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A message to graduate and professional students on winter break: campus activity, testing, and travel

Dear graduate and professional students,

We hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and that your courses, research and teaching are going well. We are writing today to let you know what might be happening on campus during the time between autumn and winter quarters and to provide information to help you make a decision about plans during this winter break period.

First, though, we want to thank you for your contributions to keeping our campus and the communities around you safe during autumn quarter. Most of you living on and coming to campus have done a great job following public health guidelines, and the campus COVID positivity rate has remained low, thankfully. We want to emphasize the importance of sustaining these safety measures and complying with the required weekly testing requirement so we can quickly contain any outbreak and provide isolation spaces and care for anyone who becomes sick. Here is where you can learn more about our student testing program.

We also want to add our words of support during this particularly stressful political season and its uncertain impacts. On Monday, Provost Drell shared her thoughts about next week’s election and directed you to Stanford Votes for nonpartisan information and to the university’s election website for resources and election-related events next week. We have found this infographic with 5 ways to cope with election stress particularly helpful.

As you know, the academic calendar was adjusted in response to the pandemic. There is an unusually long time between autumn and winter quarters, which we know may influence your plans. In addition, you may be taking into account the dynamics of the pandemic, international travel and immigration concerns, and the uncertain political situation as you consider your plans during this time.

Like you, we are eager to keep the campus community healthy and ensure that we can maintain our academic mission in winter and spring quarters. If the infection rate on campus and in the surrounding community remains low, we hope that local public health guidelines currently in place will not change significantly between now and January (see Health Alerts Current Policies and Status). However, if the positivity rate increases, the university, county and state public health guidelines could change with little notice, as we are seeing elsewhere around the world.

First we share information about campus activities. Further below we outline information for those of you who are considering traveling over break.

Campus activity during winter break

We know that many of you plan to stay on campus or in the Bay Area. We will share more information about what campus resources will be available to you soon, and we welcome your ideas about what would be helpful during this unusually long break between autumn and winter quarters.

Surveillance Testing

We expect to maintain weekly surveillance testing services on campus between autumn and winter quarters, including during the winter campus closure between Dec.12 and Jan. 3, and will communicate the testing schedule during those weeks in a future message.

Research Facilities and Libraries

Many of you are eager to continue your research on campus and will be pleased to hear that the Research Continuity committee has confirmed that the process to access research buildings and facilities from Dec. 12 to Jan. 3 will be the same as winter closures in prior years. Your school or unit will be sending out additional details. You must continue to follow the current lab COVID safety protocols whenever you come to campus, including over the closure. We encourage you to speak with your faculty advisor about your research plans, since reduced density and coordination of access to research facilities will still be required due to the pandemic.

Green Library will be open to current Stanford ID holders only on the following schedule:

  • Week 1 – open Tuesday, December 15, and Wednesday, December 16, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Week 2 – open only Tuesday, December 22, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • Week 3 – open Tuesday, December 29, and Wednesday, December 30, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • For more information about virtual resources and schedule updates, visit the Stanford Libraries website.

In addition, we know that many of you need a break from your academic pursuits, and also encourage you to share your needs for restoration with your advisor and seek support from your department or program faculty Director of Graduate Studies, if necessary.

Residences and Dining

For those living in Stanford residences, the housing front desk and emergency maintenance staff will be available to you, as they are during the quarter (find your residence here). Residential & Dining Enterprises is also pleased to announce that Arrillaga Family Dining Commons will be open during winter break for students to use their R&DE meal plan. Outlets like Munger Market, the Market at EVGR, and TAP will also be open. Please visit Stanford Dining for specific locations, hours, and schedules.

Travel during winter break

Factors to consider while making travel plans

We know many of you are eager to travel and visit loved ones during the break between quarters. We ask you to carefully consider your health, as well as the health of those you are visiting and of your Stanford community — those you share apartments, labs, and classes with — when you return. Also please be aware that the uncertainties of the pandemic may disrupt your travel plans and return to campus with very little notice, so planning with flexibility, such as purchasing plane tickets that are changeable, is key.

We also realize that students under Stanford visa sponsorship have been advised by the Bechtel International Center not to travel out of the US during this time due to uncertainties around the COVID19 pandemic, consular services abroad, and re-entry into the US. More information can be found in the Bechtel Travel FAQs. We know how difficult this situation is for many of you and for your families and friends around the world.

COVID testing before departure

If you are traveling away from campus, you should plan to have a COVID test a few days before your planned departure to ensure that you are not carrying the virus to others. If you test positive and are unable to travel, the university will provide isolation dining and housing at no cost and other care that you may need if you become ill. Wherever you are, ensuring you test negative before traveling is a good idea to protect others you contact and plan to visit.

Sharing plans with apartment mates

If you are sharing living spaces with others, please discuss your plans for travel and other activities during the break, so you can feel comfortable with each other’s behaviors and keep each other safe. The university will continue its efforts to provide temporary alternate housing to students in particular situations, such as new arrivals who request it or students who need to travel due to family obligations or an emergency situation. However, due to limited availability, we do not expect to have the capacity to provide this for students returning to their same apartment. Therefore we encourage you to work out travel plans and return arrangements with your apartment mates prior to any travel.

COVID testing when you return to campus

If you choose to travel outside of Northern California as defined here, you should plan to follow the existing public health guidelines upon your return to campus residences or other campus facilities. You should plan to get tested twice upon your return, within a day or two of your arrival and approximately five days later. While you are waiting for both of your test results, you should restrict your exposure to others, including your apartment mates, and social interactions to only essential activities.

In closing

As this most unusual quarter enters its final weeks, we hope that you will have opportunities to connect with each other and with faculty and staff in your program or department. We will share the university’s plans for winter quarter in the coming weeks, as we know that information also influences your own planning.

We and our faculty and staff colleagues are thinking about you, your academic success and, even more importantly, your well-being and safety. Please explore the Virtual Well-Being website and reach out to any faculty or staff —  in your department or program or our offices — if you need support or have suggestions for us.

Best wishes,

Susie Brubaker-Cole
Vice Provost for Student Affairs

Stacey F. Bent
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs
Jagdeep and Roshni Singh Professor in the School of Engineering