Pitzer College will remain virtual for the entire spring 2021 semester, President Melvin Oliver announced in an email to students Tuesday, becoming the latest undergraduate Claremont College to announce the soonest students should expect to return to campus is fall 2021.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said they do not anticipate allowing students to live on campuses for the next few months, according to Oliver. A previous program which would have allowed 10 schools to bring some students back to campus is now on hold indefinitely, he said.
“Given this, and our continuing concern for the health and safety of students, staff and faculty, Pitzer will remain virtual for the entire spring 2021 semester. This is a difficult decision but we need to move beyond the uncertainty of the end stages of this pandemic and turn our attention to the fall,” Oliver said.
Harvey Mudd College announced last week that they would keep campus closed for the spring semester, and Scripps College announced the same Monday.
Claremont McKenna College’s announcement was more vague — in an email to students Monday, President Hiram Chodosh said that LACDPH officials “do not foresee any way we can return students to campus in March.”
Chodosh did not say explicitly that students will not return at any point during the spring semester. When asked whether this was the case, a spokesperson told TSL to refer to Chodosh’s original letter.
Pomona College announced last week that they plan to bring students back to campus in fall 2021 and cautioned that a spring return was unlikely.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Maria Heeter SC ’22 is an economics major from Dover, New Hampshire. She previously served as TSL’s fall 2020 editor-in-chief.