POLICY CHANGE: External Guests At Indoor College-Sponsored Events Permitted Beginning November 8

CIRT Update

Published November 2, 2021

Dear students, staff and faculty:

Beginning November 8, the college will permit external guests (any individual not actively participating in the college’s COVID-19 screening program) at indoor Smith events.

Please note that this policy does not apply to student-sponsored events, which will remain closed to external guests. Additionally, event organizers are not obligated to open events to the public. Should they choose to open their event to the public, they must do the following.

In order to allow non-Smith guests at events: 

  1. The event must first be approved by the cabinet member overseeing the functional area (for faculty, this requires the written approval from the Office of the Provost).

  2. The event must be sponsored by a department or program (not an individual).

  3. All external guests must show proof of full vaccination at the time of the event. You may not collect digital proof of vaccination at any time. Note that, at this time, booster shots beyond the initial course of vaccination are not required to meet the definition of fully vaccinated. Exemptions from this requirement are not permitted for members of the public.

  4. Indoor events are limited to 50% capacity. The Office of Events Management can assist in obtaining these numbers.

  5. Food or drink may not be served at events with external guests.

  6. Sponsoring departments are fully responsible for the communication, coordination and enforcement of these and any other Culture of Care policies. 

If an event is open to external guests, all attendees (including students and employees) must present one of the following when entering the event:

  1. For those within the college’s COVID-19 testing program, a current OneCard indicating that the holder is an employee or student.

  2. For external guests, proof of vaccination.

As a reminder, the sponsoring department or program is solely responsible for attendee management and policy compliance. This includes providing sufficient staffing to ensure that every attendee presents a current OneCard or proof of vaccination and that attendance remains at or below the 50% capacity threshold.

Please see Guidelines and Policies on the Smith College COVID site for further information.



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