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Duke’s Secret Weapon in the Fight Against COVID-19

A shirt showing the 6ft equivalents of 2 Nuggets, 4 Peaches and and 10 campus squirrels

Duke’s Secret Weapon in the Fight Against COVID-19

Two by two, Duke employee volunteers are traversing campus to encourage mask wearing and physical distancing. The group of employees, known as the C-Team, work in four-hour shifts during the morning, evening and night to remind students, employees and visitors to wear masks and practice physical distancing.

Duke’s Secret Weapon in the Fight Against COVID-19

Two by two, Duke employee volunteers are traversing campus to encourage mask wearing and physical distancing. The group of employees, known as the C-Team, work in four-hour shifts during the morning, evening and night to remind students, employees and visitors to wear masks and practice physical distancing.

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

Stock Up and Head Out

C-Team shifts start at the University Center Activities & Events office in the Bryan Center, where employee volunteers collect free coffee and smoothie coupons to hand out to students they see practicing physical distancing and wearing masks. Joshua Salaam stocks up and heads out to remind students to wear masks and thank them for hanging out 6 feet apart.

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

Stock Up and Head Out

C-Team shifts start at the University Center Activities & Events office in the Bryan Center, where employee volunteers collect free coffee and smoothie coupons to hand out to students they see practicing physical distancing and wearing masks. Joshua Salaam stocks up and heads out to remind students to wear masks and thank them for hanging out 6 feet apart.

Joshua Salaam hands out a coupon to a student studying and wearing a mask

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

Positively Rewarding

One of the main methods the C-Team uses to combat Covid is simply rewarding behaviors that keep the community safe. Students spotted studying while wearing masks, eating while spaced out or otherwise helping to keep others safe are rewarded for their effort. Joshua hands Gio Vignone a coupon for a free smoothie after seeing the first-year student study outside with a mask on.

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

Positively Rewarding

One of the main methods the C-Team uses to combat Covid is simply rewarding behaviors that keep the community safe. Students spotted studying while wearing masks, eating while spaced out or otherwise helping to keep others safe are rewarded for their effort. Joshua hands Gio Vignone a coupon for a free smoothie after seeing the first-year student study outside with a mask on.

President Price talks to students picking up food in the dining hall

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

A Community Effort

The C-Team is made up of employee volunteers from across the university, including President Vincent Price, who joined the C-Team on campus Oct. 19, to help with the effort to keep everyone safe and healthy.

“Our students’ desire to be here is so strong,” Price said. “They have embraced these practices that feel pretty alien – wearing masks, social distancing and gathering in small groups – and they’ve been willing to do this for the sake of the whole community.”

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

A Community Effort

The C-Team is made up of employee volunteers from across the university, including President Vincent Price, who joined the C-Team on campus Oct. 19, to help with the effort to keep everyone safe and healthy.

“Our students’ desire to be here is so strong,” Price said. “They have embraced these practices that feel pretty alien – wearing masks, social distancing and gathering in small groups – and they’ve been willing to do this for the sake of the whole community.”

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

Collective Conscience

As President Price heads across campus meeting students and thanking them for doing their part, he reflects on the necessity of C-Team.

First Shift:
11am – 4pm

Collective Conscience

As President Price heads across campus meeting students and thanking them for doing their part, he reflects on the necessity of C-Team.

Members of the cteam put a mask on a statue on campus

Second Shift:
4pm – 8pm

Setting Out for Second Shift

The “C” in C-Team stands for care and compliance. The second shift picks up where the morning shift left off, with volunteers Amy Bowes, assistant director of the Duke Global Education Office, and Li-Chen Chin, assistant vice president for Intercultural Programs, setting out to make sure everyone is staying safe.

Second Shift:
4pm – 8pm

Setting Out for Second Shift

The “C” in C-Team stands for care and compliance. The second shift picks up where the morning shift left off, with volunteers Amy Bowes, assistant director of the Duke Global Education Office, and Li-Chen Chin, assistant vice president for Intercultural Programs, setting out to make sure everyone is staying safe.

A C-Team member hands out coupons

Second Shift:
4pm – 8pm

6 Feet Apart to Stay Together

The Bryan Center Plaza fills with students studying, sipping coffee and enjoying an early dinner as classes end for the day. Amy Bowes works her way through the plaza, thanking students for adhering to the Duke Compact, handing out masks and moving tables and chairs so they’re at least 6 feet apart.

“We’re here to make sure you can stay on campus,” Bowes said to some students. “We all want to do what’s best so Duke can stay open.” 

Second Shift:
4pm – 8pm

6 Feet Apart to Stay Together

The Bryan Center Plaza fills with students studying, sipping coffee and enjoying an early dinner as classes end for the day. Amy Bowes works her way through the plaza, thanking students for adhering to the Duke Compact, handing out masks and moving tables and chairs so they’re at least 6 feet apart.

