Author: Diane Brunsting

Welcome to the start of another semester.  Though our traditional undergraduate program begins next Tuesday, our adult undergraduate and graduate programs began in earnest today.

This, too, marks the resumption of broad-based, on-campus, in-person educational options at Trinity.  Much work has gone into the planning for this resumption and we all will need to be vigilant to see it succeed throughout the semester.  You have received, and will continue to receive, information about these matters.  But, it is good to resume on-campus in-person coursework and campus life after a very challenging year for us all.

Those challenges, of course, have not been limited to COVID.  We again were reminded of this reality, shockingly and outrageously, last week in Washington, D.C.  You have heard me say before, I trust, that protest is one thing, violence and riots are quite another.  The images from within the Capitol building are unlike anything I have ever seen or ever expected to see.  They were equal parts embarrassing and enraging – and unworthy of this land, its traditions, its ideals, and its people.

Our nation needs a different path forward.  In this moment, our challenge at Trinity is to both resist the nihilistic tsunami that threatens our broader society and commit to a more excellent way – a way founded upon, centered in, and reflective of the way of Jesus.

I’ll have more to say about this at our first chapel gathering (done virtually) next week Wednesday, January 20.  Until then, I re-share below what I offered on the eve of our national election back in November.  I invite us all to reflect upon how we might, individually and together, fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith (as the writer of Hebrews reminds us) so that we might better reveal our loving God to a world that needs to see a markedly different way.

Welcome to this new semester at Trinity.

Romans 12:12,

Kurt D. Dykstra, President

Dear faculty and staff,

As students return to campus and classes begin for the spring semester, we want to remind Trinity faculty and staff of our ongoing commitment to keep our offices and departments staffed in order to serve our students, employees, and visitors. And at the same time, we want to ensure we limit staff on campus and continue to prevent the spread of COVID in our community.

We encourage our faculty and staff to return to the strategy developed last semester in staffing campus offices and departments in coordinated, alternating ways, serving our constituents (whether they be students, colleagues, or visitors) carefully and safely.  We would ask supervisors to work with their teams to coordinate this effort of ensuring that offices are open and help is available, while limiting staff in each work area whenever possible.

It is important to note that we have seen evidence that the Covenant of Care is working. In the few cases in which we have had COVID+ staff, we have not seen spread in departments because of how vigilant folks have been in practicing the Covenant of Care.   Thank you.

All Trinity employees who come to campus are required to self-screen and utilize #CampusClear daily. Please take care to complete your self-screen honestly and cautiously, and do not come to work if you receive a red screen. Faculty and staff who are not coming to campus do not need to fill out the #CampusClear app on those days when they are not physically on campus.

We continue to update the employee return to work pages on the Trinity web site and respond to state and county updates, as well as any updates from the Trinity Covid Response Team. Please work with your supervisor if you have any questions about your work location and schedule, and you can also reach out to the HR team if you have questions.​

Thank you,

Paul Boice, Vice President of Admissions, Communication and Strategic Initiatives
Julia Foust, Director of Human Resources

Students,

Trnty.edu has been updated with two important features:

1. The Spring In It Together Plan – guidelines for SP2021
2. A comprehensive list of FAQs regarding spring – covering a wide range of campus life, both in person and remote.

New items that you will be required to sign again on your student portal in January (available on your Student Portal in January):

1. New Covenant of Care for SP2021 (also located on In It Together Spring webpages)
2. New Residence Life Guidelines for SP2021 (for housing students only – available in portal and emailed to students with housing assignment)
3. Same Assumption of Risk for SP2021 (on portal)

Take some time to read it all, and then let us know if you have additional questions. Housing questions may be emailed to housing@trnty.edu; other questions may be emailed to me or to studentlife@trnty.edu.

Peace be with you,
VP Starkenburg

Students,

As we enter the last week of classes for Fall 2020, I wanted to share a few updates regarding how we will communicate plans that are in place for Spring Semester 2021. We know you are focused on your last week of classes and exams, and we encourage you to remain focused and finish strong! At the same time, we want to offer some key points of contact before the holidays to speak to your questions regarding Spring 2021. Below you will find a list of those key points of contact. I encourage you to keep an eye on your email as these communications unfold.

