sites.)

I want to acknowledge that this is a significant change, announced very close to move-in. I know how frustrating the timing is for you and your families. Believe me, if we could have secured the contract with our on-site testing provider earlier and announced the change earlier, we would have.

Again, I thank you for your patience. These last 6 months have been stressful, and the days ahead will be, too. But I can tell you that the life of our campus will be vibrant again once you get here –– even if you have to spread out a bit for dining, and connecting, and walking to class, and studying –– we are excited to welcome you back if you’ve been away.

And we are beyond excited to welcome our newest Billikens and their families! Although we won’t have the usual in-person Fall Welcome programming for parents and families, we do have some great (mostly-virtual) programming planned for new Billikens. And we hope all will tune into our streaming Convocation on Friday, Aug. 14, at 10 a.m. CDT. (You canfind more details here.)

Looking forward to seeing you on campus this week –– you have no idea how much!

Debra Rudder Lohe, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Interim Vice President for Student Development