“We’re here to make sure you can stay on campus,” Bowes said to some students. “We all want to do what’s best so Duke can stay open.”

C-Team members talking to students in a hammock

Second Shift:
4pm – 8pm

More than Masks

“Our role is much more than asking students to put on masks,” Chin said. “We want to show our students that we care about their well-being, that Duke is still a place where we watch out and care for one another.”

Second Shift:
4pm – 8pm

More than Masks

“Our role is much more than asking students to put on masks,” Chin said. “We want to show our students that we care about their well-being, that Duke is still a place where we watch out and care for one another.”

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

Third Shift Up

Amy Powell, Deb Lo Biondo, Victoria Krebs and Catherine Angst start the C-Team night shift off by collecting gift cards to give to students who are wearing masks and properly physical distancing. Discussions turn to a C-Team bingo game, which volunteers can mark off as they complete activities such as giving out 10 coupons, talking to students about their classes, making a student laugh and seeing someone eat a meal while physically distancing. Bingo winners get bragging rights.

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

Third Shift Up

Amy Powell, Deb Lo Biondo, Victoria Krebs and Catherine Angst start the C-Team night shift off by collecting gift cards to give to students who are wearing masks and properly physical distancing. Discussions turn to a C-Team bingo game, which volunteers can mark off as they complete activities such as giving out 10 coupons, talking to students about their classes, making a student laugh and seeing someone eat a meal while physically distancing. Bingo winners get bragging rights.

C-Team members stocking up before heading out on the third shift

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

Safety in Numbers

Six employees work the C-Team’s evening shift from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The group starts their evening by splitting into pairs, deciding where each will go and proceeding to monitor residence hall common spaces and outdoor seating areas.

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

Safety in Numbers

Six employees work the C-Team’s evening shift from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The group starts their evening by splitting into pairs, deciding where each will go and proceeding to monitor residence hall common spaces and outdoor seating areas.

One group hands out coupons at an outdoor gathering where everyone wears masks

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

Campus is Bustling

As the sun goes down, students come out to socialize. Outdoor spaces were set up to take advantage of the natural ventilation and, as students gather, the C-Team stops by to remind them to stay 6-feet apart and hand out treats.

“It’s important for us to acknowledge the positive,” said Deb Lo Biondo, senior associate dean for West Campus, pictured handing out coupon cards to students. “We thank the students for doing their part and mention, by doing so, they’re protecting others and keeping campus open. We’re not here to reprimand.”

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

Campus is Bustling

As the sun goes down, students come out to socialize. Outdoor spaces were set up to take advantage of the natural ventilation and, as students gather, the C-Team stops by to remind them to stay 6-feet apart and hand out treats.

“It’s important for us to acknowledge the positive,” said Deb Lo Biondo, senior associate dean for West Campus, pictured handing out coupon cards to students. “We thank the students for doing their part and mention, by doing so, they’re protecting others and keeping campus open. We’re not here to reprimand.”

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

4 Hours, 20,000 Steps

At about 1 a.m., after 4 hours and 20,000 steps, our volunteers turn in for the night.

Third Shift:
9pm – 1am

4 Hours, 20,000 Steps

At about 1 a.m., after 4 hours and 20,000 steps, our volunteers turn in for the night.

Thank You C-Team!

Thank you to all of the volunteers that staffed each shift all semester long as well as to the organizers that made the C-Team happen. In collaboration with university units directing surveillance testing, contact tracing and other community health efforts, the C-Team is credited with identifying and acting on potential problems that have helped to keep the Duke’s COVID numbers low this semester.

Special Thanks to: Paris Andrew, Catherine Angst, Nick Antonicci, Samantha Babb, Debbie Lo Biondo, Amy Bowes, Li-Chen Chin, David Frankel, Victoria Krebs, Jeff Nelson, Amy Powell, President Vincent Price, Sarah Russell, Chaplain Joshua Salaam, Dean Sue Wasiolek, Working @ Duke, University Communications

Thank You C-Team!

Thank you to all of the volunteers that staffed each shift all semester long as well as to the organizers that made the C-Team happen. In collaboration with university units directing surveillance testing, contact tracing and other community health efforts, the C-Team is credited with identifying and acting on potential problems that have helped to keep the Duke’s COVID numbers low this semester.

Special Thanks to: Paris Andrew, Catherine Angst, Nick Antonicci, Samantha Babb, Debbie Lo Biondo, Amy Bowes, Li-Chen Chin, David Frankel, Victoria Krebs, Jeff Nelson, Amy Powell, President Vincent Price, Sarah Russell, Chaplain Joshua Salaam, Dean Sue Wasiolek, Working @ Duke, University Communications

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