An email to campus residents Thursday afternoon announced that students still on campus will be consolidated into certain dorms. Also, the email said that UPS will ship or store student items remaining on campus.

This decision is a result of Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s Nashville’s “Safer At Home” order announced Sunday, which is in place until April 6, the email said. 

Students will no longer be allowed to enter the dorms to retrieve their own items, and instead, UPS will be granted access to students’ spaces to retrieve items to be shipped or stored at the cost of the student. OHARE asked students with items still on campus to complete a survey detailing the status of their belongings. OHARE will also reach out to current and departed students before “taking any action.”

“Multiple occupant spaces may pose challenges to identifying ownership of items and we may reach out to roommates to provide remote assistance in order to properly pack belongings,” the email said. 

The email did not say which dorms students remaining on campus would be moved into. The consolidation is intended to help the school better manage facilities, provide meal deliveries and adequately staff buildings.

“The consolidation will also enable Vanderbilt to support Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC),” the email reads. “As the demands on healthcare may increase exponentially, Vanderbilt will assist VUMC by providing housing for medical staff working long hours and multiple shifts to address the expected surge in health care needs.”

Students with belongings remaining in a dorm that will be cleared for VUMC use will be notified before their items are retrieved.