Policy on University-Sponsored Campus Meetings, Events, and Gatherings for the Fall 2021 Semester

August 25, 2021

This new policy takes effect beginning September 7, 2021 and applies to the entire university including the Longmeadow and East Longmeadow campuses.

Policy on University-Sponsored Campus Meetings, Events, and Gatherings for the Fall 2021 Semester

Below is Bay Path University’s policy for hosting meetings, events, and gatherings other than classes on campus during the Fall 2021 semester. This policy replaces all previous guidelines about meetings or events and is effective beginning September 7, 2021.

Conditions for Hosting Meetings, Events, and Gatherings

In-person, on-campus meetings, events, or gatherings (other than academic in-person classes) are required to abide by the following guidelines:

• The use of the term “attendees” shall be defined as any member of the Bay Path University community and includes the general public, campus visitors or guests. All attendees must produce a Covid-19 Vaccination Card.
• This policy applies to in-person meetings and gatherings of two (2) or more attendees.
• All state and town regulations in effect at the time of the event will need to be strictly followed.
• In accordance with the Policy Regarding Campus Visitors during the COVID-19 Pandemic, in-person, on-campus events may not be open to the general public unless attendees can produce a valid Covid-19 vaccination card.
• A member of the sponsoring organization or department must be present at all events (held inside or outdoors) to strictly monitor the number of attendees and ensure that each attendee is authorized to enter a building under strict adherence to the “Campus Opening Guideline”.
• The sponsoring organization or department must record the names of all visiting BPU attendees and must keep the attendee list on file for a minimum of 60 days. The sponsoring organization or department may contact John Stankiewicz, Director of Public Safety at jstankiewicz@baypath.edu or 565-1217 for more specific details or to answer any questions.
• Facemasks are required to be worn indoors.
• Food consumption is permitted. When eating in Blake Dining Commons or other public or shared spaces on campus, everyone should remain masked up and only remove their facemask to eat, and then re-mask when done.
• Aramark is available to cater events. Aramark staff has been trained to provide food service in strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.
• All meetings, events, and gatherings in locations used as classrooms must use the setup of the room as is. Classroom furniture should not be moved within the room to create a different room setup, nor can it be moved out of the room (regardless of whether there is more furniture than needed).
• All BPU event attendees will be required to display a current ID. The ID must be activated which indicates that the person is:
  • vaccinated,
  • unvaccinated with an approved waiver
• Vaccinated and unvaccinated university students, faculty, and staff are required to submit their daily symptom tracking questionnaire in order to ensure card activation.
• The general public, campus visitors or guests must be able to produce a vaccination card or facsimile thereof at the time of the event.

Failure to comply with these requirements will prohibit a person from being admitted.

In-Person Attendees

Guidelines for in-person programs and activities have been developed with guidance from the local health department, Massachusetts DPH and CDC, and the University’s Covid Command Committee. We will continue to make updates to these guidelines as the situation warrants.

Currently, there are no capacity restrictions other than normal capacity limits based upon local fire codes.