in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 29 ,2 02 0 | 12 oakville.ca CoNtINueD or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so. If you wish to be notified of the decision of the Town of Oakville on the proposed official plan amendment, you must make a written request to the Town Clerk at the Town of Oakville, Clerk's department, 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, ON L6H 0H3 or at TownClerk@oakville.ca. This meeting will be live streamed on YouTube at youtube.com/TownofOakvilleTV. Any submission to the Planning and Development Council, either in hard copy or in electronic format, must be forwarded to the Clerk's department for receipt no later than noon on Monday November 23, 2020, to ensure its availability to the Members of Council at the meeting. Individuals making oral submissions at the public meeting are requested to contact the Clerk's Department as early as possible prior to the meeting at TownClerk@oakville.ca or 905-815-6015 to obtain instructions on how to participate. All submissions should include the full name and address of the presenter. A copy of the proposed official plan amendment and information and material will be available to the public for review on Thursday, October 29, 2020 along with more information about this matter, including preserving your appeal rights at oakville. ca (search Hospital District Study), or contact Carly Dodds, Policy Planner, Planning Services department at 905-845-6601, ext. 3264 (TTY 905-338-4200) or at carly.dodds@oakville.ca. If you have any accessibility needs, please advise Carly Dodds one week before the meeting. The personal information accompanying your submission is being collected under the authority of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.13, as amended, and may form part of the public record which may be released to the public. Dated at the Town of Oakville October 29, 2020 son," said Jock Phippen, Sheridan associate vice- president of enrolment in- novation. "There are certain learn- ing objectives that are quite difficult to achieve virtually. You need to be hands-on in either a lab or a studio." Keeping staff and stu- dents safe at a time when COVID-19 case counts are on the rise in the community is a challenge, which Sheridan has sought to address through a number of mea- sures. Phippen said the first key policy change is that if some- one doesn't need to be on campus, they are not on campus. Sheridan is currently planning, reviewing and ap- proving all access to campus to eliminate unnecessary in- person interaction. Access to the campus is now limited to essential ser- vices employees, pre-autho- rized employees, students in select programs/classes and certain vendors and con- tractors. Beyond that, a re- quest to access campus must be reviewed and ap- proved by security and Sher- idan administration. In an effort to ensure this the Trafalgar Campus can now only be accessed via three entrance points, all of which have security check- points where visitors are as- sessed. "It's very different, obvi- ously," said Phippen. "Pre-COVID, the campus- es were teeming with people ... The social spaces were full and that just isn't the case now." Phippen noted that stu- dents who attend campus must check in and once their activity is done, they are re- quired to leave to prevent gatherings. In class, the students physically distance and masks on campus are man- datory. A tour of the campus showed many empty hall- ways. Benches feature stickers showing where someone can sit to properly social dis- tance and tables in the cafe- teria can now only seat one occupant. Even in the men's wash- rooms, every other urinal has been covered with plas- tic wrap to prevent close contact. In a furniture crafting and design class, it appeared physical distancing could not always be maintained as students moved around the workshop and made use of equipment; however, all stu- dents could be seen wearing face masks. Michelle McCollum, Sheridan associate vice- president, capital develop- ment and facilities, said sim- ilar protective measures have also been introduced at campus residences. She noted that so far, the measures are working as number of COVID-19 cases at Sheridan's Trafalgar Campus have been minimal. Active COVID-19 cases connected to Sheridan cam- puses are posted on the col- lege's website. As of Oct. 22, four cases were listed at Sheridan's Da- vis Campus in Brampton. None were listed at the Trafalgar Campus. Phippen said one need only look south of the bor- der, where some universities and colleges have become COVID-19 epicentres, to see what happens when activity at post-secondary institu- tions is not controlled. The pandemic has result- ed in a decrease in the stu- dent population. Sheridan's website states the Trafalgar Campus is usually home to around 9,500 students. Sheridan public relations manager Keiko Kataoka says 7,583 remote and hybrid (online and on campus) stu- dents are currently enrolled in programs based out of the Trafalgar Campus. Phippen said that while student retention has been very strong and the number of new domestic students was not dramatically lower, the number of new interna- tional students dropped sig- nificantly due to travel re- strictions. The students enrolled at Sheridan are coping with the situation. Jessica Marshall, a third- year illustration student, talked about attending col- lege online this year. "The biggest challenge for me is environment," she said. "I find it difficult to live, work and study in the same space and the blend of fami- ly life into all those things makes everything feel very disrupted." Gabrielle Moryoussef, a third-year business admin- istration student, also talked about the challenges of learning completely online. "I believe the biggest challenge with online learn- ing is the challenge on time management for self-care and academic time," she said. "Now that I spend most of my days in my bedroom working, relaxing and studying, it can be difficult to have the motivation to transition into each task. For example, I would like to read, but I should study, or I should exercise to boost my mental health, but I should prepare for my meeting soon." McCollum said to help students who may be feeling isolated, Sheridan has worked to create online com- munities. She said they have also made sure students know how to access the mental health supports that are available, noting that at one point during the pandemic every student was contacted by phone to discuss these supports. Kataoka said the Sheri- dan student union is still ac- tive and is creating virtual events for students such as cooking classes, crafts nights and Netflix parties. "They're finding a lot of ways to get creative and get connected," she said. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Sheridan College is a major part of the Oakville community where thou- sands of students are en- rolled. We wanted to know what is being done there to keep students and staff safe from the COVID-19 pan- demic. NEWS Continued from page 3 "I find it difficult to live, work and study in the same space and the blend of family life into all those things makes everything feel very disrupted." Jessica Marshall, a third-year illustration student STRICT PROTOCOLS IN PLACE AT SHERIDAN