Residential Living for Spring 2021 – Traditional Students

1. Housing assignments will be shared with you by Monday – December 14. We are still waiting on several students to complete the housing intent form, and we are taking extra care to place students thoughtfully.
2. If you have not yet completed your Housing/Commuting Intent Form – Please do so TODAY.
3. Information regarding dates & times of move in, move in expectations will be provided once these housing decisions are communicated.

Student-Athlete Return to Campus Spring 2021 – Traditional Students

1. Student athletes – look for specific information from your coaching staff regarding your return to campus dates, times, and expectations.

 

Spring 2021 In It Together Plan – All Students

1. SPRING 2021 In It Together Plan and Trinity FAQs will be released by December 14 – with the hope that we can get this to you even sooner. The plan will include information about spring semester re-entry, campus life, academics.
2. Student Life is hosting a Zoom Call for students on December 10 at 4:00 pm to talk through the plan, and answer your questions about SP2021. Linked Below.
3. The Office of Alumni and Family Engagement is hosting a Parent and Family Town Hall on December 15 to talk about the Spring 2021 In It Together Plan. Students are welcome to attend as well! Links provided in emails to come.
4. Once these sessions & updates are complete, we’ll take a break for Christmas and then resume regular communication shortly after the New Year. Watch your Trinity email for ongoing communications regarding Return to Campus for Spring 2021.

Peace be with you,
VP Starkenburg

Trinity community,

I write with an update to our campus status. The COVID situation on campus has been stable for the last several days. We continue to monitor it closely, and we are aware of the uptick in cases regionally. As we think about the campus community and those who are frequenting campus daily and living here, the physical health and safety and the mental health and safety of our community are both priorities. Effective immediately,

• Campus gatherings that are 25 persons or smaller are now permitted – all Covenant of Care and Campus Gatherings policies still apply. Outdoor gatherings are encouraged this week. We’ll update you if/when we are able to extend the size of gatherings back to 50.
• Dining will remain grab and go for now – we’ll evaluate again on the weekend.
• Athletics will  return to activity with winter teams on a team-by-team basis as approved by the athletics department.
• The fitness center will open, likely tomorrow, please expect a communication from athletics department about times.

Continue to pray for the sick, both in our community and around the world. As a reminder –continue to monitor your own symptoms and honestly complete the #CampusClear app each day.

Keep distance, wear your mask, wash your hands.

P.S. For those of you on campus – Student Activities is planning some grab and go activity for this weekend – and will include quarantined students in that activity! Check out STAC on Instagram and in Trollview for more information.

Peace be with you,
VP Starkenburg

Dear Trinity Community:

Tomorrow is election day in the United States.  It, like every election day, is an important day in the life of this country and in the lives of free peoples everywhere.  Acrimony accompanies every election; serious people approach significant issues without whim or fancy.  This year and this election are no different, and probably more so.  For some reason, we have been chosen to live during a particularly discordant time – but we also are not the first such people in world history or even in the history of this nation to bear that particular burden.

Eventually, as with every election, the results will determine the winners.  And eventually, as with every election, some will be elated with those results while others will despair.  If this is true nationally, it surely is no less so within the Trinity community.  It is this later group – our Trinity community – that I wish to offer a few more thoughts for consideration as we face an important election tomorrow.

First, we affirm that it is a great privilege to have a voice in how we are governed and by whom.  Our own democratic tradition in republican form goes back nearly 250 years.  Because of this, we easily forget that, throughout the entire history of world civilization, democracies have constituted a majority of world governments only for the last twenty years.  It is a great privilege for us to live in this political situation and within this long-standing tradition.

Second, most Christian traditions encourage Christians to participate in the political process where such participation is possible.  Surely, this is so in the Christian traditions that constitute a majority of this community.  For example, in his 16^th century theological masterpiece, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin devotes the final chapter of his two-volume work to “Civil Government.”  Christian people, individually and as the church, ought to be active in a country’s political life especially when the governmental form affords such opportunities.  Politics is not a trivial matter.

Third, because politics is not trivial, let alone because we are human, we prefer victory to defeat.  This is almost trite to write but we cannot ignore the fact that it is human to prefer winning to losing.  As someone whose name appeared on four ballots for elective office, let me dispel any lingering doubt that winning is more fun than losing!

