Tomiwa Akintode Staff Writer As Troy University’s campus sets to reopen on Wednesday, the school begins the safety protocols which were announced in an email earlier in April. These protocols include compulsory face masks worn in places on campus where social distancing cannot be maintained, such as classrooms, dorms and laboratories. The Troy Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center states that these face coverings are not required in personal environments or places where physical distancing can be achieved. Areas such as the Troy University’s Dining Hall also have mandates in place to further ensure the safety of students. According to Ibrahim Yildirim, the General Manager of Sodexo, the university’s food service provider, “Limited seating will be available,” he said. “Controlling lines with distance is very challenging especially if you are serving over 600 students in a short time period.” Some units in the dining area will also be closed to further speed up service and adjust sanitation and safety concerns. “In order for us to speed up service, we have to combine some lines together like the grill and pizza, and the deli and bakery on the other side of the salad bar. “Pizza and deli look closed, but they are not.” Yildirim said. “We are trying to centralize all items under a few areas so students don’t have to move around too much. They will be in and out quickly.” The dining services’ goal is to continue to give students the same variety of meals as usual while combining most of the service stations. Students believe that these new protocols and changes are important in maintaining the safety of students. “I think the mask mandate is very important,” said Anita Adiole, a senior human services major from Lagos Nigeria. “Prevention is better than cure, and it is better to be safe than to spend millions of dollars on hospital bills curing yourself from the virus when it could have been easily prevented by wearing a mask.” “Wearing a mask all the time might be difficult, but it is just an efficient way of maintaining safety,” she said. “Use them! Let COVID die. I’d rather wear a face mask every day than see people die,” said Paiton Lami, a senior theatre education major from Mobile, Alabama. Students will be provided with a washable, Troy-branded mask at the beginning of the semester at designated areas on campus. The Trojan Center food court will also be requiring face coverings and limited seating with modified menu items in order to increase speed of service. Yildirim urged students to be patient with these new changes and to also ensure that they wear their masks when in these facilities.
Staff Writer
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