Two days after announcing that campus will reopen for the fall semester, Cornell’s administration provided more specifics on how campus will function, including when testing protocols will start and how move-in will work in August.
In a Thursday email, Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi provided further detail on Cornell’s testing plan — which will start in mid-July — and an outline of the Cornell behavioral compact, a list of social distancing measures that students will have to abide by if on-campus come September.
In President Martha E. Pollack’s original message announcing that campus will reopen in the fall, she said that students would have to adopt certain behaviors in order to minimize any risk on campus.
Read an annotated version of Pollack’s email here.
“While we are looking forward to your arrival to campus, the pandemic will continue to change routines for students, faculty and staff,” Lombardi wrote Thursday. “We believe that adopting some important behaviors even before you return to campus will greatly benefit your own health as well as the safety of the Cornell community when you arrive.”
The Cornell behavioral compact, which “all students will be required to abide by,” lists a set of rules that Lombardi said will “maintain a safe, educational, and vibrant learning environment for all members of our Cornell community.”
Some measures include providing an Ithaca address to the University, participating in Cornell’s virus screening protocols, self-quarantining before arriving on campus and practicing social distancing measures like wearing a mask and staying 6 feet away from others.
Virus screening protocols will start mid-July and continue through the semester. A set frequency of tests have not yet been determined. Once the semester begins, students on campus will have to participate in a Daily Check system, which asks students questions regarding their health and directs them to health services if any answers are concerning.
In terms of arriving on campus, Lombardi asked students to self-quarantine for 14 days leading up to their arrival in Ithaca. On campus move-in will begin on Aug. 24, and housing contracts will last until Nov. 24 to 25.
Student organizations will be permitted to meet in-person, as long as they take attendance, properly distance and adhere to New York State guidelines about group gatherings. Currently, gatherings of up to 25 people are permitted under New York’s phase three of reopening.
Lombardi mentioned that the fate of fall Ivy League sports is currently being determined, and that the University anticipates a decision some time next week.
“I am confident that as Cornellians we can adopt a culture of shared responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of our community,” Lombardi wrote in his concluding paragraph. “I have heard from many of you about your enthusiasm for having a residential fall semester, and we now have the opportunity to make it a reality.
Read Lombardi’s full email here.