Dear Rambler Readers,

In this time of a global and nationwide pandemic, it can be easy to forget how resilient we are as a community and as a university. As your student-run newspaper, we want to provide you with accurate reporting during a time when misinformation and competing perspectives are all around us. With that being said, we would like to take the remainder of the academic year to offer entertaining and engaging content to all of our readers. In the coming weeks, we will work to provide exciting content and campus updates to the best of our abilities. Since students have moved back to their residences and campus activities have been postponed, please understand that our content will not be as frequent nor as focused on campus life as per usual. Be on the lookout for our hashtag #RambleOnGratitude on our Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages!

Thank you for your continued support, especially now.

Transylvania released an updated statement from the President’s Office on March 18 at approximately 3:02 p.m. EST via email that was sent out to the campus community. The updates listed in the email include the decisions to move all classes to remote delivery for the remainder of Winter Term and to make May Term classes available only to seniors who need them to graduate. Although there was no final word on the 2020 commencement ceremony, the update stated, “We are considering options for commencement, including postponement from Saturday, May 23, to a later date. Candidates who have completed all degree requirements, however, will receive their degree posted as of May 23, 2020, so they might progress to graduate or professional school or employment.” All of the updates outlined in detail can be found here on the University’s COVID-19 Response Updates page.

These updates have left many students with questions and concerns surrounding financial reimbursement, class registration, move-out procedures, and grading for the remainder of the term. The Rambler spoke to Dr. Michael Cairo who currently serves as the Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the University about these concerns.

May Term

Yesterday’s message has left Transy underclassmen wondering about the fate of their May Term classes and how the lost credit will be made up next year.

Cairo said, “As Interim President Williams noted in his message on Wednesday, because May term classes are unique and provide highly interactive learning, offering them online is challenging. We have more than 100 seniors to accommodate with courses for this May term and so our focus right now is on getting them the credits they need to graduate.”

In regards to the current juniors who are concerned about potentially having to take five classes during one of the terms in the next academic year, Cairo said, “Our Pioneer Pledge guarantees graduation in four years, and we will honor this pledge to our students. If that means providing flexibility in 2020-2021 for our current juniors, that’s certainly something our incoming dean and vice president of academic affairs can consider once we have a better sense of the situation.”

Housing/move-out

According to yesterday’s email from the Presidents Office, all residential students are being asked to move out by Tuesday, March 24th (with the exception of those who received approval to stay until April 6) and for everyone (even approved students) to complete this form. The updates regarding move-out also stated, “Information for athletes and off-campus students who need to retrieve items such as musical instruments or other academic materials will be provided shortly.”

Class registration for Fall 2020

Cairo said, “We plan to conduct Fall 2020 registration from Monday, May 4-Friday, May 8.  We are currently working on a plan to facilitate advising between faculty and students.”

Financial reimbursement

Student billing specialist, Kim Gibson-Pierce shed some light on the concerns about refunds. “It is Transylvania’s intent to deliver the full instructional content for the Winter 2020 term to all of our students. Accordingly, at this time, there is no plan to provide tuition refunds. We’re considering the impact of the current move to remote learning on student fees for housing and food service and will have additional details in the near future.”

As stated in the President’s updated message yesterday, “The impact of the change to remote learning on student fees for housing, food service and financial aid is under review, and we will have additional details in the near future. (There are no fees associated with May term, per the university catalog.).”

These changes will have a lasting impact on everyone, especially the class of 2020 as they transition to complete the remainder of the academic year beginning March 23rd and May Term on April 27th remotely to fulfill requirements needed to graduate on time.

We will continue to provide updates on the impact of COVID-19 as it relates to the Transy community. If you have any questions or concerns, please submit them to rambler@transy.edu.

In light of recent news, The Rambler has decided to suspend regular reporting for the next few weeks with the exception of updates on COVID-19 concerning the campus community. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @turambler for more updates.

