Hello –
I hope you and yours are well and are navigating the COVID-19 situation as best you can. At Wake Forest, we continue to have to make unprecedented adaptations to our normal operations, and I am writing today to update you on a process that affects you.
Each summer, we schedule important maintenance and repair projects in our residence halls, which begins as students vacate their rooms. This summer, some of that planned work will take place in Bostwick and Johnson halls. This work was scheduled to begin as you all moved out of the residence halls around May 9th. In order to do these necessary repairs and maintenance, our work on Bostwick and Johnson must move forward as originally scheduled.
In order for the Bostwick and Johnson work to move forward, we have to relocate students currently living in Bostwick and Johnson. Our summer housing will be in Polo Hall, so those students are moving into your previously occupied apartments.
Herein lies the problem: North Carolina is on a stay-at-home order through April 29th and Winston-Salem has extended their stay-at-home order until May 7. Public health officials anticipate that peak infection in Winston-Salem will take place in the second and third weeks of April. This landscape means that we cannot safely invite you to return to your rooms to pack your belongings, as would be our (and your) preference. So we are now faced with the difficult necessity of having to pack up your rooms and store your belongings.
To assist us in preparing to pack your room, please submit our
pre-packing form
as quickly as possible, but no later than 5 pm on Thursday, April 16.
For students in doubles or triples with current roommates, look out for additional information regarding the opportunity to schedule a video call to separate property.
In order to provide assurances that your belongings will be properly packed and to provide for your privacy, we are not having Wake Forest staff pack your rooms. Instead, we have hired a
trusted partner, Carolinas Office Relocation Experts (CORE), to do this work. CORE will begin on April 22 working through Bostwick and Johnson to pack students' belongings. CORE will observe social distancing by working in small teams and will enter all rooms to:
- Pack and label the contents of all desks, closet, and drawers
- Pack and label the bedding on each bed
- Remove and pack any items on the walls
- Pack and label any clothing or loose items left on the floor
- Items such as lamps and/or televisions will be labeled and protected during moving.
- We will also box and label any items left in kitchens, lounges, bathrooms, etc.
In working with CORE, the following items are unable to be packed and therefore must be discarded:
- Loose packaged food (i.e. potato chips, cookies)
- Flammables (i.e. lighters, matches, rubbing alcohol)
- Caustics (i.e. bleach, drain cleaner)
- Aerosols (i.e. hairspray, deodorant, air freshener)
We realize that one question on your mind may be around items in residence hall rooms that violate the University’s Code of Conduct. Alcohol found in student rooms will be inventoried and discarded. Students will receive a communication that informs them of what has been discarded, but students will not be referred to the University’s conduct process for possible alcohol offenses. Items of an illegal nature (e.g., drugs or weapons) found in rooms will also be inventoried, but University Police will be asked to take possession of such items for the safety of the movers and University employees. University Police will not refer all instances of drugs and weapons found in the rooms to the University’s conduct process. Generally, instances of firearms and large quantities of illegal substances (indicating possible sale and distribution activities, for example) will be referred.
Please know that items from your room will be stored in a secure, climate-controlled location. Should the circumstances change in a way that would make it acceptable for students to return to campus to retrieve belongings, we will have an orderly plan in place for you to do so. We will continue to provide updates on plans regarding the possible retrieval of personal belongings as we have additional details.
Finally, we want to make you aware that we will be holding a question and answer session on Wednesday, April 15 from 6 to 7 p.m. Eastern. Please
CLICK HERE
to register for that event.
Thank you for your extraordinary patience and flexibility during this time of crisis. As we navigate these challenges on campus, we thank you for your support and understanding from afar. We look forward to the day that we can welcome you back to Mother So Dear safely!
Best -
Matt Clifford, EdD
Assistant Vice President of Campus Life
and Dean of Residence Life and Housing
