School is opening soon, and that impacts River Falls more than other communities for one very simple reason: the largescale state university smack dab in the middle of town. Soon to receive students from all over, the institution formerly known as the “Normal School” circa 1918 has made several adjustments for this fall to help keep students, staff, and the broader community safe, as interim chancellor Connie Foster detailed to the River Falls City Council at a recent meeting.

“Thank you for the opportunity to speak,” UW-River Falls Chancellor Connie Foster said during the July 28 Council meeting. “UW-River Falls enjoys a positive relationship with the City of River Falls. We are committed to keeping our employees, students, and the community safe as we pursue our educational mission in this time of pandemic.” More information available at the university’s website at www.uwrf.edu “Falcons Forward!” gave some change details. Following is a short point summary:

•More online distance courses where content and pedagogy support this, and a hybrid learning format for most other courses. Hybrid is defined as interacting with students in the same space for less than 75 percent of instruction time.

•Face to face contact will be managed with various health and safety measures in place, such as physical distancing, PPE, “and other appropriate health and safety measures.” Additionally, students are directed to their ESIS accounts to see schedule adjustments.

•All WIAC Conference seasons and championships for football, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s cross country are cancelled for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year, while member institutions will retain the autonomy to establish practice opportunities within NCAA limitations as of present. Additionally, all WIAC competition for women’s tennis and golf will be suspended for the fall 2020-21 season, with championships scheduled in the spring. Determinations on winter sports will be made at a later date (as of August 10).

•Face coverings are required in all indoor public spaces, including classrooms, and strongly encouraged outside when physical distancing is not possible. Reasonable accommodations will be made for individuals unable to wear a face covering, with requests considered on a case-by-case basis.

•Employees considered to be at high-risk for serious complications of illness, including COVID-19, should consult their supervisor “to develop an appropriate work plan.” This may include remotely pursuant to UW System telecommuting policies.

•In the early stages of reopening, one restroom will be open per building and the university is researching HVAC ventilation rates based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

•Prior to work each day, UW staff will be required to complete a screening questionnaire.

•Regarding Residence Life, spaces will be designated for quarantine and isolation, with more information to come in the following weeks. For those who wish to commute from home, UW-River Falls has extended its commuter policy to allow this for those living within 40 miles of campus.

•Finally, for dining, physical distancing will be used for lines at the entrance and plexiglass partitions will be installed at the service counters. Additional labor will be added to serve students, as opposed to self-serve. Reduced seating the reusable-to-go food containers will also be utilized, the latter for when there is inadequate seating capacity. Cleaning protocols “to meet or exceed CDC guidelines” will be followed, and Chartwells staff will wear face coverings. Modifications will be made as necessary.

The above is just a partial list of adjustments at the old onetime Normal School, now UW-River Falls. Meanwhile, back at the July 28 Council meeting, there was a recommendation to consider, if only briefly due to state-level intervention.

“I’ll take a motion on the resolution recommending face coverings in public in the City of River Falls,” Mayor Dan Toland announced. With a motion by Scott Morrissette and simultaneous seconds by two others, the recommendation on face mask covering in the City of River Falls passed unanimously. Within less than 24 hours, the Council’s recommendation late on July 28 became a statewide mandate, after Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued Governor’s Order 82, declaring a public health emergency and mandating face coverings under state statute 323.02(16). Included in the order is the directive that all those over 5 years old wear a face mask for the next 60 days, with some exceptions made for those with health-related conditions. Meanwhile, one council members had some First Amendment issues to report on, or rather the breach thereof. For all that First Amendment freedom of speech allows, it doesn’t allow the threat or insinuation of imminent bodily harm. To that end, River Falls Council member Ben Plunkett brought some emails he had received to the Council’s attention at the July 28, 2020 meeting.

“Anything, anybody else request that they read something?” Mayor Toland asked at the July 28 council meeting. Plunkett took the opportunity to give the council an important update.

“I would like to make a statement Mr. Mayor,” he said.

“Yes,” Toland replied. “Go ahead Mr. Plunkett.”

“I have received several threatening emails today. One from a Clint Eastwood, asking if I would like to meet my God, know how to get to Heaven permanently, and several other comments posted online threatening to rearrange my dental work,” Plunkett shared with his fellow council members, then calling into question the motives of the electronic message senders. “If this is how the opposition to mask ordinances choose to behave, I have great questions about their behavior and everything that they are stating. Thank you.” Without making a general statement then, it might be a good idea for those on all sides of the political divide to police their own, in the meantime seeking to petition their government for a change of grievances in more effective ways, in line with the Constitution. After all, just one or two hotheads can ruin things for everyone—and not necessarily from a fever, either. See those pearly whites in 60 days.