Dear Student,
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Tufts!
If you are living on campus this year, you have received a message from Residential Life and Learning that provided you with your arrival date and the instructions for selecting an arrival time.
If you are a transfer or first-year commuter student who will be living off campus, please plan to arrive on campus either on the day your Pre-Orientation Program begins or on Wednesday, September 1 if you are not participating in Pre-Orientation.
Campus Arrival
As we prepare to welcome you to campus, we ask that you be mindful that the Delta variant is circulating widely within the United States and overseas. The recent large COVID-19 outbreak due to the Delta variant traced to Independence Day celebrations in Provincetown, Massachusetts, demonstrated that both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals who do not wear face masks while in group settings indoors can acquire and transmit SARS-Co-V-2 to others. Fortunately, fully vaccinated individuals are far less likely to develop serious illness or require hospitalization.
As a residential community that will welcome students from across the United States and from around the world, we ask that you carefully follow the COVID-19 protocols that we have put into place, including wearing face masks while indoors.
If you will be assisted with move-in by family members, they will be required to wear face masks at all times while inside our buildings. We also request that only fully vaccinated family members assist you with move-in. If anyone assisting you on the day of your arrival does not feel well, they should not come to campus. You can review the Tufts COVID-19 protocols on our website.
Family members who are helping you move in should only be at Tufts on the date of your arrival and must wear face masks at all times, while indoors. For example, if you are participating in a Pre-Orientation program, your family can help you move in on your arrival date but they should not return to campus again this fall. All parent and family programming is virtual this year due to the pandemic.
Masking
Wearing face masks will be required when you are indoors, on and off campus, regardless of vaccination status. This includes classrooms, laboratories, studios, libraries, dining halls (except when eating), residence halls, and off-campus apartments. Within your residence hall or off-campus apartment, face masks must be worn in communal areas such as lounges, kitchens, and hallways, but are not required in bedrooms when only you and your roommate are present. Masks are required when riding the Tufts shuttle buses or when taking any form of public transport. Masks are not required outdoors.
Key Points About Your Arrival
Here are the key points regarding your arrival:
- If you are living in the SMFA’s Beacon Street residence halls, you will check in at 230 Fenway on the day you were given to move in during the time slot you selected.
- If you are living in Medford or Somerville, you will check in at the Gantcher Center (161 College Avenue, Medford) on the day you were given to move in during the time slot you selected.
- If you are living off campus as a transfer or first-year commuter student, you will check in at the Gantcher Center either on the day your Pre-Orientation Program begins or on Wednesday, September 1. You do not need an appointment. BFA transfer students may check in at 230 Fenway.
- When you arrive, you will be required to take a BinaxNow rapid test, results of which will be known within 30 minutes, and a PCR test, which results within 24 hours. If your rapid BinaxNow test is negative, you can go about your in-person activities. If your test result is positive (BinaxNow or PCR), you will need to isolate for a period of time as directed by the Tufts Health Service, usually 10 days. This means you may be unable to participate in-person during Pre-Orientation and Orientation programming. You will be put in touch with a clinician from Health Services who will follow your case and provide medical advice and monitoring. For students who live on-campus, isolation will take place in the Mods.
- Once you complete your arrival test, you will receive an SMS message and an email with information about your next scheduled test. Please mark this date on your calendar; it is very important that you test as scheduled throughout this academic year.
- Download the Tufts Mobile app now. You will be able to access your routine test schedule and results on the app. Note: this feature will be available later in the month.
- Routine tests will take place at 62R Talbot Avenue, Somerville, for Medford/Somerville students rather than at Gantcher Center. (SMFA students may have both their arrival and regular testing at 230 Fenway.)
- All in-person students are required to have been vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they have a medical or religious accommodation. We encourage you to get vaccinated now and upload your proof of vaccination to the Health Service’s secure Patient Portal. International students are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 now. However, if they do not have access to the vaccine now, they may receive their COVID-19 vaccinations when they arrive in the United States. Current guidance from public health authorities requires 7 days of arrival quarantine for unvaccinated international students.
- If you are unvaccinated upon arrival at Tufts, COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be held at the Gantcher Center (161 College Avenue, Medford) on August 22, August 29, and September 5. We will be administering the Pfizer vaccine. You do not need an appointment; just bring your Tufts ID. Second doses will be given at 51 Winthrop Street, Medford, on September 12, September 19, and September 26. If you cannot make these dates, you should arrange to get the vaccine at a pharmacy or visit https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/ to book an appointment at an outside clinic. Please know that any student studying at a university in Massachusetts is eligible to use the state’s vaccination program.
- Any student who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon arrival to campus will be required to quarantine for 7 days and have two negative tests before leaving their rooms or off-campus apartments. You are fully vaccinated 14 days after your second dose of a two-shot vaccine or your first dose of a one-shot vaccine such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Residence Hall Visitors
Tufts students participating in routine testing may visit Tufts students living in other residence halls in accordance with ORLL guest policy; however, occupancy limits and mask wearing policies will be in effect.
Non-Tufts visitors will not be allowed in residence halls this year. (Parents and families may assist with move-in and must wear face masks at all times while indoors.)
Final Thoughts
Congratulations on your acceptance to Tufts! This will be one of the most transformative periods in your life. We look forward to sharing this journey with you.
With best wishes for your summer,
Camille Lizarríbar, JD, PhD
Dean of Student Affairs and Chief Student Affairs Officer for AS&E
Laura DaRos, MS
Associate Dean of Student Affairs for SMFA
Joshua Hartman, EdS
Senior Director, Residential Life and Learning