Fourth, we do not always win.  I’ve won elections personally and been part of campaigns that lost.  I’ve had candidates and issues that I’ve supported both win elections and lose them.  This is the very nature of an election; to engage in politics is to face the potential of loss even as one hopes for victory.  (Though, I refer you back to point three, too, of course.)

Fifth, and most importantly for us as a community, our life together transcends politics.  This is the culminating fact for our life together both on the eve of an election and for all the days after the results are known:  we cannot let our politics define us or our life together.  First and foremost we must live together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  We love one another as siblings in Christ long before we look at one another as either political allies or foes.

We know that, after tomorrow, some in this community will be elated while others will be distressed.  Our response to one another – whether we personally experience joy or heartbreak – ought to be one of care, compassion, and concern.

Ever since we have been in “COVID time” we have looked to Romans 12:12 as our motto:  Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  It is a great verse, a meaningful verse.  It, however, has a context that is worth our consideration, too, and especially in these days:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.  Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Live peaceably with all.  Outdo one another in showing honor.  Love one another.  St. Augustine, the African church father and theologian elaborated on this “simple” idea in a profound way more than 1500 years ago :

Therefore once for all this short command is given to you.  “Love and do what you will.”  If you keep silent, keep silent by love; if you speak, speak by love; if you correct, correct by love; if you pardon, pardon by love.  Let love be rooted in you, and from the root nothing but good can grow.

Yes, this election is an important event in the history of this country.  But life is more than politics, especially so within our Trinity community where we claim, as our ultimate Ruler, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Romans 12:12,

Kurt D. Dykstra, President

Students, as well as faculty and staff,

I write with an update regarding COVID on campus today. Throughout the last week we have learned of more positive cases. As the COVID positive cases emerged, the COVID care team noticed individuals had a number of possible close contacts, so rather than simply asking close contacts to quarantine, we have asked close contacts to quarantine and get tested. Several positive cases hare still emerging out of that effort. Testing in this region has slowed down due to the general rise in cases, so some of the test results are slow in coming as well. In addition, more students are in quarantine on and off campus, as every person who is COVID positive has a set of close contacts that need to quarantine.

Currently, in addition to the numbers on the COVID dashboard regarding positives, we have approximately 75 students in quarantine on campus.

We are extending the following guidelines at least through Wednesday, November 4. We’d like to a see a trend moving in a different direction before we relax these guidelines. At the same time, the weather forecast for the latter part of next week is gorgeous, so that’s good news – we hope that if our trendline moves downward in COVID positives we may be able to host some low-risk events outdoors.

Regardless, we will offer another update Wednesday on plans going forward.

• All in person, on campus group gatherings will remain virtual.
  • If your office, group or department is intending to host a meeting, event or activity this week, we ask that you communicate to your potential attendees regarding changes.
  • Even if your event was previously approved by the gathering committee, you should now plan to host the event online.
  • If you have a question about whether a gathering that you planned should be happening or can be rescheduled, please email simkins@trnty.edu.
• Dining will remain grab and go.
• Athletics will continue with suspension of activity.
• DeVos athletics complex, including the fitness center, will remain closed.

We will continue these guidelines through November 4. We will provide updates if anything changes.

Continue to pray for the sick, both in our community and around the world. As a reminder – with the number of students being tested for COVID and in quarantine, now, more than ever, is an important time to continue to monitor your own symptoms and honestly complete the #CampusClear app each day.

 Keep distance, wear your mask, wash your hands.

Peace be with you,
VP Starkenburg

Dear Trinity Students:

I trust that your Advising Day is going well as you think about next semester, in particular, and your future, more generally.

I write to supplement my email to you from a couple of days ago, providing more information for you about Trinity’s plans for the Spring 2021 Semester.  Please read this at your convenience.

As I announced two days ago, in the Spring 2021 semester, Trinity is moving to (i) a largely in-person, socially-distanced on-campus academic experience with a video-streamed remote option available; (ii) a COVID-aware residential housing experience with off-campus penalty-free housing options permitted; and (iii) a COVID-modified return to athletics and campus activities with health and safety protocols to minimize and manage the virus.

