Our staff is paying close attention to resident concerns, Washington state guidelines, and Cornish leadership as we cope with the current pandemic. We are continually evaluating our options and considering what is necessary to ensure the safety of our residents and our communities. 

As of May 6, 2021, we are in the process of evaluating our protocols for Fall 2021/Spring 2022. All details on this page are currently relevant and accurate, but may change for Fall 2021. We will update this page and our future residents as decisions are made and information becomes relevant.

To keep you informed on our current status and progress, please watch this page and pay close attention to any emails we may send you. Thank you!

Hello Cornish Commons Residents,

For those of you who have returned from break, welcome back! Everyone who has stayed with us through winter, we hope you stayed cozy and safe. I’m reaching out to let you know that we’ve received extensive feedback both complimentary and constructive to our fall season of operation. 

The Housing & Residence Life team wants you all here, healthy, and heard. While we cannot meet every request, we look forward to continuing to respond and evolve in the areas we can over the spring. 

Things we have been doing:

• Cleaning - high touch areas on the first floor including door handles, elevator buttons, countertops, and more on the hour
• Masks – Required always
• Extra Service - Meal/package/supply delivery to any student in need of service
• 24hr Coverage - Responding to our on-call number 24 hours a day 

Things we are going to do:

• Better Response Time – Same day response M-F 8a – 5pm
• Increase Amenity Access - Open one practice room & open air 20th floor deck
• Improve Laundry Service - Offering resident education and higher standards of service with our laundry vendor
• Added Communication & Engagement – Increase building info, activities and resident fun on Instagram!

Things we need from you:

• Your voice – Please tell us as soon as you have a concern with your room, our community, our staff or our facilities
• Individual accountability –  We’re here to support your healthy and community focused decisions but we need you to lead those efforts with and among your peers

Please continue to provide us with your thoughts! Our team cannot be infallible, but we are dedicated and resourceful.  We are ready to address anything we’ve missed along the way.

Thank you and we’re glad you’re here!

Emily Eskridge-June

Director of Housing & Residence Life

Our building follows higher education and school housing guidelines, which may differ from guidelines for other housing or local businesses. We will continue to take any necessary measures to ensure healthy and safe communities for our residents and staff. Our team is tracking and evaluating local King County updates on a regular basis, and we will inform residents directly when our protocols change. 

May 17, 2021: The 20th floor open-air deck is currently open for a limited number of residents at a time. We are currently evaluating having other 20th floor amenities open to a limited capacity of residents in Fall 2021. We have been able to open one practice room for limited reservation as well. At this time, we anticipate no changes to our guest restrictions. Please closely follow instituted rules for both spaces to maintain the safety of our community while using these amenities. 

For more detail on our currently implemented measures, please continue to read below. 

HANDWASHING

Cornish Commons strongly recommends following handwashing guidelines as a primary way of preventing the transmission of illness. Handwashing should be performed frequently, especially after being in public or touching shared surfaces.

For more information about handwashing, please visit this CDC webpage.

FACE COVERAGE

The Center for Disease Control currently recommends the use of face coverings for the protection of yourself and others. 

All individuals must wear face coverings over their noses and mouths when they will be at (1) indoor public settings, or (2) outdoor public locations and cannot maintain distancing of approximately six feet from another individual who does not share their household. Individuals should use face coverings such as cloth face masks, disposable face masks, scarves and bandana coverings. With regard to this directive, residents should consider their residential room to be their household.

• You could spread COVID-19 to others even if you do not feel sick.
• Everyone should wear a face cover when they have to go out in public, for example to the grocery store or to pick up other necessities. Our common spaces in the building count as "public" for the purposes of this guideline.
• Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• The face cover is meant to protect other people in case you are infected.
• Continue to keep about 6 feet between yourself and others. The face cover is not a substitute for social distancing.

Face coverings can be made by hand, whether sewn or made from a common item such as a handkerchief or t-shirt. If possible, Cornish Commons recommends using one to the best of your ability. 

For more information on using and making face coverings, please visit this CDC webpage. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING

Our staff is following social distancing measures for the protection of our community, and we encourage our residents to do the same. Social distancing means:

• Stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms’ length) from other people
• Do not gather in groups
• Stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings

Activities and areas of the building which encourage social gathering are currently being closed or restricted at this time. The building is equipped with strong Wi-Fi that will support remote work and remote study needs, such as teleconferencing. 

We thank all of you who are doing your best to prevent the potential transmission of illness within our community.

WELCOME DESK SERVICES

Our regular welcome desk services are available. When appropriate, we still recommend that you reach out to us remotely. You can Email us any time at housing@cornish.edu. You can also call us at 206.315.5852 or use the on-call phone number provided to you at move-in.

SUPPLY CHECKOUT

Regarding sanitization and COVID-19, residents will not be able to check out supplies from our desk. On an “as-needed” basis, residents should report emergency cleaning needs such as major spills or dangerous scenarios such as broken glass to the 24-hour On-Call phone. Otherwise, residents are currently expected to supply their own cleaning supplies and vacuums.

QUARANTINE MEASURES

When a resident self-reports symptoms, a positive COVID-19 test, or possible exposure to COVID-19, several procedures go into effect immediately as we:

• Connect resident with Student Life to perform contact tracing

• Determine if resident needs to move into a quarantine room and floor

• If resident is moving, providing gloves and sanitation of surfaces afterward

• If resident has roommate, contact roommate and provide relevant information in addition to the reporting resident

• Provide information regarding meal and package delivery

• Provide information for COVID-19 testing, as well as OneMed and NellieCare

• Provide cleaning supplies to both reporting resident and roommate

If you as a resident believe these measures are necessary, please self-report your circumstances as quickly as possible using the On-Call 24-Hour phone line, or by email. 

At this time we are not allowing residents to have guests visit them in the Commons. 

Additionally, residents are not allowed to have more than one resident visit them in their rooms. If a resident visits another room, all occupants must wear face coverings for the full duration of the visit. 

Cornish has been staying on top of all the most asked questions about this year. Cornish Commons and Cornish staff are committed to assuring your health and safety on our campus. For questions about your day-to-day school life, your classes, your labs and performances, and all your other concerns, start here!