Editor’s note: A previous version of this opinion column said the University of Oregon and Corona Corps Care Team had not responded to requests for clarification on COVID-19 policies. At the time of writing, that was correct, but by publication the university had responded. The column has been corrected to include the university’s response. 
The University of Oregon’s primary isolation lodging for students who have tested positive with COVID-19 is the Graduate Village apartments. While UO’s Corona Corps Care Team leads the charge in managing positive cases and tracing potential contacts around campus, those who run Graduate Village are another entity altogether.
For clarification, UO defines isolation as “to separate an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 from others in order to slow the spread of disease,” and quarantine as “to separate an individual who has been exposed to COVID-19 from any other individuals, including others who have also been exposed,” though most of the public uses these terms interchangeably. 
I reached out to the Corona Corps Care Team for answers on who ran the isolation dorms, but a member told me they’d forward my request to someone who could better answer my questions. Saul Hubbard, UO’s media and communications manager, explained that “UO Housing has two dedicated employees to manage the isolation and quarantine experience for residence hall students, as well as on-call staff for after-hours needs.” However, it was not explained why UO Housing and the Corona Corps Care Team do not coordinate their efforts more succinctly, or why an unassociated group runs Graduate Village at all.
One thing is for sure, though: Without these two organizations working together and sharing information between themselves, students are bound to become disoriented throughout the process of isolating on-campus.
First-year student Mattie Melson stayed in Graduate Village’s isolation dorms for a little under an hour on Jan. 23 before opting to quarantine off-campus due to the program’s poor conditions and planning. Melson detailed her experience with the Corona Corps Care Team, her communication with those managing Graduate Village and how nearly every person she spoke with gave her conflicting information.
For instance, in a call with the Corona Corps Care Team prior to testing positive, a team member told Melson not to wear a mask while she slept as it could lead to asphyxiation. However, an email from the university organization following her positive test result told her to wear a mask whenever her roommate was in the room, even while sleeping. Those managing Graduate Village told her she’d be safe to simply position her bed so her and her roommate’s heads were six feet apart rather than wear a mask overnight.
One person telling a student they have the possibility of suffocating in their sleep if they wear a mask overnight, coupled with another person telling the student to wear the mask anyway, makes the entire act of keeping oneself and others safe seem impossible.
All this conflicting information and instruction led to quite understandable confusion and worry for Melson, and it serves as just one of many examples of UO struggling to stick to one message when it comes to COVID-19.
The official statement from UO regarding what students can expect in quarantine is also riddled with conflicting information. It claims, “students are to remain in their room with their doors closed for the health and safety of themselves and others.” Nonetheless, a Graduate Village worker told Melson she’d need to pick up her GrubHub orders from the lobby, thus exiting her room at the same time everyone else would be picking up their food. The “GrubHub code” mentioned in the statement is also a falsehood, as quarantining students would simply change their display name on the app to their room number and pay with their usual meal points.
UO continues to promote the idea that students residing in Graduate Village are perfectly isolated, having no contact with the outside world or each other. However, if everyone in the isolation dorms goes to pick up their lunch at the allotted time simultaneously, they are bound to make contact with one another.
After all of the confusion and general discomfort of the situation, Melson decided to quarantine off-campus instead. She informed the Care Team via phone call that she would be leaving Graduate Village, and a member simply told her to drop off her keys on the way out. No one hindered her exit.
“When you leave, Graduate Village has no clue if you were supposed to be out or not, because the Corona Corps and the people running this place work independently of each other,” Melson said. “I could have just left. And then not only that, but the Corona Care Team never sent me a message that I was out of quarantine, and they still have not.”
We’ve had a little under two years since the initial nationwide shutdown, and yet it seems as though the university still struggles to provide students with cohesion regarding quarantine procedures; this leaves many questions with conflicting answers. Rather than driving students away from getting the help they need with these mixed messages, UO should focus on solidifying its isolation plans and educating all students — exposed or not — on what steps they need to take to isolate on-campus.