A cook in the dining hall of 

East Quad Residence Hall at 

the 
University 
of 
Michigan 

has 
tested 
positive 
for 
the 

novel 
coronavirus 
(COVID-

19), according to an email sent 

by Alasia Tardy, East Quad 

MDining assistant manager, to 

employees of East Quad’s Blue 

Café.

“The rumors are true … a cook 

in EQ tested positive for the 

virus,” Tardy wrote.

The email does not specify the 

risk of exposure for students who 

have eaten recently at the dining 

hall or for those who work in 

MDining. It is unclear whether 

East Quad will require students 

to move out of its residence halls.

The University’s Office of 

Public Affairs gave The Daily a 

statement from MDining shared 

with those that visited East 

Quad’s dining hall. According 

to the statement, the individual 

who tested positive for COVID-

19 “had access to East Quad 

dining” and is now self-isolating 

at home.

“Effective 
immediately, 
we 

will be closing the East Quad 

dining facility for four days in 

order to clean and disinfect the 

unit,” the statement reads. “We 

are working in partnership with 

public health officials to notify 

any individuals who may have 

been exposed directly. Anyone 

who has recently visited the East 

Quad dining facility should self-

monitor for symptoms of fever, 

cough or difficulty breathing.”

When 
contacted, 
Tardy 

directed The Daily to MDining 

marketing 
manager 
Kelly 

Guralewski, who deferred to 

Public Affairs. 

An “operational update” on 

MDining’s East Quad website 

says East Quad Dining Hall is 

temporarily 
closed. 
Students 

usually eating at East Quad can 

pick up their takeout meals from 

South Quad Residence Hall’s 

dining hall instead. 

Multiple universities — including 

Middlebury 
College, 
Georgetown 

University and the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology — have 

announced plans to offer a passing 

or not passing grading system for 

all courses this semester. These 

decisions 
have 
made 
University 

of Michigan students and faculty 

question whether the University will 

follow suit. No official decision has 

been made yet.

Like these schools, the University 

moved all classes to a remote teaching 

format in order to allow students to 

practice social distancing and healthy 

habits amid an outbreak of COVID-

19. The University has encouraged all 

students who are able to leave campus 

and return to their permanent 

residence.

In announcing the changes, leaders 

at these colleges have attributed 

the change in grading as a way to 

quell fears about the global health 

pandemic and ease concerns over how 

students’ grades will be impacted by 

the move to online learning.

In an email to Ford School 

of Public Policy students, Paula 

Lantz, associate dean for academic 

affairs, wrote deans from across the 

University are considering a grading 

system in which students will either 

receive a Pass or a No Record. A “No 

Record” is different from a “Fail” 

in that a traditionally non-passing 

grade will not show up on a student’s 

transcript instead of being listed as a 

failed course.

In addition to this, she noted there 

is also the potential to “unmask” 

grades, meaning that a letter grade 

for a course would show up on a 

student’s transcript in addition to 

the “Pass.” Lantz noted this policy, 

which has been adopted by other 

institutions, is being considered by 

the University.

University 
spokesperson 
Rick 

Fitzgerald said in an email while 

the suggestion to move to Pass/

Fail classes has been brought up, no 

decision has been reached. 

“The Office of the Provost is 

carefully exploring this suggestion,” 

Fitzgerald wrote. “There has been 

no decision.”

As of Thursday afternoon, LSA 

and the College of Engineering have 

both announced extensions to their 

late add-drop deadlines.

michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, March 20, 2020

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

As other schools move to Pass/Fail grading, 
students wonder if Michigan will do the same

‘U’ has yet to reach 
official decision on
grades; various deans 
consider alternatives

Design by Cara Jhang

NAVYA GUPTA
Daily Staff Reporter

See GRADING, Page 2

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

INDEX
Vol. CXXIX, No. 88
©2020 The Michigan Daily

N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

O P I N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
michigandaily.com

For more stories and coverage, visit
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on Instagram, 
@michigandaily

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

With 
many 
University 
of 

Michigan students off-campus 

due to fears about the spread 

of 
coronavirus, 
candidates 

running in the Central Student 

Government 
election 
next 

week have based their efforts to 

connect with voters on online 

platforms. 

Following the outbreak of the 

virus in Michigan, the University 

moved classes and finals online 

while President Mark Schlissel 

encouraged all students to return 

to their permanent residences.

Campaigns adjust voter 
outreach efforts, strategies

CLAIRE HAO
Daily News Editor 

East Quad cook tests positive for virus

Dining hall employee becomes first confirmed case among members of University staff

See ELECTIONS, Page 3

ALEX HARRING, 

LIAT WEINSTEIN & 
FRANCESCA DUONG

Daily News Editors & 
Daily Staff Reporter

See DINING, Page 3

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

A cook in East Quad Dining Hall has tested positive for coronavirus.

DESIGN BY ERIN RUARK

Candidates 
go digital in 
CSG races