We should also close the towns to Stanford students as they may not be socially distancing properly too!

This is not very friendly on Stanford's side. My husband and I ride our bikes from our house in College Terrace to campus all the time. We wear our masks and always stay socially distant from others. What is behind this reasoning? Visitors are outside.

The University is blaming the county health directive related to the Covid pandemic.

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One may think. Wildfires, blackouts, quarantine

Is there really a compelling reason to remain in this area?

Shut it all down except... $tanford golf coarse and driving range. So typical! They just cannot figure out how to charge visitor at the Oval and elsewhere... Otherwise they would be open as well. ¯\(°_o)/¯

To me...It’s related to all the promises they’ve made to the county related to the General Use Permit that allows them to continue to grow. That’s why they are maintaining the Dish open. Otherwise they know that a lot of future approvals of projects would hang in the balance.

In my previous firm we had a lot of projects inside Stanford and I got to see a bit behind the courtain. They know they have clout and support from the community but the approval process and the GUP is how they are supposed to take into account the impact they have on the surrounding areas. At least they had decided to build more housing inside campus and to acquire apartment complexes to mitigate the traffic and commute loads in particular from all the new people being hired at the Hospitals.

They have also made a push to grow in Redwood City and Menlo Park lately precisely to avoid the scrutiny in Santa Clara County.

Blame President [Trump] - he is responsible for the terrible US COVID strategy, letting it run wild. And his supporters refused to wear masks spreading this virus. Now we have to take extreme actions.

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This seems so blunt an approach, with big impacts to everyone who lives around here! Many, many people enjoy walking through campus as part of their day.

How often is someone not affiliated with the university getting close to someone on campus, enough to pose a danger of disease transmission? And with more risk than the students themselves being carriers of the virus?

This cannot have been thought through well.

Gaston,

The GUP process is kaput.

Eric,

The restrictions can be relaxed as the virus is controlled better. If you want the freedom to roam the campus, push for better compliance. In that sense, Stanford is doing what we should all be doing, minimize unnecessary contact. Stanford knows that most people off-campus are not following the strict rules it will be imposing on its own people. People on campus will be subject to frequent testing; people off campus not do much.

If you have an essential reason to be on campus, you will be allowed.

The Mercury News reports:
The zones and restrictions align with the California Department of Public Health’s guidelines on universities reopening, officials said. The guidelines require universities and colleges to “limit, to the greatest extent permitted by law, external community members from entering the site and using campus resources, as the number of additional people onsite and/or intermixing with students, faculty and staff increases the risk of virus transmission.”

It doesn't sound as if Stanford is doing anything nefarious - just complying with the state guidelines.

This is the link to the full message from Stanford's President:

Web Link

People allowed to be in the restricted zones will be displaying IDs, generally on lanyards around their neck. There will be safety personnel at various locations to educate the public on the restrictions.

If I am reading this correctly, I cannot visit my friends who live in faculty housing; but of course they can visit me in Palo Alto; go figure. But overall I get closing off the central part of the campus.

This reminds me of how Stanford tried years ago to close all the hills to hikers. Interesting that the money making parts of Stanford remain open...like golf course. This is very bad PR and short sighted...I agree with a previous writer that maybe we should not allow students into the neighboring towns around Stanford. Does this include the weekend when there are no classes?

The faculty housing area is not closed to visitors.

Joan,

This is mandated by the county. Stanford has to comply. Why do you need to be in the campus zone while there is a pandemic?

Note that the people who live and work on campus are tested frequently.

These is no frequent testing program for the general population. That is the big reason for controlling access to the campus.

Hey - when it all goes wrong bypass the governor and blame DT. Each state and governor has a different set of conditions. It is up to the governor to direct open and closed in the state. How about blaming the management at SU - this is their campus and their method of controlling the environment.

I agree with them - in San Jose the other night the rioters went over to the mayors house and spray painted on it. Give an inch and they take a yard - and house.

