Student organizations can reserve spaces in campus buildings once again, per an activities email sent at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The email, sent to student organization leaders, stated that the student affairs division “will support some in-person meetings and events” to be reviewed and determined by a student affairs committee.

All reservations in the system will be upheld so students with current reservations for in the fall and spring will not need to rebook their space. The events will still need to be reviewed by the committee; if approved, the reservation should say “authorized by SA committee” in the reservation system. New reservation requests will be reviewed weekly.

Masks will be required at all indoor events and may be required at outdoor events as well.

The student affairs committee will determine to proceed with an event based on the number of people, event length and food or drink presence along with how the food will be managed. There are no clear-cut guidelines that will guarantee any event’s approval and instead, reservations will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The committee will be chaired by Stefanie Norris, interim executive director of Campus Life, and includes Andrea Ingle, assistant director for Campus Activities & Involvement and Lindsey Trione, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life in the office of student leadership and engagement. Amanda Johnson, assistant director of reservations, scheduling, & event planning will serve as an ex-officio member.

If the committee needs more information, they will reach out to the student organization or refer their concerns to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lowell Davis or Provost James Winebrake. The committee also has the option to seek guidance from Dr. Katrin Wesner-Harts, director of the Student Health Center.

This announcement comes after UNCW’s re-up on current COVID-19 campus restrictions that were put in place on Aug. 24. Chancellor Jose Satarelli’s message on Sept. 13 extended the restrictions, including the mask mandate and surveillance testing, to Oct. 15, but no clear guidance was given on in-person meetings and events. According to UNCW, this guidance is determined by positive cases and vaccination rates, which sit at 87% vaccinated for faculty/staff, 72% for residential students and 57% of off-campus students attending in-person classes.