President Boudreau Discusses Possible Accommodations For Returning To Campus in Town Hall
Words by Kazi Maisha
Graphic by Aspasia Celia Tsampas
With the rate of new COVID-19 infections plunging precipitously, many members of City College community have been curious about what’s in store for them during this semester and the next fall semester. Will we be able to return to in-person classes soon? Is it possible to return to “normalcy” by the next semester? These are questions that President Vincent Boudreau answered in his campus-wide Town Hall on February 23, 2021.
The president started off the Town Hall by acknowledging the fact that COVID-19 cases are not as devastating as they used to be. However, he did point out that New York City is still a COVID-19 hotspot and that the vaccine distribution in the area has been relatively slow. With this in mind, President Boudreau made it clear that current online classes will not become in-person this semester (Spring 2021) and that the Summer 2021 semester will also be online. He also stated that he is unsure of whether we will have an in-person Fall 2021 semester. Nevertheless, he still has a task force in charge of deciding how City College community members can safely return to campus during the Fall semester if possible.
The task force is basing their planning effort on three main questions:
How can we continue to keep the campus safe?
What does it look like to transition to something that feels normal? What do we need to incorporate to exercise that?
What is it that we carry forward from this period into the regular days that lie ahead of us whenever that may be?
President Boudreau stated that these questions will be answered through close examination of vaccine immunities and COVID-19 cases in the community. He further emphasized that the planning effort will be locally specific, as for example, “transmission looks different when moving between Marshak elevators and when going up and down the stairs in the NAC building”. The plan is still being developed, but the president has explicitly stated that no one will be allowed on campus without a mask if we are to return during the next Fall semester. Personal protective equipment is being stockpiled at the moment, and people on campus with no mask will be given one to wear.
Hearing all this can definitely prompt a lot of questions, as the idea of returning to campus can create a lot of anxiety for some people. A member of the audience wrote, “when will a decision about the Fall be made. It’s very difficult for out of state/city students to be given last minute notice when they need to think about housing.” A member of the task force responded to the comment by stating that the plan should be finalized by the spring, so we can expect updates in the near future. Another member of the audience pointed out how there are many classes in the Marshak and NAC building with no windows and/or poor ventilation. The audience member asked about the task force plans for those locations. The response was that CUNY has been working on retrofitting functional air handlers to increase ventilation. All the questions and comments that were made demonstrated an understandable uneasiness. Is it really possible to return to campus safely by Fall? The uncertain nature of the pandemic leaves the question up in the air.
The discussion then veered off to other points, which include the announcement of an online commencement ceremony this year and a new online proctoring system that CUNY secured. President Boudreau also discussed the likely possibility of a university-wide rule that allows for CR/NCR grading this semester due to the circumstances of the pandemic.
Overall, President Boudreau’s transparent communication has answered a lot of questions that many students were eager to know. His regular Town Hall’s prove to be a stable source of knowledge for the CCNY community.
