March 25, 2020
Dear Mean Green students and parents,
On Tuesday, officials from Denton County and the City of Denton announced a "stay-at-home" order beginning at 11:59 p.m. today, Wednesday, March 25. UNT already had announced a campus transition to essential operations only, which began at 5 p.m. yesterday, March 24.
We must all take this "stay-at-home" order to heart. It is essential for the health and safety of our community that we reduce our population density to slow the spread of this virus.
Students living in residence halls must comply with the "stay-at-home" order. The order allows students to leave their residence only for essential activities, such as grocery shopping, picking up meals from campus dining, visiting a healthcare professional, or engaging in outdoor activity such as walking, hiking, running or riding a bicycle - with proper social distancing.
We understand that for some students, UNT is their home and, as such, we have an added responsibility to ensure their health and safety on our campus. We will continue to maintain specific, essential, on-campus services for students who need them, including:
- Meal service for our on-campus residents will be provided with to-go options from Kerr Cafeteria.
- The Union is closed with the exception of Eagle Post, which is open 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- For students feeling anxiety or stress, Counseling Services remain available.
- Willis Library will remain open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for UNT faculty, staff and students with UNT ID. Many UNT Library services also are available.
- The Student Health and Wellness Center will maintain regular hours with the exception of a noon to 1 p.m. daily closure for lunch.
- The Food pantry is closed. Please reach out to the Denton Community Food Center for assistance.
- All other university services, and campus access for non-campus residents, have moved to virtual service only.
We are in uncharted territory as we face this global pandemic together. I am amazed every day by the support, resilience and ingenuity displayed by our students, staff and faculty when every hour seems to bring more change, more necessary adaptations, and more uncertainty.
As difficult as it may feel in this moment, we are becoming a stronger, more connected community through this shared experience. Someday soon we will be together again to live, learn and play. Until then, stay together in spirit and unity of purpose as the Mean Green family I am so very proud to call my own.
Sincerely,
Neal Smatresk
UNT President