<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1588871477233.jpeg" alt="Westerman Hall, Benedictine College/Photo courtesy of Benedictine College" />
 <figcaption>Westerman Hall, Benedictine College/Photo courtesy of Benedictine College</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostBenedictine College students will return to campus in
Atchison, Kansas this fall.Benedictine President Stephen Minnis made the announcement during
a virtual Honors Convocation.“We will be open in the fall; we will start on time; we will
have students in the classrooms; we will have vibrant student life and ministry
programs; and we will have athletics,” Minnis stated. “All of those things are
important for a dynamic Benedictine education.”Minnis asserted the best way to conduct education is in person
and in community, which was established with Plato’s Academy in 380 BC. He
added nearly 900 years later, St. Benedict expanded on the idea to include education
within a community of faith and scholarship, which continues today within the
mission of Benedictine College.“But this will take responsible and prudent safety and
mitigation strategies to ensure the health and wellbeing of our community.”Safety measures are being considered by campus leadership
under the working title of Raven Safety. Standards will be finalized by the
fall to protect the entire Raven Community.Benedictine says among the strategies being considered are
social distancing in the classroom, adjusted classroom or course schedules, the
use of masks, the possibility of testing, rules for use of common areas, rules
for watching athletic events, and many other things.In his message to students, Minnis expressed confidence the
college could return to some degree of normalcy in the fall.“We have faced tough things in the past, and we will face
tough things in the future. But it has always been our mission of community,
faith and scholarship that has brought us through.”&nbsp; Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic,
Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the
Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas.

Benedictine College to welcome students back to campus this fall