COVID-19 Update March 21
Dear members of the Saint Louis University community,
If you are able, I want to encourage you to spend some time outside this weekend. As spring advances, we should all pause and appreciate the gift of life that is out there to discover.
I also hope that you find the time to call someone you love. Today, I received a call from a dear friend from high school – an ENT surgeon from Los Angeles – who will soon report to the emergency room for backup duty. He realizes, and shared, the risk he faces. Hearing his voice, sharing a few laughs and listening to his care and concern for me made my day.
We all need to take care of one another. It feels all the more important as communities implement mandatory orders to stay at home.
That brings me to my sole update for today – the City of St. Louis’ “stay at home” order announced by Mayor Lyda Krewson. Here is what I know:
- Saint Louis University is committed to providing remote learning for the remainder of the semester. We are communicating with city officials to understand what the Mayor’s announcement means for SLU and the several hundred students who continue to live on campus.
- We are preparing for this order to go into effect starting at 6 p.m., Monday, March 23. Tomorrow, we hope to have additional guidance about what this means for SLU.
In closing, I want to remind you that your Billiken family is here for you. We share in your grief for the loss of this time together, and we sit in the same discomfort with this new normal. Though we might be a ‘communitas ad dispersionem’ – a community in dispersion – we continue to be united in spirit as one SLU.
Sincerely,
Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.
President
Note: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Students can also contact the Counseling Center at 314-977-TALK
(8255). SLU employees can also contact the Employee Assistance Program at (800) 859-9319.