The announcement came amid a new policy for ReopenCU daily symptom attestations. Barnard and GS students will continue to be required to have a host sign them into Columbia residence halls.  

Columbia College and Columbia Engineering announced a revision of the dormitory access policy to reinstate universal swipe access for all residential undergraduates and approved commuters in those respective colleges in a COVID-19 bulletin email Thursday evening. The change will take effect this coming Monday, November 1, at 9 am. The full bulletin can be found below. 

According to the bulletin, the current policy, which only allows each resident to host one guest at a time in their dormitory, will continue to apply to Barnard and General Studies students. Non-CU affiliates, meanwhile, remain barred from all access to CU residence halls. Also included in the bulletin was a change to the random testing program for COVID-19, decreasing the weekly sample size of undergraduates to 5% from 25%. 

This development marks a return to the residence hall access policy which was in place at the start of the semester. CC and SEAS previously put a moratorium on all access to other residence halls on September 17, citing increases in COVID-19 cases. This was followed by a reversion to the current policy of one guest per student on October 1.  

This is a developing story. Bwog will update the article with further comments from the University.

Email sent from Columbia College and Columbia Engineering to students at 5:33 pm on Thursday, October 28:

Dear [insert student name],

Please review the following reminders about key COVID-19 policies to help you navigate life on campus.

Update to Residence Hall Restrictions


We are pleased to announce that the residential community restrictions, put in place earlier this semester are being adjusted effective Monday, November 1 at 9 a.m.

Residence Hall Access – All CC/SEAS students in residence can swipe into all residence halls.
Commuter Access – CC/SEAS commuters who applied and were approved for residential access will have swipe access into all residence halls.
Guests – Residential students may sign in and host one enrolled student (Barnard, General Studies, or graduate student) as a guest. Guests must have an active CUID and GreenPass. Only one guest is allowed at a time and may only visit their host’s room or suite. Guests may not outnumber the assigned occupancy of a room or suite. Non-affiliates may not be hosted in undergraduate residence halls.


Surveillance Testing


It is critical that you monitor your emails for urgent messages, including those communicating urgent surveillance testing requirements. The weekly random sample of undergraduates selected for required testing will be reduced from 25% to 5%. Wastewater monitoring for all residence halls will continue and, when notified, students must comply with required testing in the specified timeframe. Voluntary testing remains available for all students, faculty, and staff. If you do not complete mandatory tests within the required timeframe, you will receive a warning, a RedPass will be issued, and campus access will be impacted.


Daily Attestation & Your CUID


Effective at 2 p.m. today, students who fail to complete their daily attestation will have their ID deactivated if they swipe on campus 5 or more times. To reactivate your ID, simply complete the daily attestation in the ReopenCU app and your ID card will be reactivated within about 10 minutes. Each time you swipe your ID without completing your daily attestation, you will receive an email reminding you to complete the attestation. Failure to submit daily attestations while accessing campus facilities is a Compact violation and repeat offenders may be referred to dean’s discipline.

We appreciate your continued support as we work to maintain the safety of our community.


Columbia College and Columbia Engineering

John Jay Hall via Bwog Archives