All CUNY schools will have a five-day instructional recess from March 12 through 18. There will be no physical classes on campus.
During the five-day recess, students, faculty and staff are expected to finish their plans to transition all instruction to distance education.
Classes will resume online March 19.
The 25 CUNY campuses including libraries, research facilities, laboratories and essential on-campus services will remain open for students who do not have access to these resources at home.
When asked about students who are currently living in dorms, Cuomo said students that are dorming will be urged to go back home with their families, but that arrangements will be made for those students who don’t have an alternative to the dorms.
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez and SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson have yet to make any comments regarding the issue, as is the situation Baruch College President Mitchel Wallerstein.
Neither CUNY nor Baruch has sent out an email about the closure as of press time. The Ticker has reached out to Wallerstein as well as residence life and housing for comment.
In the hours preceding Cuomo’s announcement, The Ticker sent out a survey to Baruch students asking whether classes should be moved online or not, and 15 of the 18 students who took survey said classes should be online.
Students expressed their concerns over the virus spreading and bringing it home to their families.
One student however, expressed that she is upset schools will be online for the rest of the semester. “I am a senior and this is my last semester and I didn’t know coming in today that this was my last day here,” marketing major Sumiaya Hasan said. “I wish they wouldn’t close school for such a long time, like for the rest of the semester is a stretch. I think they should have said for the next two weeks and then decide where to go from there.”
In a statement, Timothy Hunter, chairperson for the University Student Senate, which is the shared government representing all 25 campuses at the city, state and federal level, expressed his concerns in regards to the virus.
“We were organizing our annual march in March that would bring out hundreds of students and faculty to provide much-needed pressure on the city and state to include more funding for CUNY in their final budgets. However, this year, it is with a heavy heart that we have decided to cancel our march,” said Hunter.
This story is developing.
Additional reporting by Amanda Salazar.
