IU aims to deliver its mission while promoting the health and safety of our students and minimizing the potential spread of disease within our community. As a resident within RLH Housing, COVID-19 or a similar public health or safety crisis may impact your housing experience as IU and RLH continue to make public health and safety-informed decisions. The following policies and guidelines are incorporated into the RLH Student Handbook, and thereby your Housing Contract and Addendum, and are applicable to all Residents.
- Health and Safety. Consistent with the terms of the 2020-21 Housing Contract, including the 2020-21 Addendum, and the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, Residents are required to comply with health and safety laws, orders, ordinances, regulations, and health and safety guidance adopted by IU and RLH as it relates to public health or safety crises, including specifically COVID-19. This guidance may change as the public health crisis evolves and may include, but is not limited to, complying with the COVID-19 Student Commitment Form, which includes directives related to physical distancing, wearing a face covering, COVID-19 screening and testing, contact tracing, personal hygiene, and quarantine/ isolation requirements. Adherence to health and safety requirements applies to all Residents, staff, and visitors[1] and extends to all aspects of residential life, including bedrooms, bathrooms, community kitchens, lounges, computer labs, courtyards, and other common spaces.
- Quarantine / Isolation. As indicated in the Housing Contract, the University may require a Resident to leave RLH housing when that Resident has exhibited behaviors that significantly disrupt the life of the residential community or pose a serious risk to any resident (including self), student, staff, faculty member, or visitor. Residents are required to comply with requests from RLH to leave their assigned apartment due to COVID-19 or other public health emergency, and failure to do so is a violation of the Housing Contract, Addendum, and the RLH Student Handbook and may subject a Resident to emergency removal from their assigned apartment and/or cancellation of their Housing Contract and Addendum. Not all RLH apartments or halls are appropriate for self-quarantine or self-isolation, and RLH reserves the right to designate a space for Residents to self-quarantine or self-isolate. In those situations where a Resident is required to self-quarantine or self-isolate, Residents may not be permitted to continue residing in their assigned apartment and will be provided alternative housing arrangements as needed. Removal from, or temporary alternative assignment to, RLH housing to isolate or quarantine does not constitute a termination of a Resident’s Housing Contract and Addendum.
- De-Densifying Efforts. Residents are required to comply with any de-densifying efforts needed on campus due to COVID or other public health emergency, including, but not limited to, the relocation of all or some Residents to alternative housing. Relocation does not constitute a termination of a Resident’s Housing Contract and Addendum.
- Dining Services. Dining service, including where and how it will be offered to Residents, is subject to the discretion of the University and is subject to modification to address public health or safety concerns. Due to health and safety guidance adopted by the University and/or RLH, including as set forth in Paragraph 1, the University may limit the occupancy of dining halls, limit the amount of time students may spend within dining halls, or make other operational adjustments needed to address health and safety concerns (e.g. grab and go meals).
- 5. Cleaning. RLH will implement additional cleaning protocols to address COVID-19 or other public health emergencies in the interest of minimizing the spread of disease, and will reinforce personal responsibilities to keep everyone in the campus community safe. RLH will educate and inform Residents on appropriate cleaning protocols within their assigned apartments and shared spaces to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within residence halls.
- The University may choose not to refund any portion of the housing fees paid if the Resident is required to vacate or relocate pursuant to any emergency, national crisis, natural disaster, or other catastrophic event (“Exigent Circumstances”), and the University determines that the Resident received the substantial benefit of this agreement. Exigent Circumstances include, but are not limited to, University decisions related to community health and safety, including those related to COVID-19 or other public health or safety emergencies. These determinations will be made by the University in its sole discretion.
In the event of a conflict between this section and the other sections of the RLH Student Handbook, this section will apply.
Legal Information
Your 2020-21 Housing Contract and the 2020-21 Addendum are the basic documents that state the contractual obligations between you and RLH, on behalf of the Trustees of Indiana University. In addition, the RLH Student Handbook is legally binding and incorporated by reference in the Housing Contract and Addendum. You are equally responsible for complying with the rules, policies and regulations contained herein, including this section, as you are for those directly printed on the Housing Contract and Addendum.
Updates and corrections are made as they become necessary. Contract holders will be notified of material changes.
Acknowledgment, Assumption of Risk, and Hold Harmless
You understand that by residing in RLH housing, you are assuming the risks associated with communal living and, as in any shared living environment, those risks include potential exposure to contagious viruses, including COVID-19.
You agree to release and fully discharge the Trustees of Indiana University, its agents, and employees from any and all damages, liability, claims, expenses (including attorney’s fees), or losses (collectively, “Claims”) related in any way to your use of space within RLH Housing, including those related to the potential or actual exposure to contagious viruses like COVID-19, and to indemnify and hold harmless the University, its agents, and employees from any Claims related in any way to your breach of the terms and conditions of your Housing Contract and/or the Addendum, or a breach by any third party, including, but not limited to other residents, of an applicable Housing Contract and/or Addendum.
[1] Note that the University may limit or exclude visitors, as defined by the University and/or RLH, from RLH facilities.