The Article below was published in Vol. 136, Issue 5 of the Lake Forest College Stentor on February 19, 2021.
By Emma Overton ’21 and Stephanie Carlson ’21
Editor-in-Chief & News Editor | Associate Editor & Sports Editor
overtoneg@mx.lakeforest.edu | carlsonsa@mx.lakeforest.edu
Editor’s note: As of press time, the College remains in Phase 1 of the Plan. At the Forester Commitment Panel on February 17, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Andrea Conner shared that there is “no magic number” for the College to advance to the next social phase of the Plan. Instead, it is about “being able to sustain a low rate of positive cases.” She further stated that she hopes for a move to Phase 2 “quite soon” and is “cautiously optimistic.” Conner encouraged students to comply with the Forester Commitment.
After a completely remote fall 2020 semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Forest College welcomed a portion of its students, faculty, and staff back to campus for the spring 2021 semester, which began on February 1. The College outlined the guidelines for a return to campus in the “Lake Forest College Plan for Spring 2021 Semester in Response to Coronavirus” [referred to as “the Plan”] including information about phased social interaction for returning students. Notably, the Plan stated the expectations for Phase 1, which would cover early arrivals to campus as well as the first two weeks of classes, and included the prohibition that “no indoor social gatherings are permitted.” Additionally, returning members of the campus community were required to sign the Forester Commitment, an agreement to the new community standards of the College.
However, around 48 hours into the new semester, on February 3, President Schutt informed the campus community via email that “12 students tested positive over the past two days and are now in isolation.” He further shared that “[a]nother 28 students who had close contact with one or more of the 12 are also quarantined in their rooms.” Schutt shared that “a majority of the members of our men’s hockey team are now in either isolation or quarantine.”
According to Schutt, the students in isolation and quarantine “violated the Forester Commitment by visiting each other’s residence hall rooms and gathering socially last Saturday night, January 30.”
Further, Schutt stated that “[m]ore than one student apparently believed that testing negative last Friday meant it was safe to gather with others on Saturday and ignore the rules in the Forester Commitment.” However, he emphasized that “a person can test negative on one day and test positive the next. A single negative test offers no guarantee: one could still be carrying the virus.”
Because a single negative test does not mean a person is COVID-free the next day, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Andrea Conner shared with Stentor staff her recommendations for reducing the spread of the virus on campus. “No single precaution is enough, and that’s why the Spring Plan and Forester Commitment require plenty of precautions like regular testing, yes, but also wearing masks, keeping social distance, and completing the daily medical screening. These public health precautions—coupled with a willingness to step up and say something when fellow students are not upholding the commitment—are all critical to our success,” Conner said.
Local media reported on the COVID-19 cases
In the hours following Schutt’s February 3 email, local news media, including ABC-7 Chicago, WGN-9 Chicago, and the Chicago Tribune ran articles about the COVID-19 cases on campus, although Schutt shared in a February 5th all-campus email that he “ . . . believe[d] some of the coverage misrepresented the nature of last weekend’s events.” Explaining that the events of January 30 were still under review, he stated, “…contrary to at least one news account—the review does not support any notion that there was a ‘super-spreader’ event on campus.”
The local news media identified the members of the men’s hockey team as initiators of the COVID-19 cases on campus, despite information that members of both the men’s and women’s hockey team were involved in the January 30 events. According to the captain of the men’s team, Aaron O’Neill ’22, the statement originally presented to the media was made available to the teams and he does “not believe it was accurately translated in the local news.” Further, although President Schutt stated in his February 3 email that the men’s hockey team was involved, O’Neill said he does not “believe that our administration had any intentions of using the media to discredit or publicly shame our team.”
While the students involved in the January 30 visits will have individual and confidential disciplinary consequences through the College’s Student Conduct System, Schutt provided the consequences for the respective teams, noting, “our men’s and women’s hockey teams will lose the opportunity to play two games from their short eight-game schedules this winter.”
Although the two-game loss puts the team at a disadvantage for their season, O’Neill says “we fully accept the College’s decision and understand that we are responsible for the repercussions assessed. I think we all feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to play games at all.”
Men’s Hockey apologizes for the events of January 30
Editor’s note: Men’s Hockey Coach Patrick Kelliher did not respond to questions from Stentor staff but instead provided the following statement:
“I want to start off by thanking those of you who have reached out either to myself or our team members to express your concern for their health and well-being. As a team, we understand the importance of the Forester Commitment and we are prepared to face the consequences of our actions as a team. With that being said, a misrepresentation of the facts has led to a number of ripple effects that I do not believe were anticipated. At this time we are fortunate that our team members have remained in overall good health, but we understand the seriousness of COVID-19 and apologize for the anxiety that this has caused for members of our campus community.”
O’Neill also offered an apology statement on behalf of the team, sharing, “I want to use this as an opportunity to apologize, on behalf of our team, to our fellow students, the athletic department, the faculty and staff, and our administration. We understand that there has been a tremendous effort on all fronts to allow us to return to campus and to compete this season. Our actions have not reflected an appreciation of that effort and we promise to be better going forward.”
