We want to provide you with an update on what’s happening with Student Housing in an effort to keep you apprised of our plans in response to COVID-19.
Earlier this week, the Oxford Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a “Stay-At-Home” resolution ordering all residents of Oxford to stay at home until April 6, and ordered many classes of businesses to close for that same time period. University leadership strongly supports the city’s action, and took additional steps to restrict the number of university employees who will continue come to campus to work during this emergency.
Given the requirements of this order and the larger public health need to practice social distancing, we cannot accommodate any requests to access residence hall rooms at this time. We are operating with a dramatically reduced staff presence on-campus, as the overwhelming majority of Student Housing staff are working remotely. Our residence halls are locked, and your belongings are safe and secure in your room and can remain there.
As noted in a prior update, we plan to open an appointment system at a future date for you to schedule a time to gain access to your residence hall to retrieve your belongings. However, given the fluid nature of this evolving pandemic, we cannot say at this time when that will occur. Public health considerations will be the driving factor in determining when it is safe to open the halls for your return.
In the meantime, please know that Housing staff will need to enter residence hall rooms for the limited purpose of removing perishable items that can cause spoilage, attract ants, or create other sanitary problems. Otherwise, nobody will enter your room, and it will remain locked. Air conditioning and heating continues to run in all of the residence halls, so your belongings inside your room are in a temperature-controlled environment.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this challenging period. We will continue to reach out to you with periodic updates in the coming weeks.
If you have any questions, Student Housing can best be reached through email at housing@olemiss.edu. We are experiencing a high volume of emails during this time. All efforts will be made to respond as quickly as possible; however, there may be delays in that response time. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and please stay safe!
The Department of Student Housing