So how about those RV's on the street? The city gave an inch and now it is out-of-control. Any business person in the city can tell you that. Only government employees can't figure that out.

In follow up to my comment above. Stanford informed me that one may visit faculty housing.

Open-air walks and biking across camp by locals wearing masks are a Covid risk to faculty, staff and students. Parse that sentence and tell me it makes sense.

Front page news says that the biggest Covid risk to faculty, staff and students are students who worry more about their acne than the virus. Better tag them with ankle monitors to keep them away from Ernie's Liquors and the Palo Alto bars.

And us.

There are many angry feelings I am hearing in the community about the Stanford decision to close off the campus, especially given Stanford's buying up property off Campus for Stanford housing. Stanford students and faculty come into the Palo Alto community freely and that is the way it is suppose to be: an open campus that interacts with its surrounding community. During the Pandemic, we take care of each other by social distancing and wearing masks. To isolate the Stanford community from the surrounding public seems hurtful and unnecessary. Many of us take walks and ride our bikes on campus to get outside and get some exercise away from cars, to enjoy the beautiful Stanford campus. Stanford students and faculty who live on campus will do the same as they come into Palo Alto for outside dining and to also ride their bikes and to take a walk in Palo Alto. They will also go to Stanford shopping center and elsewhere. If they catch the virus off campus, they will bring it back to campus. If they catch the virus in the dorms, they will bring it into the Palo Alto community. Where is the fairness in the Stanford policy. We all have to take care of each other either way, and the community that has visited the campus has been very protective of Stanford, as I have observed most visitors wearing masks, even children who come to ride their bikes and scooters. Obviously, going inside campus buildings is another story, but being outdoors with masks and social distancing is what we expect from Stanford students and the general public.

I understand that Stanford is open to feedback regarding possible zones for the community to ride and walk, but I think that is difficult to manage given that visitors might have to walk through other zones to get to the zones where the pubic may have access. From my perspective the public enjoys the areas around the clock tower and Coupra Cafe as well as the church square, the museum, and the other open areas like the grassy area in front of the campus. The athletic areas are also used for that purpose. As I said, it just doesn't make logical sense or practical sense to close off part of the campus from the community while the City has their doors wide open to the Stanford community.

Lightning,

You don’t seem to get this key point: the people on CSmpus are continuously tested. The people in a Palo Alto and elsewhere are not.

People allowed to be on campus will have to didplay their Stanford IDs. If lots of random people are wandering through the campus, it will complicate enforcement (6-foot rule, tailgating into buildings, etc.)

Your comment seems to reek of entitlement at a time when Americans have shown they are not good ay bringing a pandemic under control.

Chris,

The Pamdemic is real and I do want students and faculty to return to the campus as soon as safely possible, but I don't see the danger posed to Stanford by community folks riding and walking around campus, wearing masks and safely distancing as being any different from Stanford staff and faculty walking and riding around Palo Alto. It is nice that Stanford has the ability to continuously test its students and staff. Maybe they can help the community surrounding the University to receive more tests that are so readily available on Campus. Either way, the communication of the disease can still be spread despite the testing, as demonstrated by the Trump Administration reported cases. I assume no one at Stanford will be tested every day. The University solution to bringing virus safety to the campus is somewhat paramount to not allowing the neighboring city and Stanford residents into Palo Alto to prevent the city residents from catching the virus. Lastly, I appreciate that the University is taking the vrius seriously and making a good faith effort to limit the spread of the disease. I just wish there was a better and less blunt strategy.

Stanford need to create safe areas on campus to conduct classes outdoors when classes eventually resume.

When our local K-12 schools reopen how many of them do you think will allow visitors to wander on their campuses?

ZERO

It's beyond me why Stanford didn't publish a map with bordering street names so you could tell what's possible. Terrible communication.

