On-campus students without COVID-19 test lose building access

Chapman’s Residence Life and First Year Experience announced Dec. 1 that any students living on campus who hadn’t undergone COVID-19 testing by Dec. 4 would lose all building access. SAM ANDRUS, Photo Editor

The week after Thanksgiving can be a rude awakening for many Chapman students. Lulled into a false sense of security by the comforts of a warm family home, mouthwatering turkey and a restful break from school, they’re immediately hit by piles of work in preparation for finals week once school is back in session. 

Yet this year, some students living on campus faced yet another source of stress after receiving a Dec. 1 email from Residence Life and First Year Experience (RLYFE) enforcing a four-day period for residents to receive a COVID-19 test – or otherwise risk losing all access to on-campus housing. 

“I was extremely annoyed,” said Raphael Camua, a sophomore film production major and Chapman Grand resident. “I’m trying so hard to find the right time to go get tested … It’s just inconvenient.”

The mandatory testing was administered at the church along West Sycamore Avenue behind the Student Health Center during the week of Nov. 29. There was an added caveat with the testing: if it wasn’t completed by Dec. 4 at 4:30 p.m., residents’ key card access to their housing assignments would be removed.

Dave Sundby, director of RLYFE, said the policy was based on the logic that if residents weren’t willing or able to get tested, that indicated they weren’t around or weren’t willing to follow university protocol.

“It’s both the carrot and the stick,” Sundby said, comparing the situation to an age-old adage. “The carrot is you want to maintain that access, and the threat of the stick is that we need people to comply with the protocols. We need to make sure that our community is safe.”

Any residents who had their keycard access removed will be allowed to later regain access as long as they tested negative at a later date, Sundby said. Those testing positive would undergo the standard isolation process, as Sundby said there’d be no reason to pull their building access. 

Camua believed it was inconvenient to force students to take a test and only rely on one location for testing, calling the announcement “out of the blue.” 

“When we had to get tested at Chapman Grand in the lobby, it was fine because it was right there, it was through an appointment basis and it was really quick,” Camua said, referencing earlier rounds of testing done through the Orange County Health Care Agency in October. 

However, he told The Panther Dec. 3 that he’d gotten permission to take a COVID-19 test at the Anaheim Convention Center. 

As Chapman attempts to minimize the spread of COVID-19 for the final two weeks of the semester, student utilization of off-campus testing sites – such as Camua’s – could play a large role in the accuracy of reported cases at Chapman. Camua told The Panther that many of his friends throughout the semester had tested positive, yet didn’t report to Chapman because they took the test at an outside location, not through Student Health Services. 

“Some people just decided to self-quarantine and not tell Chapman because of the whole procedure and how complicated it’s been,” Camua said. 

The CU Safely Back website has reported, on average, approximately 10 to 15 positive cases a week amongst the campus community since its introduction at the beginning of the semester. Camua believes that number is being underreported, given his experience seeing students not test through Chapman in fear of isolation retribution. That possible phenomenon worries Jerika Lam, a viral infection specialist and Chapman professor in the School of Pharmacy. 

“If (students) don’t see the actual numbers that are reflecting the community, they are a little more brazen or at least gullible to be out and about and not know,” Lam said. 

As travel increases over the holiday season, Lam is concerned about cases spiking prior to and during winter break. She stressed the importance of making a final push toward a larger goal, noting that relief in terms of a vaccine for frontline workers could come as soon as within a month. 

“We’re in the whole mindset of celebrating holidays and giving gifts,” Lam said. “My sincere message for everyone across the board is give the gift of life by protecting yourself, masking up and practicing hand-washing and safety precautions … We only have one life.