Please note the important qualifier words on the above paragraph such as “largely,” “more,” and “modified.”  COVID is not vanquished – something that we know first-hand at Trinity during this past week.  The State of Illinois and Cook County restrictions, protocols, and limitations remain in place and could well change.  Campus safety policies implemented this Fall will not go away (and likely will be intensified as more people return to campus).  Spring 2021 at Trinity will not be like Spring 2019.  COVID is real, persistent, and showing no immediate signs of disappearing.

At the same time, all of us need to be able to navigate, in various ways, this present world as well.  Over these last eight months we have learned quite a lot about the virus, adapting to new protocols and modifying the ways in which we carry on the tasks of life.  As serious as COVID is, overall physical and mental health, human flourishing, and broad societal needs also are important considerations.

As a College, we have learned a lot in these months.  We have established new means of support for this community with success coaches, new avenues for mental health support, and modified ways of interacting with one another.  We have held some classes on campus and in person.  We have created new ways of having campus worship, both virtually and live/live-streamed  We have created a campus public health system out of whole cloth with limited, at best, assistance or support from any outside agencies.  We have had over 200 students living on campus and have learned to manage, though not eliminate, COVID.  We have resumed modified athletic practices, campus activities, and artistic performances in a balanced way.  We have resumed campus tours for college visitors.

Eight months into this pandemic we, Trinity’s campus and our broader society, are in a better place to handle the particular challenges of this time.

With all of this as background, let me describe in a bit more detail our Spring plans.  This is not meant to be a comprehensive description; there will be questions and further details to work out.  We also are working on more detailed information to be placed on the College’s website and will circulate a link as that information is posted.  Perhaps most importantly, as we all have learned over the last year, in this environment planning needs to be nimble so that it can adjust to changing facts and increased knowledge.  In all of our equations, there are more variables than constants – a frustrating but obvious reality.

The Spring Academic Calendar (All Students)

In order to give more time for adaptation, push further beyond the holidays, and limit the mass departure and re-entry to campus, we have decided to modify the academic calendar for Spring 2021, particularly as it impacts our Traditional Undergraduate students.  Here is a description of those modifications.

Start Date/End Date.
For the Traditional Undergraduate program, classes will now begin on Tuesday, January 19.  Due to the different calendar-year schedule for our Adult Undergraduate and Graduate programs, those programs generally will begin as previously scheduled (please see the revised schedule linked below).  For the Spring term, all programs will conclude on the dates previously identified.  The revised schedule is available on the Registrar’s page on Trinity’s website.

Spring Break.
Spring Break during a pandemic creates special challenges.  The wholesale departure from campus that occurs during Spring Break, with the accompanying travel far beyond our campus borders, creates significant campus health risks upon the community’s return.  Moreover, based upon the current guidance from the Cook County Health Department, we anticipate that many students would need to quarantine for 14-days after returning from Spring Break travels.  In this COVID season, the attendant risk that such broad travel and exposure creates is too great.  As a result, as you can see from the revised calendar there is no Spring Break in the modified Spring 2021 schedule.

However, we also recognize that breaks and rest are important.  As a result, we have built separate break days into the modified Spring 2021 calendar:

• Tuesday, February 16;
• Thursday, March 18 (Advising Day);
• Friday April 2 (Good Friday);
• Wednesday, April 14
• Tuesday, April 20 (afternoon – OPUS)

Easter.
While Trinity will not be in session on Good Friday, we will have class on Easter Monday and all offices will be open on that day.

Class Delivery Mode(s) (All Students)

Many of our students, consistent with student sentiment across the country, earnestly desire to have in-person courses.  Others of our students, equally earnestly, are not able or comfortable having in-person classes at this time.  Trinity will be providing modes of teaching that seek to meet all of our students’ needs.

We are intending to have most courses offered both (i) in-person, socially-distanced, on-campus, and (ii) remotely.  Students will have the option of selecting how they want to take their course load in the Spring – either as an in-person student or as a remote student.  This selection is but for the student’s Spring course load in total, not on a course by course basis.