Peter,

I suspect parents will be allowed on school campuses, especially the Elementary schools, but that is like comparing apples with oranges: small very isolatable K-12 campuses where most people don't use for walking or bicycling while Stanford is large and is wide open and part of our community as is Harvard and UCLA and I have not heard of them requiring ID's to be on campus.

"I suspect parents will be allowed on school campuses,"

Not if those schools are serious about controlling contagion. Every additional person allowed on the campus increases the risk of contagion.

@Chris: "Note that the people who live and work on campus are tested frequently.
These is no frequent testing program for the general population. That is the big reason for controlling access to the campus."

This is a bad argument. First of all, per NYT, the tests are not reliable. Web Link

Second, the use of "frequently" needs some clarity. Are you telling us that off-campus students, off-campus Professors, etc, are tested every day, several times a day, every time they leave campus and before they are allowed to enter campus, etc.? I highly doubt that. Who would want to come to campus under those conditions?

And so what if they're tested? Stanford student tests negative in the morning, spends the rest of the day at shops and restaurants in Palo Alto and neighboring cities among the public, are they immediately tested before being allowed set foot back on campus and placed in 14-day quarantine?

I'm not buying any of it. The policy is foolish and illogical unless Stanford takes the next step and quarantines every student and employee, full lockdown, no leaving campus, no visitors, full PPE, prison, armed guards blocking all access points, until the restrictions are lifted.

By the way, is there a serious outbreak or problem with Covid at Stanford that I'm not aware of?

One more comment for Chris. You can't "hide" from virus. As Sweden and New York showed, whether you lockdown (NY) or remain mostly open, no masks, no lockdowns (Sweden), the infection and death rates are relatively similar...except you don't destroy your economy -- with resulting loss of life from suicides, drug overdoses, missed medical treatments, starvation, etc. as result of shutdowns -- when you stay open.

Besides, students and staff still have to shop for groceries, pick-up medications, receive deliveries, and other interactions from the public. So you can't avoid the virus.

Every interaction with another individual increase but some very small amount the risk of infection.

So it is perfectly reasonable for you or a company or Stanford to establish rules which minimize the number of different people with whom you, their employees or their faculty, staff and students interact. Visitors to the campus provide no benefit to the essential educational mission of the university so why increase the risks, even by a small amount, for no benefit?

Stanford gets services paid for by the City of Palo Alto. That means I pay for services at Stanford. Which means RESIDENTS of Palo Alto should get passes.

"Stanford gets services paid for by the City of Palo Alto."

What services does Stanford receive from Palo Alto that Stanford does not fully pay for?

And what benefits does Stanford provide Palo Alto for free?

BTW - Try getting onto the VA campus without being a staff member or a veteran with an appointment.

Peter Carpenter: great questions!

@Peter: "Visitors to the campus provide no benefit to the essential educational mission of the university so why increase the risks, even by a small amount, for no benefit?" Interesting, because we like to tour campuses on our own and the kids can envision what life is like there before deciding to enroll. No benefit to education mission, I guess.

"BTW - Try getting onto the VA campus without being a staff member or a veteran with an appointment." Nobody is talking about going inside of buildings. Most people like to walk around and check out the scenery. Even the VA allows that.

" Interesting, because we like to tour campuses on our own and the kids can envision what life is like there before deciding to enroll. No benefit to education mission, I guess."

I don't know of a single university that is permitting such campus visits at this time.


" Even the VA allows that."

No it does not! There is security at every access to the campus and you will be stopoped and required to identify yourself.

Dagwood,

Putting a few key street names on the map might help somewhat, but with the satellite view and the basic north/top orientation of the map, it is pretty easy for anybody with minimal familiarity of the area and campus to figure out.

Peter,

It sounds like we are boiling this discussion down to let's do the absolute most to protect the campus folks from their pandemic rich surrounding community whereas the Stanford community can do whatever they want relative to their surrounding neighborhoods.

