Our Time With Your Student

Dear Wolverine Families, 

Finals season is upon us, and your student is entering the home stretch of the fall term. The intensity of studying can give them a big appetite, so we were pleased to bring back the special late night breakfast this year. This midnight event is a popular Michigan tradition to help students finish strong. 

Food is one of many ways to care for your student’s well-being during finals; addressing mental health concerns is another. With the recent array of upsetting headlines including the shooting at Oxford High School, from which dozens of current Wolverines graduated, some students may be struggling. Over the last couple of weeks, the university has reached out to students and the broader campus community to offer resources and support. 

If you are concerned about a student at any time throughout the year, there are many ways to help them help themselves through the Well-Being website. If you are concerned they need additional outreach you can connect with the Dean of Students Office by phone, email, or appointment. 

The new Omicron variant has also been in the headlines and on the minds of many. We continue to watch closely the status of COVID-19 cases on campus, but experts simply don’t have enough data yet about this new variant of coronavirus. We do know that wearing a mask around others, especially when indoors, continues to be protective against all variants of COVID. In addition, while boosters for the COVID vaccine aren’t required to be considered fully vaccinated, vaccines remain the single most important preventive measure. In accordance with CDC guidelines, we fully encourage students to get the booster as soon as it becomes available to them: six months after their second dose, for most people. Getting a COVID-19 booster is recommended for individuals 16 and older. 

This time of year, of course, we also see the flu beginning to circulate and are encouraging everyone to get a flu shot as soon as possible. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent time on campus investigating an influenza outbreak among our students, resulting in several recommendations and highlighting the importance of using all the tools we have available, like vaccinations, to protect our community. We want students to finish the semester healthy and strong, and getting vaccinated (whether with a booster shot, flu shot, or both) is important to help prevent disruption to their academics. 

To make things easier, we partnered with both Kroger and Walgreens to provide influenza and COVID vaccine clinics on campus, with each clinic seeing excellent turnout. There are many other pharmacies and vaccine locations across campus, with details available on our University Health Service website

Getting vaccinated is particularly important now before students begin traveling home for break. And our layered strategies—staying in when you don’t feel well, getting tested if you have symptoms, wearing a face covering when gathering with others outside your usual social group or household—haven’t changed. 

I am sure you are looking forward to your student returning home soon. When my daughters were in college, I couldn’t wait for winter break to roll around and bring them back home for some quality time together. In a way, all the parents, families, and loved ones of U-M students are in the home stretch right now, too—waiting to be reunited again for the end of 2021 and the start of 2022. 

This edition of Family Matters outlines helpful information for student travel, Dining and Housing details for students leaving the residence halls, and expectations for the Winter 2022 student experience. If you have questions regarding the content, as always, please reach out to Assist-Me@umich.edu to be routed to the best office to help you. 

Best regards, 

Dr. Martino Harmon, Vice President for Student Life