Residential Halls face another lockdown struggle

With the country’s sudden plunge into Alert Level 2 and 3, residential halls and their first-year occupants had to quickly adapt to new procedures for these changes. 

A Massey spokesperson said that they have a range of protocols at Level 3 and at Level 2, including the creation of ‘hall bubbles’ at Alert Level 3 and no off-campus visitors at Alert Level 2. “Our accommodation teams are currently following the protocols and are prepared for any change in alert levels.” 

Madi, an RA at Ferguson Hall, said the main procedure they implemented for the new alert levels is to contact trace all visiting non-residents on sight. “We’re under the legal gathering numbers so not a biggie here. Many of our Auckland-based residents have already arrived as our move in started on Saturday 13, however I think we have three or four residents who will be stuck there for a while. RA wise we’re mostly business as usual, with the exception of cancelling or postponing the large halls events this week until Thursday.” 

At the Prime Minister’s press conference held on Tuesday, Jacinda Ardern addressed concerns that students attempting to leave Auckland for universities elsewhere may end up trapped for longer, saying that in a scenario where Auckland continues to have heightened levels of restrictions, there would be no need to travel as they anticipate online learning would be made available. 

The Prime Minister’s office recommended that Alert Level 3 students not move to any new student accommodation and instead remain in their current accommodation for the duration. Alert Level 2 students can move into new accommodation. This advice included moving into hostels, halls of residence, and self-contained flats.  

Ardern said, “Everyone is hoping for the most normal start to the university year that we can. No one generally wants to see a disruption to the education system.” With news of Level 1 and 2, hopefully these measures will be relaxed in the coming weeks.