On Mar. 12, at approximately 11:52 a.m. EST, Transy’s President’s Office released a message to the campus community stating the decisions made after “extensive conversations with campus leadership and review of what other higher education institutions are doing at this time.” The message, addressed to “Transylvania Students, Staff, Faculty and Families” stated the following changes:

• • Spring break is extended through March 20, 2020. Classes will be delivered remotely from March 23 through April 3.
  • Staff and faculty should report for their regular hours the week of March 16-20. This extended break will allow them to finalize plans and receive additional training needed to move learning online for the two-week period. The academic dean’s office will communicate directly with faculty regarding training and support.
  • While the campus administrative and academic offices will remain open and operational, residential students are asked to return to their permanent residences, if at all possible, through April 5. Students may return briefly to campus until March 17 to retrieve any items needed for academic work. Spring sport student-athletes should communicate with their coaches for additional information. Exceptions to this policy may be requested from the Office of Housing and Residence Life for students who cannot easily return home or who will not have access to the internet if they leave campus.
  • International travel is suspended, effective immediately. This includes international sites for all May term trips and Transy-operated study abroad programs this summer in Ireland and Slovakia. Our Office of Global and Intercultural Engagement has been in contact with Transylvania students who are studying abroad, and we are helping them make arrangements to return immediately to the United States.
  • Non-essential domestic business travel is suspended, effective immediately.
  • Most on-campus events through April 5 will be rescheduled, including:
    • The Kenan Lecture with U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo on March 18 will be rescheduled for next academic year. Harjo will visit Transylvania in March 2021.
    • The Judy Gaines Young Award presentation on March 17 will be rescheduled for a later date.
    • The Crimson Compass admissions event scheduled for March 22-23 is canceled.
    • On-campus tours for admissions will be canceled through April 3.
    • Rentals for outside organizations through April 3 are canceled.

• • Per NCAA guidance, athletic events will be limited to athletes, essential personnel and a small number of guests

In a separate email sent out later this afternoon by the President’s Office, the campus community was informed of changes made to the academic calendar for the remainder of the 2020 Winter Term and May Term. This updated schedule is subject to change “based on community/campus health status” as noted in the message and sees students returning to campus for in-person Winter Term classes beginning Monday, April 6 and residence halls opening the day before at 12 p.m. In order to make up the time lost by extending students’ spring break until March 20, May Term classes will be extended by 30 minutes beginning May 4. The updated academic schedule can be found here.

Other colleges in Kentucky have made similar decisions. The University of Kentucky will be extending its spring break as well to screen for possible symptoms in students. Read UK’s updates here.

The University of Louisville announced yesterday that they will be extending their spring break through March 17 and moving classes online starting March 15 through April 5.

Western Kentucky University has extended its spring break and will have classes delivered alternatively from March 23 through April 5. No cases have been confirmed.

Murray State University has decided to move instruction online or via alternative delivery methods starting Monday, March 23 through Sunday, April 5 after its spring break. However, campus residence halls and dining options will remain open. No cases have been reported at Murray according to their most recent update.

Berea College will suspend their classes beginning Friday, March 13 for the rest of the semester. According to their update on March 10, “Regrettably, our Commencement celebration will also be cancelled, or at least postponed to a date when such a gathering can be conducted safely.” They do not have any reported cases on campus as of their most recent update this afternoon.

Bellarmine has decided to provide instruction electronically beginning Wednesday, March 18 until Wednesday, April 1. During which time, residential students will be asked to return home. No cases have been reported on campus.

Eastern Kentucky University issued a statement that said classes will be suspended from March 16 to March 20 to prepare staff and faculty for instruction to be delivered remotely from March 23 through April 3. The residence halls will be temporarily closed.

Northern Kentucky University said in a statement from their president on March 11 that they would be extending spring break to March 21 and moving to “alternative instruction” beginning March 23. The message also stated that residence and dining halls will stay open and that there have been no confirmed cases.

