Campus facilities shut down as students evacuate

As students clear out from the 5C campuses, on-campus amenities, like dining halls and athletic facilities, are beginning to shut down or restrict their services. The City of Claremont is closing down as well, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom placed the entire state under a shelter in place order Thursday night.

5C Resources

Both Student Health Services and Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services will remain open, but with limited hours and services, according to Claremont Colleges Services spokesperson Laura Muna-Landa.

SHS is scheduling students on an appointment only basis, with no walk-ins. There are no non-essential appointments at this time, including physicals, pap smears, birth control consults and routine STI screening.

The center is practicing “as much social distancing as possible,” and has reduced hours to Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is also a reduced staff, with just 2 providers, 1 medical assistant, 1 registered nurse and 1 administrative member per day. 

The SHS front door will be locked with signage on the door asking patients to call before entering — patients will be brought in either through the front or side door, depending on circumstances.

Providers will be available over the phone for all other visit types including prescription refills and advice for home self-care measures, and the schools will be offering a new online telehealth service.

Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services will remain open for psychiatry consultations and urgent and crisis appointments only, with reduced hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monsour has canceled all regular therapy appointments, groups, workshops and drop-in hours for this semester. Unlimited online consultations will be available through the new telehealth service.

Students living on and off campus will still be able to access after-hours phone crisis counseling, according to the Pomona College COVID-19 webpage.

The Office of Black Student Affairs, Chicano Latino Student Affairs, Student Disability Resource Center and McAlister Center for Religious Activities will operate remotely, according to Pitzer College’s COVID-19 webpage.

The Honnold Mudd Library is now closed to everyone except library staff, but Connection, the Office of Consortial Academic Collaboration and the Center for Teaching and Learning will still be open and accessible, and students and faculty can meet with librarians via Zoom, according to the library website.

All loan periods for items that are currently checked out have been extended until September 30, and the library is currently developing a plan to mail physical copies of books and provide electronic access to course readings. 

Scripps College

Malott Dining Commons has halted inside dining — all food must be taken to go, according to general manager Garrick Hisamoto. 

Scripps has also paused all self-serve options, and outside food and beverage containers are prohibited, including to-go cups and greenboxes. Malott is providing disposable to-go containers and coffee cups at no charge, according to Scripps spokesperson Rachael Warecki. 

The Motley Coffeehouse, student store, Tiernan Field House, Denison Library and the Williamson Art Gallery are closed, according to the college’s COVID-19 webpage. 

The Career Planning & Resources, Lapsa Center for Leadership and Scripps Community of Resources and Empowerment offices will also be closed, but staff will continue to hold virtual appointments. 

Pomona College

Frary Dining Hall has switched to brunch and dinner packouts only, with no dining allowed inside the facility, as of Tuesday, March 17. 

“Please make sure you wash your hands before entering the servery, please use the hand sanitizers located at the start point of the service lines and refrain from using your cellphone while at the dining hall,” general manager Jose M. Martinez told students via email Monday.

Pomona will begin serving meals out of Frank, rather than Frary, on March 23, and may provide snacks for students remaining in campus housing after that, according to an email from administrators to students remaining in campus housing March 20.

All academic buildings are now closed, according to the college’s COVID-19 webpage. 

Pomona’s Rains Center for Sport and Recreation is now closed, according to the college’s COVID-19 webpage. The Coop Fountain is also closed.

Harvey Mudd College

Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons is now serving brunch and dinner packouts to Harvey Mudd students only. Students are not allowed to eat in the dining hall, Mudd Vice President for Student Affairs Anna Gonzalez told students in an email Monday. 

The college began limiting its dining services on Wednesday when it barred students from eating in the dining hall, before limiting meals to just HMC students on Thursday due to limited staffing.

“We expect this to be the practice for our dining services through the rest of the academic year,” Gonzalez said. 

The Platt Mailroom will be accessible only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All academic buildings were locked beginning Monday. The Linde Activities Center is also closed, according to the college’s COVID-19 webpage.

Claremont McKenna College

Collins Dining Hall is closed and will remain so going forward.

“Although our dining halls will be closed, [we] will be providing food service for all those staying,” CMC Dean of Students Dianna Graves said in a statement Tuesday. 

Roberts Pavilion, including all gyms, studios, weight rooms and lockers rooms, is also closed, according to CMC spokesperson Gilien Silsby.  

Academic advising, Soll Center advising, success consultants, peer tutoring, Center for Writing and Public Discourse and Murty Sunak Quantitative and Computing Lab meetings will all be held virtually, according to an announcement made by CMC President Hiram Chodosh on March 11. 

Pitzer College

McConnell Dining Hall is closed and will remain closed going forward, according to the college’s COVID-19 webpage.

Residence Directors will be on call, but there will be no RA coverage and social events are not scheduled. 

Pitzer’s Gold Student Center, including the swimming pool and fitness center, will be closed until further notice.

Career Services staff will be available to assist students online.

City of Claremont

The Claremont City Council met Thursday to ratify a state of emergency for the city. All city facilities are also closed to the public, according to the city’s COVID-19 information page. 

The Claremont library, along with all other LA County Library branches, is closed through the end of March.

Businesses throughout the city are also shutting their doors, with many restaurants and the Laemmle movie theater closing, the Courier reported.

Grocery stores are moving to more restricted hours — Trader Joe’s will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Stater Bros will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Vons will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the Courier. Some stores are also placing limits on how many items customers can purchase at one time, to prevent hoarding, the Courier added.

Events in the city, including the Arbor Day celebration, pie festival and the weekly village farmer’s market, have been canceled, according to the Courier. The botanic garden, churches and public and private grade schools are also closing down.