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Wayne State could close the Student Center due to COVID-19 campus trigger settings, President Roy Wilson said at a Student Senate meeting Thursday.

WSU had 70 cases of COVID-19, including 50 confirmed and 20 suspected, during the week ending November 13, according to the Campus COVID-19 dashboard. There was also a test positivity rate of 5.54%, above the 5% threshold used to determine whether to scale back campus operations.

Wilson said WSU’s measures will inform his decision on the future of the student center’s operations.

“If it turns red right now it’s yellow we will probably have to shut down the student center for a while… so it behooves all of us to wear masks,” Wilson said.

Wilson and Senate Speaker Sailor Mayes said they noticed many students were not wearing masks inside campus buildings. WSU currently has an indoor mask mandate until the end of December.

The WSU’s position is precarious due to a current positive trend of COVID-19 cases statewide, including locally, Wilson said.

“We’re doing better than most, but unlike most other universities, we have trigger metrics, and we’re right about being cautious about two of the trigger metrics … percent positivity on campus and in the region. of Detroit, ”he said. noted.

Michigan has dominated the country in COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Marshal Mark Kornbluh said caution should be exercised as the semester ends.

“We have done remarkably well this semester,” said Kornbluh. “We haven’t had a single group in a classroom for (since) the whole semester… people have let their guard down, but the area around us has now become more dangerous. “

Wilson and Kornbluh attended the meeting to hear updates on the Senate’s ongoing initiatives and answer questions from Senators.

Director of Student Services Danishi Bedi said she spoke to Kornbluh, Dean of Students David Strauss and Associate Rector for University Programs Darin Ellis regarding the potential addition of a fall break .

“The Senate (academic) policy committee was receptive to this idea, so they’re going to create a working group and ask (Bedi) to join in and look at the possibilities,” Kornbluh said.

No timeline has been given on this proposal.

Additional updates and actions taken during the meeting include:

  • Veronika Gawrys, a major junior in marketing, was unanimously elected to the post of representative of the extension center.

  • Hitesh Kasar, an industrial engineering student, was unanimously elected to the post of delegate for habitat and residential life.

The Student Senate will hold its final meeting of the semester on December 2 at 6:00 p.m. in the Hilberry AB Room at the Student Center.


Kate Vaughn is the last minute correspondent for The South End. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Cover photo by Kate Vaughn.