Does this mean that every course will be offered in-person?  Not necessarily.  Some courses either need to be or are better offered remotely, including, for example:

• Some larger in-person courses may be offered in a hybrid fashion (e., in-person for part of the course and remotely for part of the course) so that the size of the class can be managed and de-densification practiced.
• In some instances, a particular faculty member’s health and safety situation might necessitate a course being offered remotely.
• In some instances, a course might have predominantly remote students registered for it, making it most effective to teach the entire course remotely for all students in that course.

Courses that occur in person will also be streamed remotely, both for those students choosing to take the Spring 2021 Semester remotely and for those in-person students who might find themselves in a temporary quarantine situation over the course of the semester.  Improved classroom technology and the experience that our community now has with on-line platforms – from, for example, Zoom to Brightspace – make dual delivery possible and more effective.

Many of our employees have regularly been on campus since this summer and also have adapted to new ways of doing familiar tasks.  Many faculty, as well, have accessed the campus this Fall to teach, to meet, and to do scholarship.  As we move toward a socially-distanced on-campus experience, the steps that we have made during the Fall will continue into the Spring.

We continue to encourage employees having health situations, personally or in their families, that cause elevated concern to access the available campus resources so that, where appropriate, accommodations can be made.

Campus Housing (Traditional Undergraduates)

Trinity will have housing available, though as an effort to manage the risks of outbreaks, we are not necessarily going to fill the residence halls to the same degree that we did prior to COVID.  Similarly, Trinity will continue the suspension of its residential requirement policy (which is a continuation of our Fall term practice).  This means that any student is able to live off campus – whether in their family home or in an off-campus apartment or house – without incurring a penalty.  We remain committed, in the long run, to the benefits of a largely residential collegiate experience, but this Spring modification to our housing rules is part of the necessary adaptation to the COVID situation.

At this time, we do not know how many students will prefer to live in the College’s residence halls.  Very soon, students will receive an email with a housing intent form to collect this information.  While we will attempt to accommodate as many on-campus requests as possible, please know that it is possible that we may have more demand than available space.  In that case, we will then seek to prioritize student housing preferences.

Testing and other safety protocols (All Students)

Trinity will continue to enforce the existing protocols already in place that include daily screenings, mask-wearing, sanitization, de-densification, and distancing.  To date we have utilized a strategy of symptomatic testing – that is, testing persons of known exposure and/or significant COVID-like symptoms.  At a minimum, that will continue as well.  We expect to conduct asymptomatic testing for specific populations as well such as residential students and student athletes.

Athletics (All Students)

The College, consistent with approaches taken by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and our athletic conference, the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletics Conference (CCAC), is moving toward a return to some athletic competition, in modified ways.  Our teams have been practicing on campus in various ways for more than a month.  Where health incidents have arisen, the affected athletes and teams have followed the protocols instituted by the College to address these situations.

Back in August, the CCAC moved Fall athletics seasons to the Spring semester.  That stacking of seasons, along with other logistical considerations, is part of the ongoing planning for Trinity’s return to intercollegiate athletics for the balance of this academic year.  As more decisions are made and more information known, further announcements will be made.

Campus Activities and the Performing Arts (All Students)

In ways somewhat similar to athletics, other Trinity activities on campus, including student life activities and the performing arts, for example, also have been occurring and will continue to occur in modified ways.  As a campus, we will work within governmental and safety limitations to create more opportunities on campus for the campus community.  At this time, we do not anticipate opening the campus widely to outside groups during the Spring term, again as a means to mitigate the risk that arises in bringing large numbers of outside persons to campus.

In Closing

I fully recognize at least two things.

First, I know that you will have questions after reading this message.  Please know that we are working diligently to get more information ready for release, including working on a revised FAQ section.  That information, and much more additional information, will be available over time on the College’s website.

Second, none of us know precisely what the future holds; we must remain flexible and open to continual adaptation.  Spring ’21 will not be like Fall ’20, which was not like Spring ’20, which was not like Fall ’19.  Our commitment to support one another, extend grace to one another, and care for one another will be a hallmark of this era in Trinity’s history and of our story together.  We are a Romans 12:12 people who “[r]ejoice in hope, [are] patient in suffering, [and] persevere in prayer.”

Yours most sincerely,

Kurt D. Dykstra, President