Like so many things in the wake of COVID-19, a definition in the Urban Dictionary will need to change. “Bench sitting” in that publication is currently defined as: “Leisure activity unique to University of Mary Washington, where one or more students observe the activities and/or listen to the conversations of others while sitting on a Campus Walk bench.”
A fall 2020 definition: “Leisure activity unique to University of Mary Washington, where one student wearing a face mask observes from a distance of at least six feet the activities and/or listens to the conversations of others while sitting solo on a Campus Walk bench.”
In mid-March, the prospective surge of COVID-19 brought classes and on-campus activities to an abrupt halt. Just as perspectives and lives have been transformed in the past four months, so also has the campus environment from which students, faculty and staff suddenly evaporated.
“We know how much our students want to come back to campus,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Juliette Landphair. “They want to resume their holistic Mary Washington experience as much as possible.”
UMW’s iconic Adirondack chairs are situated farther apart. Around every turn, there’s a no-touch hand sanitizing station. Desks are surrounded by 64 feet of space. Triple-occupancy residence hall rooms are now singles or doubles. Staircases are designated for up or down only. Tables in the dining hall are by reservation, and grab-and-go is the order of the day, with sushi for pickup in The Underground. Picnic tables are on Ball Circle. Plexiglas is prevalent as a protective barrier. Custis, Marshall and South halls have rooms designated for quarantine, if the need should arise.
Welcome to UMW reimagined in the age of coronavirus. As outlined in #ForwardUMW, a detailed plan released this week for returning to campus in August, change is more than meets the eye. Read more.
The University of Mary Washington is a premier, selective public liberal arts and sciences university in Virginia, highly respected for its commitment to academic excellence, strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences program, and dedication to life-long learning. The university, with a total enrollment of more than 5,000, features colleges of business, education and arts and sciences, and three campuses, including a residential campus in Fredericksburg, Va., a second one in nearby Stafford and a third in Dahlgren, Va., which serves as a center of development of educational and research partnerships between the Navy, higher education institutions and the region’s employers.
