University of Hartford

UHart's Resident Assistants Work to Keep Students Safe

NBC Universal, Inc.

At the University of Hartford, resident assistants are adamantly working to keep up with their classes and ensure students are following university guidelines.

"There's a huge emphasis on the resident side," said Matthew Glassoff's, a third-year resident assistant. "The needs are a lot more this year due to COVID polices, it's harder to socialize, harder to get around to class."

Glassoff told NBC Connecticut that his role as a RA has completely changed from what he's used to during his last two years. The senior also mentioned that RAs went through thorough training to ensure students follow the rules.

"We were taught how to empower students to keep each other accountable," said Glassoff. "It's about personal responsibility and wearing your mask and keeping your distance."

RAs went through thorough training to ensure that they were well equipped to encourage residents to wear their face masks and keep their distance.

The approach seems to be working. Around campus, you'll find many students wearing masks and keeping their distance.

Since students returned to campus, the university says they've only had 37 cases of the coronavirus. As of Monday, September 28, there are four active cases.

"The reality is you know we don't always know what's going to work until we try and see what does work," said Jill Engel-Hillman, director of residence life at the university. "We teach our RAs about the importance of wearing your masks and to keep a 6 feet distance when responding to a residences room."

Residence halls at the University of Hartford have a no-visitation policy and masked are required inside each building.

Residence life leaders are hoping with the proper protocols in place and personal responsibility, both staff and students will remain safe.

"We're constantly asking our RAs what they need and work with them to best meet those needs," said Engle-Hillman.

So far, the university hasn't had any staff members test positive for COVID-19 and are focused on keeping infection rates low among students.

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