Center Operations
This is the Q Center Operational Plan for the 2020-2021 school year or until such time that COVID-19 is no longer a threat to public health. The Q Center will have adjusted operating hours of 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday, but will not be open for general usage by students, faculty and staff. See below for the specific circumstances for which students may use the Center.
Center Welcome Desk - The Center’s front door will be temporarily relocated to the external door within the Multipurpose Conference room and the welcome desk will be located just inside. This door is accessed from the hallway where the main Q Center bulletin board is located and is next door to the Asian Studies Department. The welcome desk will be staffed during operational hours by a combination of college work study, intern and graduate staff. Each staff member will be responsible for sanitizing the welcome desk before leaving their shift.
Q Center Library - The Library will not be accessible to students but they may continue to check out books by searching the collection on the Center’s website and following the online checkout process. The following process for checking out and returning books has been developed following the recommendations of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Centers for Disease Control.
- Check out process: Books will be held for pick-up at the Welcome desk. Staff who retrieve the books must sanitize their hands before handling books and there will be a 72-hour quarantine before books can be picked up by a student.
- Return process: A book return area will be set up at the Welcome desk with Post-it notes, pens and shelving. Students will be instructed to write the date they have returned the book(s) on the post-it note(s) and adhere to the book(s). They will then place the book(s) on a return shelf where it will sit “in quarantine” for a minimum of 24-hours before a Q Center staff member checks it in and returns it to the proper location in the library.
Gender Affirming Clothing Closet - Students will continue to have access on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by appointment only. Appointments will be for 30 minutes between 10 am - 4 pm. Students wishing to make an appointment can call the Center at 607-777-6028 or email lgbtq@binghamton.edu with the Subject: Clothing Closet. No new clothing donations will be taken at this time.
Meetings - All meetings will be held virtually, both to include employees/students who are telecommuting or on staggered schedules and to maximize social distancing. Guests who are not able to meet remotely, for example due to limited access to Wi-Fi or privacy concerns, can request to use a designated meeting room for this purpose. Guests will conduct their meeting with Center staff via phone or video conference from this space. The designated space is the NSLS office in the MRC which will be booked for the guest by the staff member they wish to meet with.
Use of Breakroom – staff may use breakroom to store and/or prepare personal meals, but may not congregate there to eat. Staff must sanitize used areas, i.e. microwave and refrigerator handles, counter tops. To encourage self-care through socialization, staff may look for opportunities to eat together outdoors, while maintaining social distancing.
Face Covering - Q Center staff must wear a fresh face covering or mask that covers both nose and mouth at all times while in shared areas, such as the main lounge, hallways, conference rooms, breakrooms, storage rooms, restrooms, the MRC Resource Room. The only exceptions are when alone in a private office. For the duration of this plan, the Q Center Multipurpose Conference room is designated as a private office space. Welcome desk staff will only be required to wear a mask if a guest has entered the Center.
- Employees have the option of wearing their own mask or utilizing those provided by the University. Please find guidelines for washing cloth masks at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-wash-cloth-face-coverings.html.
- Welcome desk staff and Center staff will have access to clear masks to be worn when interacting with hearing impaired students or employees. Masks will be stored in the Welcome Desk filing cabinet.
Questions regarding PPE, should be addressed to the Center Director.
Hand Sanitizer and Cleaning - All professional employees will be provided one 2-oz. personal bottle of hand sanitizer. Student staff are required to bring their University provided bottle of hand sanitizer with them to work. This alcohol-based sanitizer may be used to sanitize your hands as well as work surfaces and touch-points. Do not discard this bottle, as you will only receive one. Refilling stations will be located throughout campus where these personal bottles may be refilled. The closest refill station to the Q Center is in the Library’s Grand Stairwell near the vending machines. Staff are encouraged to wash or sanitize hands following such activities as opening mail or packages, returning from outside of the Center, etc.
Following the use of equipment in common spaces it will be the responsibility of each staff member to sanitize the equipment using the cleaning supplies provided. This includes but is not limited to tables, chairs, countertops, refrigerator and microwave handles, printer pads, etc.
NOTE: Staff are not allowed to purchase cleaning supplies or bring in supplies from home. The use of chemicals other than those used by PF custodial staff could damage surfaces, react dangerously with the chemicals used by PF staff, cause allergic reactions or other issues. Chemicals used by custodial staff are specifically selected for safety, compatibility with other chemicals and surfaces, and compliance with the New York State Green Cleaning Law.
Office cleaning frequency by physical facilities staff may be decreased if needed to allow for more frequent disinfection of touchpoints in common areas throughout the building. Therefore, Center staff must dump their waste baskets into common area trash cans (corridors, bathrooms, etc.).
Center Staff Schedules
- The full time professional staff will continue a staggered remote work schedule and should connect with the Q Center Director for information about shift schedules.
- The graduate assistants and student interns will work 50% of their time in the Center and 50% remotely.
- The student manager staff (College Work Study) will work in the Q Center unless university and/or division leadership make decisions that require all Q Center operations to move to a virtual/remote operation.
Center Programs
Given the mission and goals of the Center, meaningful programming would be hard to achieve using the social distancing protocols enacted by the University, therefore the vast majority of Center programs, including Active Ally workshops and Signature Programs, will be conducted virtually. The Center will continue using various tools like Zoom and Discord.
Please address questions or concerns to Dr. Kelly Clark, Center Director at lgbtq@binghamton.edu
