(Gothamist) NYU Introduces A New Rite Of Passage For College Students: Quarantine

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Mini-fridges, duffle bags and carts littered the area surrounding Washington Square Park as students moved into their dorms this week at New York University. The scene was typical in many ways. Purple-shirted move-in helpers directed traffic. Families hugged and whispered words of encouragement before saying their final goodbyes.

But afterwards, in what is becoming the new norm on college campuses reopening amidst a pandemic, many of them went to take their first COVID test.

“I got there 10 minutes early but there was this huge line all down West 4th that wrapped around the NYU buildings,” said Alex Olesky, 19, who got tested on Tuesday. “I didn’t get my testing until an hour and a half after my scheduled appointment.”

Under New York's mandatory quarantine order, travelers from a list of 35 states or U.S. territories must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival if they plan to stay longer than 24 hours. As one of the fast-shrinking pool of universities in the country seeking to hold in-person classes this fall, NYU arranged for students from states on the quarantine list to arrive two weeks early. The school expects around 2,600 students to begin quarantining this week and then another 3,700 students from the tri-state area to arrive two weeks later.

The decision to hold in-person classes and allow thousands of students to return to campus is risky. On Monday, the University of North Carolina abandoned its plan for in-person college instruction after at least 177 students tested positive for the coronavirus. The following day, Notre Dame made the same decision after 147 people tested positive. Michigan State also followed suit.

For many, the quarantine and testing requirements have upended what has traditionally been a rite of passage for college students, adding a layer of anxiety to an already uncertain school year. Some students complained of not being told sooner about the early move-in dates. An email from NYU alerting students about the revised schedule went out on July 30th, leaving many scrambling to get to New York.

“It was pretty inconvenient because my mom only gets two break weeks a year and she had already taken it out for the end of August," said Katie Park, a freshman from Chicago.

In the end, her mom was able to get her shifts covered. But she added, “It sure cost time, I had to rush a lot of things."

To make room for social distancing, resident halls have reduced capacity by 45% and classrooms will be reduced by half, NYU spokesman John Beckman said.

All students and faculty will be required to submit a daily health screener in order to gain access into university buildings. Students who live on campus will be tested twice, once within 24 hours of arriving and then 7-10 days after the initial test. Those who live off-campus only need to get tested once 14 days before entering an NYU building.

For those quarantining on campus, NYU will provide three meals a day, up from the two meals that they were supposed to receive, and stay-at-home programming including virtual tours of the city and a Broadway music night. 

The early food reviews from students were not good. Several individuals shared videos on social media of what they said were NYU meal boxes which contained a bag of chips, granola bar and a piece of fruit.

NYU acknowledged the insufficient quality of meals, which was provided by a company called Chartwells.

“We recognize that when people are required to quarantine in their rooms by themselves, few things in the day are more important than looking forward to something nice to eat, so this is a particularly regrettable error, and a let-down for our students," the university said in a statement to Gothamist. "We are dismayed that this didn’t go off as planned, we and Chartwells apologize to the students, and we are committed to correcting this promptly.”

McKinley Knudson, a freshman who moved into Goddert Hall Wednesday afternoon after having arrived from Washington DC, said she was able to get tested relatively quickly but students the day before had faced long lines, which in turn impacted their move-in time.

Many parents said they had conversations with their kids about moving to New York versus staying home and doing virtual classes. They said they felt that since New York has managed to keep the number of cases down throughout the summer, sending their kids to school should be safe. 

For more than two months, New York City's positivity rate for coronavirus tests has stayed below 2%.

Lisa Rodriguez, who traveled with her freshman son from San Francisco, said she preferred the idea of him being in New York rather than his bedroom at home. She said she hoped the two weeks would fly by.

Students have brought games and hobbies with them. Park, who is planning to major in computer and data science, said she will be playing video games, while McKinley Knudson plans to learn how to knit. 

“I’m excited to be here even though it’s definitely going to be a strange year,” Knudson said.