Here is Princeton's policy: Princeton prides itself on being open to the public and to anyone who wishes to engage with the vibrant intellectual and cultural offerings of the University. While much of the campus had to close due to the pandemic, FitzRandolph Gate and all public entryways have remained wide open: everyone is still welcome to stroll through and enjoy the beautiful outdoor campus, while following guidelines for social distancing and face coverings. As far as I can tell that is the policy at Harvard, UCLA, and many other campuses as well. This is what we want for our treasured University. Hopefully Stanford will return campus availability as soon as we transition into the less restrictive stages in the surrounding counties.

“ While much of the campus had to close due to the pandemic, FitzRandolph Gate and all public entryways have remained wide open: everyone is still welcome to stroll through and enjoy the beautiful outdoor campus, while following guidelines for social distancing and face coverings”

That is exactly what Stanford has done. Thank you for your posting.

Here are Harvard’s requirements to be in campus:


Here is a summary of key requirements for safely working on campus:

Before returning to work on campus, you must complete one of the required COVID-19 safety trainings from Harvard’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (on on the Harvard Training Portal, Harvard Key required), and follow these general expectations for safety at work. Some work settings (e.g., clinical, laboratories) may have additional requirements for workers to help ensure their safety.
Before or immediately after returning to work on campus, you must get a baseline coronavirus test, from Harvard University Health Services. This is a requirement if you will be working 4 hours or more weekly on campus. Repeat testing is also required, once, twice or three times per week, depending on job role and work environment.
Each day you work on campus, you must attest to your well-being using the Crimson Clear mobile app – or a paper-based method if you don't have digital access. More information on Crimson Clear is provided here. Be prepared to show your Crimson Clear pass to gain entry to a Harvard building.
Faculty and staff who feel sick should stay home, and notify their supervisor. Harvard’s temporary policies that allow for expanded and more flexible use of sick time by staff will remain in effect until further notice.
Mandatory Reporting – Faculty and staff who are being tested for COVID-19 because of symptoms or known exposure, who are presumed to have COVID-19 and are awaiting test results, or who have received a positive test result for COVID-19, must notify HUHS at healthservices@huhs.harvard.edu, even if they do not receive their care at HUHS. This helps the University assess the impact on our community.
All employees must use face coverings, medical/surgical masks or N-95 respirators as described here, depending on the work setting. Face coverings or masks must be worn on the Harvard campus (1) in public (2) at work in the presence of others, even if socially distanced, and (3) in shared Harvard spaces of any kind, to prevent common area surface contamination from droplets.

Peter

You have stated the obvious, that working and studying on campus is a different ballgame from walking or biking around campus outdoors. I completely understand any restrictive policies for studying working or living on campus, just as we have restrictions for shopping, going to restaurants, working at employment sites, indoor services, etc. Princeton's policy is quite different from Stanfords. We are not welcome to stroll or bike around campus, other than on the main street around campus and outdoor zone next to the Museum.

What is not clear about Princeton’s policy:
“ While much of the campus had to close due to the pandemic, “

Sounds just like Stanford’s policy.

It would be useful if Standford could produce a restricted zones map with street names. I want to abide by the new rules but am confused where the boundaries are. Thanks.

Many people treat the Stanford campus as if it is public property, and they have every "right" to be there. As a private entity, Stanford has liability concerns that do not exist for public entities. No lawsuit alleging Palo Alto did not protect its citizens from infection in a public park would succeed. On the other hand, Stanford is vulnerable to such claims should a student or member of the staff or faculty get infected.

Also, by restricting access, Stanford may be able to do contact tracing of an infected individual, which would be nearly impossible with unrestricted access.

I'm also not a fan of these restrictions, but I understand the need. I'm sure that +90%^ of people passing through the campus do it responsibly. It's too bad that provisions have to be made for the irresponsible ones. Yes, it's a blunt approach, but how else are they supposed to isolate and protect their "local" population?

I've read here a few suggestions for clarifying the policy, and many complaints about the policy, but no good suggestions about how to balance managing their risk while allowing public access.