Transy released an additional statement this afternoon regarding the residence halls on campus. Students who need to return to their room to gather belongings and school work in addition to students who wish to return and remain in their student housing through April 5 are being asked to complete the Extended Housing Form by Monday, March 16. Students who need to return to their rooms are asked to do so by Tuesday, March 17. For students wanting to remain in on-campus residence halls, they must meet one of the criteria outlined in the full statement here. Transylvania Athletics Department’s updated statement regarding COVID-19 can be found here.

More information on Transy’s response to COVID-19 can be found here. Lexington’s response to the virus can be found here and the latest on this virus from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can be found here.

This story is a collaboration between Editor-in-Chief Taylor Mahlinger and Managing Editor Abby Stone.

Construction is running rampant on and around Transy’s campus. With the building of the new campus center heavy underway, many students can’t even remember campus without a bit of construction. Now that the windows are in and the interior of the building is visibly coming together, students were excited for the future of an obstruction and construction free campus.

Then virtually out of nowhere, a new construction project began. According to Marc Mathews, Vice President for Finance and Business:

“The scope of the project is new sidewalks, curbs, gutters, and driveway aprons, new sewers, new paving and stripping from Fourth and Jefferson to Fourth and Upper Streets. The first [grant] will allow the installation of the Legacy Trail (bicycle trail) on this part of Fourth Street. The second grant will extend this work from Fourth and Upper Streets to Fourth and Elm Tree Lane.”

The city hopes these changes will make for easier and more efficient traffic patterns. As for the obstruction, there is nothing Transy administration can do as this is city ordered. Mathews explained that Transy was not communicated with properly and had been requesting a timeline since early December. 

Mathews says the only bit of communication they receive is “an email every Monday telling us what they did the week before and what they hope to accomplish this week.” Many students believe it would be beneficial for these emails to be made available to them so they could know what to expect in the coming days.

Communication was given to students on one issue through TNotes, January 24th. The entry reads:

Fourth Street improvement project, parking lot entrance changes

As part of a federal, state and local grant, Fourth Street from Jefferson to Upper streets is being improved. This project includes new curbs, sidewalks and driveway aprons, as well as new pavement and lining for the Legacy Bike Trail. As part of this project, the entrances to the first-year parking lot at the corner of Broadway and Fourth and the parking lot on Kenton Street are being closed and replaced with new traffic-complaint entrances. Both lots will remain open during the construction, which will occur over the next few weeks. Once completed, there will be entrances to both lots off Caldwell Alley as well as a second entrance to the lot off Kenton. Contact mmathews@transy.edu for more information.

Students were also informed through TNotes on February 18th, which reads:

Entrance to Fourth and Broadway lot to permanently change

This week, the Fourth Street entrance to the parking lot at the corner of Fourth and Broadway will be permanently closed. The entrance will be removed, and a curb and sidewalk will be constructed across the existing entrance. A newly constructed entrance ramp off Caldwell Alley will be the new and only entrance and exit to this parking lot. This change was mandated by the city traffic engineering department to help with the congestion at the Fourth and Broadway traffic light and as part of the current Fourth Street renovations. We appreciate your patience while adapting to this change in traffic flow. Contact mmathews@transy.edu for more information.

While the latter TNotes message was given in advance to the parking lot change, Matthews says that, if the city were to communicate properly with administration, then students would also know sooner.

Mathews said, “I think the examples of the communication we have done in the past on the Carpenter Academic Center and the new residence halls, and now on the new campus center are indicative of how we proactively communicate with the campus. Those projects were ours and we had control of the information to distribute. In this case, we have appealed to the city to provide proactive communication to us so we can communicate to the campus community, but the timing of their provided information does not meet our expectations.”

The continuing construction is causing problems, and with no set completion date in stone, students and the community alike will have to put up with the mess, noise, and obstructions all in hopes of better traffic patterns in the near future.