A letter from Rhonda M. Epper,| President
Trinidad State Junior College
Dear Faculty and Staff:
This week (Aug. 7) we continued welcoming students back to campus while following our protocol for testing all residence hall students. One student tested positive this week. The student was given the option to isolate in our designated quarantine/isolation space or return to their address of record. The student chose to return to their address of record. There was one additional case yesterday that was a suspected false positive. That student tested again this morning and the result was negative. The student’s sample is being sent to the state lab. The student will isolate at their address of record pending the result from the state lab.
As a reminder, student athletes always arrive in early August, a few weeks before the first day of class. This allows teams to bond and begin training and conditioning. This year, both athletes and other students who have reserved living space in the residence halls are arriving early to complete a pre-semester testing and quarantine process. As each student arrives in Trinidad, he or she reports to Mt. San Rafael Hospital for a Covid-19 test before checking in to the residence halls. A positive test means the student either returns home to isolate, or if unable to return home, will be supported in isolation in Trinidad. This step is taken to minimize the risk of other students and staff being exposed. Under the protocol agreed upon with the Las Animas/Huerfano County Health Department, once all athletic team members have cleared testing and are found to be Covid-19 negative, they will treat each other as a family unit. This means they will be interacting in a cohort in the residence halls, dining hall, and during practices and scrimmages. As an additional reminder, the fall sports competition season (except Cross Country) has been moved to spring by the NJCAA.
A total of 100 students have arrived through our check-in process so far. With the student who tested positive last week, this brings us to a total of 2 positives and 1 pending. This is consistent with what we are seeing in other colleges that are testing larger student groups. We are grateful to have partnership and support from Mt. San Rafael Hospital and the Las Animas/Huerfano Health Department to help us bring our out-of-area students back in the safest way possible.
While it may be unsettling news to hear of these cases, the positive test for Covid-19 before a student moves into the residence hall means the system is working. I encourage everyone to review our complete re-opening framework at: http://trinidadstate.edu/alert/pdf/2020%20Fall%20Re-opening%20Framework%207.14.20.pdf. I want to assure everyone that we are following our plan consistently and will continue to do so as we go through the semester. We are taking careful precautions to protect our students, faculty, staff, and community. We very well may have additional positive cases as we go through the semester. If we do, we will follow protocols as set forth in our plan and work with County Health to resolve them. We will continue to do our best to balance the safety needs of students and staff with our mission of educating our students.
Thank you for all you are doing to serve our students, college, and community.
Rhonda M. Epper, Ph.D. | President
Trinidad State Junior College