"no good suggestions about how to balance managing their risk while allowing public access." That is for the simple reason that there is no educational mission benefit to taking any additional risk by allowing visitors onto the core campus.

Peter, you may be absolutely right about "no educational mission benefit" to allowing campus visitors. I'm suggesting that if other commenters believe Stanford has an obligation to allow them on campus despite the risks, constructive suggestions might be more helpful than repeated complaints and statements of perceived entitlement or Stanford overreach.

Stanford is allowing very large portions of its campus to remain open to the public including the Dish.

Why in the world can visitors complain about being excluded from the core campus when their being there provides no value to the university and only increases, however slightly, the risk of infection to the people working, learning and living in the core campus.

The law makes clear that Stanford has the right, as a private landowner, to exclude outsiders from all of it land at any time.

Stanford's long overly generous policy of being an open campus does not entitle others to roam those lands at will.

Eileen,

If you live in College Terrace, you can surely read Stanford’s map. The satellite image pretty well lays out the key landmarks.

Chris, can I go to the cactus garden area? thanks.

If I'm reading the map correctly, the cactus garden is in the community zone so open as is the Arboretum area bounded by Galvez, Campus drive, and the Medical complex. Campus Drive and presumably its sidewalks are open. Bowdoin Road to Campus Drive, Serra Street from El Camino to Campus Drive, Galvez to Campus drive all seem to be open. And the Dish loop is open. Anything inside of Campus Drive is off-limits though I think the university is hoping to open up the outside areas around Cantor at some point
I suspect there will be adjustments.

Feels like these rules are designed to prevent other Zoomers from coming on campus, partying with the undergrads and passing out in the bushes. Local mall-walkers and bikers just got caught in the regulatory exhaust.

Preemptive apology for the following: [Rant on] Stanford doesn't at all fit the libertarian definition of a plucky private property holder yelling to get off their lawn. It's a "non-profit" (quotes intentional) whose founding charter says it is "to promote the public welfare". It's tax exempt status includes the avoidance of $140M in annual property taxes. I submit these benefits imply some reciprocity to the community that grants them. At a practical level, building a virtual Berlin Wall around the campus is really lousy PR. [Rant off]

Bikers and mall walkers still have access to a vast majority of the campus including the shopping center.

There are many tax exempt entities in the Bay area - few of them permit public access to their facilities during this pandemic.

AND Kevin, the home owners on campus pay plenty of taxes.

@Kevin: Just for the record, Stanford is its own town and so pays for its own utilities, police force, and roads. It pays Palo Alto for its fire services which are contracted with the Palo Alto Fire Dept.. PA Schools are the only Palo Alto "service" that Stanford residents use. As pointed out by Ohio39, Stanford homeowners pay property taxes just like anyone in Palo Alto, and property taxes are paid at the Prop. 13 determined rate for Stanford West. The Stanford Shopping Center and the Stanford Industrial Park are both in Palo Alto and so the city receives property and sales taxes from both.

"It pays Palo Alto for its fire services which are contracted with the Palo Alto Fire Dept.."

And for many years it vastly overpaid for those fire services after the SLAC Station was closed down but the contract with Palo Alto still required Stanford to pay the same annual fee even with one less station.


Web Link

Here is the Palo Alto VA policy on visitors:

"The safety of our Veterans, visitors, and staff is paramount. Therefore, VA Palo Alto Health Care System is taking additional measures to protect the health and well-being of all parties.
Moving forward, visitors will not be allowed in the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, including Palo Alto Division Building 100, Building 7 and Building 520; all residential mental health care programs in Menlo Park; and all outpatient clinics and locations, health care system wide. This restriction also applies to patients’ family members currently in Fisher House and Defenders Lodge.
As the number of cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) increases in the Bay Area, it is critical to minimize avoidable exposure to COVID-19 whenever possible. Some individuals who contract the COVID-19 virus have no symptoms or only mild symptoms, such that they may not be aware they are carrying the virus."