Resident students: Information on Chicago’s Emergency Travel Order—July 17, 2020

The Departments of Housing and Residential Education hope this message finds you and your families well. Just as you are counting the days for the upcoming Fall Quarter, we cannot wait to have you join our DePaul campus community. We have been working diligently to ensure a safe and healthy living environment for you and your peers.

To help you and your family prepare and make the best decisions for your health, we want to update you regarding Chicago’s Emergency Travel Order, which was announced on July 6, 2020. Since this announcement, the university has been preparing protocols for those who are moving to our campus from a state that is experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases, as well as our international students. The city will review and amend the list of impacted states every Tuesday, so we highly recommend you visit the City of Chicago website regularly to determine your travel plans. 

We understand this may seem daunting, so we want to provide all of our residential students with some options to consider. These options are specifically meant for our out-of-state and overseas students, and especially for students coming from a state currently on the city’s travel restriction list. However, in-state students who may be traveling to one of these states prior to coming to campus should also consider the following options:

• Option A: Arrive in Chicago at least two weeks before classes begin on September 9 and quarantine off campus, on your own or with family for 14 days. You may also conduct your self-quarantine outside of Chicago providing you follow these two instructions: 
  

1. It is in a location not covered by the travel restriction and 
2. You do not visit a travel restriction state during or after the 14-day quarantine period and prior to your arrival on campus
   

• Option B: Schedule your move-in to campus early on August 16 at no additional cost and quarantine for 14 days, as quarantining is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

1. We will make every effort to move you into your permanent fall unit. In the event that roommates or suite mates are both traveling from an impacted state, they will need to be separated during the quarantine period. We will do our best to place these students in a temporary space that is within close proximity to their permanent unit. Once their quarantine period has ended, they may move into their permanent unit.
   
2. If you choose to quarantine on campus with us for 14 days, we will deliver meals and urgent mail to your room, and provide access to WiFi and Philo TV streaming, etc. Students must stay in their rooms and not interact, in-person, with other students for any reason during the quarantine period. Individuals found in violation of Chicago’s Emergency Travel Order are subject to city fines of $100 to $500 per day, up to $7,000.

• Option C: You may choose to keep your fall in-person schedule, but live elsewhere in Chicagoland which means either canceling or deferring your on-campus housing. A quarantine period of 14 days will still be required before coming to campus. If you cancel your housing before August 16 you will not be charged a cancellation fee. You may also choose to keep all of your classes online for Fall Quarter and again consider deferring your housing to the start of Winter Quarter (as space permits). 
  
  

If you are not able to select one of the three options above and must arrive on campus later from a restricted state, please note the following:

• You will need to arrive after the general move-in process in order to avoid any potential exposure to other students (after September 6 and by appointment only).
• You will still need to quarantine for 14 days in a location designated by DePaul Housing and follow all guidelines as described in Option B above before moving into your permanent fall location.
• You will not be able to attend in-person classes during the quarantine period and should therefore find out from your professors if attending online is an option while in quarantine.

If you have questions, please contact housing@depaul.edu or attend our Zoo​m webinar for out-of-state-students on Monday, July 20, at 4 pm CDT. During this webinar, we will discuss the topics outlined in this email and answer your questions live.

These are unusual times we are living in, and we know how disappointing and stressful this must be for you. We are here, always, to help in any way we can. We hope you get to enjoy the rest of your summer, and know that we cannot wait to see you this fall!

Sincerely, 

Rick Moreci

Director of Housing, Dining & Student Centers

Rod Waters

Director of Residential Education