As of Wednesday, March 18, in an effort to promote the six-foot “social distancing,” Haverford College announced they will be restricting all access to their facilities and popular Nature Trail. This announcement came from their Twitter page.

Haverford College currently has students, faculty, and staff living on campus, so the school believes that reducing the amount of public people on campus is the best course of action during this difficult time: “we believe that the most prudent path forward involves reducing the congregation & contact that we would normally welcome.”

Many have been impacted by this announcement. Running on the trail was part of competitive swimmer Mandy Becker’s daily routine. Becker is used to her taxing swim schedule, and she turned to running outside as her exercise during this quarantine.

“The Haverford Trail offered a great, convenient place for me to run outside,” she expressed, “now I don’t have a trail that is close to my house where I can run outside after being inside.” Becker is one of many disappointed students and citizens. 

Although this closure comes as a disappointment to many, it is a proactive way to help the Lower Merion community prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and to ensure the utmost safety and health of those most vulnerable to this virus.