Following the quick shift into Level 4, many hall residents decided to gap it back home rather than stay in Dunedin. The University was quick to offer a 100% rebate to students and subwardens who left their residential colleges for lockdown.
President Michaela Waite-Harvey said that OUSA was “happy” with this decision, and that they had “worked closely with the university to ensure last years retention pay scheme of $140 p/w for subwardens who remained in colleges was similarly put in place for this year's lockdown period.”
The remaining subwardens have been tasked with caring for residents on a more full-time basis, without the assistance of the full residential staff team. The retention pay scheme is “important to recognise the higher workload” of these subwardens, according OUSA. Halls have been permitted to operate as a single bubble, with the University mandating an “Alert Level Plan”.
This plan includes “no self-service for dining, rostered dining if the college environment allows, intensive cleaning protocols, regular sanitisation of recreation equipment, daily check-ins with residents on site, and visitor bans”, according to Campus and Collegiate Life Services Director James Lindsay.
Life is different inside every hall, as it always has been. UniCol, the largest Hall bubble of 270 people, is enforcing mask-wearing outside of rooms, and has threatened residents with a five day “isolation period” and drinking ban if they break the bubble. Hayward is apparently enforcing a policy of “no more than four people in a room”, something that no other college has implemented. Cumberland retained all of its subwardens, and reported that residents are having a grand old time with their outdoor space as we move into spring.
UniFlats retained more residents than any Hall, a total of 453. Spread out across campus, however, this bubble has been split into dozens of individual flat bubbles, which cannot be monitored as easily as a single hall can.
UniCol has the largest bubble, but it also had the biggest percentage of leavers. Only 53% of residents remained. Cumberland and Studholm saw the next biggest decrease in residents, down to 58% and 59% respectively. St. Marg’s retained the most residents, with 83% remaining. Carrington and UniFlats trailed at 83% and 81% respectively. Is this a good metric for judging which hall is best? Probably not
