Megan Murphy, the COVID-19 compliance officer for the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, was concerned about the lack of personnel checking students’ daily health screening when the fall semester started. 

The department of Public Safety (PSAFE) informed her Sept. 3 that there was supposed to be a dedicated officer stationed at the entrance of Marion Knott Studios (MKS), who was then dispatched to the facility within the hour. Even still, Murphy told The Panther she’s currently interviewing students to fulfill a similar role at all other points of entry to MKS.

“For our building, we don’t even have student workers at the front desk downstairs, (and) there isn’t really anybody at that point of contact,” Murphy said. “It was really important for us to be included with those contracted workers who are checking (the) ‘CLEAR’ (emails).”

The current policy states that students’ “CLEAR” status is to be checked randomly by PSAFE officers stationed in high-traffic areas. According to a Sept. 9 CU Safely Back blog post detailing procedure around health screening checks, the “CLEAR” message will be checked at the entrance of select campus facilities or in some classrooms. The faculty also receive a daily list of students who are not approved to enter class and are instructed to request to see the health status of students on this list.

Chief of PSAFE Randy Burba is in charge of the screening checks and contracts outside security to cover building entrances. Chapman University has 19 PSAFE officers who cover all aspects of campus security, and Burba supplements the necessary officers for COVID-19 health checkpoints with outside contractors. 

The issue, Burba said, lies not in the budget, but in the availability of resources. 

“We face challenges just like everybody else getting staffing everyday,” Burba told The Panther. “We want between nine and 13 additional people here everyday and some days maybe only six show up, so then we have to augment it with our people.”

Burba said that Dodge College is set to be a regularly staffed area, but PSAFE was likely short-staffed when Murphy had to specifically request an officer for the campus. 

Among the high-traffic areas generally covered by PSAFE are Argyros Forum, the Leatherby Libraries, Beckman Hall, Randall Dining Commons, Dodge College and the Fowler School of Law. Less densely-populated buildings are checked on a random basis, which Burba said is deterrent enough to ensure compliance. 

“The idea was that if you have these kinds of identified spots where most people (on campus) visit, the odds are we’re going to get most people,” Burba said. “The other idea of having the random (checks) … is basically so people know that if (they) show up there’s a chance (they’ll) get checked and to remind them that (they) could get checked.”

According to Burba, PSAFE has conducted 121,473 checks since the beginning of the semester, as of Sept. 13. Of this number, 70 students were unable to produce a “CLEAR” message, illustrating a 99.95% compliance rate.

Nevertheless, students have expressed that they have accessed campus facilities without being checked either at the entrance or within the classroom. Of the 39 students who responded to a poll from The Panther, all expressed that they had at least once entered a building on campus without getting their daily health screening checked. 

Among buildings that students reported not being checked at, several pointed to the Digital Media Arts Center (DMAC) in Dodge College, which does not have an officer stationed in front of it. 

Murphy said she would love to have checks at all of the buildings in Dodge. However, she understands that it would be difficult to accomplish logistically and would require more money that she believes would be better spent elsewhere. 

“The stats are showing us that (the checkpoints) are not making a huge difference because students luckily care (and are) making sure they’re in compliance (with COVID-19 safety protocol),” Murphy said. “Luckily, when I look at it from a logistical point of view, it’s not really necessary.”

Sophomore film production major Joshua Cho doesn’t believe that the daily health screenings are as effective as they can be and wishes that the school had clearer guidelines on who students could approach or steps they could take in the event they feel unwell and suspect they have COVID-19.

“If a student is feeling bad, maybe (the university should) try to promote resources where (students) can immediately talk to somebody (to) get those required steps in terms of quarantine and testing and all that,” Cho said. “(The university should) figure out promoting that more as the first option instead of just having to click on a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question every single day.”

Murphy is the only employee of the university whose title is directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although she operates separately from the university’s main COVID-19 taskforce headed by Harold Hewitt, Chapman’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Murphy acts within the guidelines of the university’s official requirements and adapts the protocol to the specific needs of the college.

Dodge College Dean Stephen Galloway said hiring Murphy to oversee COVID-19 safety compliance specifically in the film school was necessary due to the nature of the projects students complete for their courses. Unlike the other colleges at Chapman, Dodge students are bound to stricter safety guidelines from the guilds that students work with.

“The rest of campus doesn’t shoot films,” Galloway said. “Each film shoot is inexperienced students going out with equipment … and not being within a classroom. If you’re lecturing (in a classroom), you have a contained space with very observable participants, (but) when you’re shooting films you don’t.”