CHLOE KOWALYK
News Editor
With booster shots, rising case numbers and new variants of COVID-19 in the news lately, many students have been wondering what guidelines SUNY Fredonia will set in place. On Jan. 6, SUNY Fredonia’s President Stephen Kolison sent out an email to all students, faculty and staff with an overview of the spring 2022 updated COVID-19 guidelines, as well as providing a link to more information regarding these guidelines on the school’s website.
The guidelines provide information for all COVID-19 related matters including testing, vaccinations, social distancing and mask requirements. Classes at SUNY Fredonia are expected to begin on their expected date of Jan. 24. 2022.
All residential students must test negative for COVID-19 via a PCR, rapid or home test prior to moving back into their residence halls. Off-campus and commuting students are to follow the same policy before they arrive on campus. Any students who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days must submit proof of their positive test to the Student health Center, and are not required to test negative to return to campus. This is due to a potential for previously positive students to test positive again on PCR testing, even if not currently infected with the virus. Positive pre-arrival test results must be submitted to the Student Health Center, at health.center@fredonia.edu.
As per New York State Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent mandate, all SUNY students must receive their vaccine booster. Students eligible for their booster shot — which can be given 6 months after being fully vaccinated — must send evidence of receiving their booster dose to the Student Health Center by Jan. 31.
All students must be fully vaccinated prior to returning to campus in the spring semester before Jan. 21, 2021, and must submit their proof of vaccination to the Student Health Center. Students who received a religious exemption from the vaccine do not need to resubmit their proof of vaccination, but students who received a medical exemption are required to resubmit their proof prior to returning to campus in the spring.
Students who do not provide proof of vaccination or an approved exemption will be deregistered from SUNY Fredonia, and will not be allowed to move into their residence halls.
All students, faculty and staff are also required to participate in pool testing during the first week of classes. The pool testing will be held in the Steele Hall Natatorium, and testing dates will be organized by last name. The dates and times can be found here, under the surveillance testing tab.
Masks will be required to be worn in all indoor spaces on campus, with the exemption of personal living and work spaces and indoor dining and drinking areas.
Students with a vaccine exemption will be required to participate in weekly surveillance testing. Students who tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days will not need to participate in the testing. A testing schedule for all students who received their COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be released shortly.
Upon hearing the updated guidelines for the upcoming spring semester, SUNY Fredonia’s students had mixed feelings about how safe they felt returning to campus. For instance, Nicole Cronin, a third year student graduating early majoring in psychology, liked the guidelines set in place by the college.
“There are a lot of guidelines in place to keep us safe. Masks are still required and everyones required to be vaccinated. Just hoping people remain cautious and make good and safe decisions,” Cronin said.
Nick Fuller, a junior double majoring in video production and audio/radio production agreed. “Although I can’t speak for everyone, my general sense in the video production major is that everyone wants and almost needs to be in person, but at the same time, we all recognize that there needs to be precautions in order for us to stay in person. So far, I feel pretty good about how those are being implemented,” he said. Sophomore music education major Colin Arnett explained that he feels safe returning to campus as well.
Some students found themselves feeling much more reassured about returning to campus after hearing about the newly implemented booster mandate. Halle Cook, a fourth year English adolescent education major, and Grace Dixon, a junior double majoring in animation/illustration and art history were in agreement about the mandate.
“Now with the booster mandate, I feel MUCH better about returning,” said Cook. Dixon agreed, saying “If we have to show proof of booster shots in order to return to campus, then yes!”
While many students do feel safe about returning to campus for the spring semester, other students are still very cautious. “Personally, I’m concerned about the dining halls staying open for in-person dining,” lamented Alex Erwin, a junior double majoring in audio/radio production and video production.
When asked if he felt safe about returning to college next semester, junior business administration management major Gabe Gonzalez said, “Not at all!” and explained that he would rather stay safe and return online. Despite this, many students are seeking a more normal college experience after two years in a pandemic.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared,” said Brianna Howard, a junior journalism and video production double major. “I just want to enjoy college, but at what cost?” Senior psychology major Elly Horth is holding a similar hope as graduation is coming up for many Fredonia students. “[I’m] hopeful it turns around for a normal graduation this spring,” said Horth.
Another SUNY Fredonia student, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed their concern for the booster mandate. The student has underlying inflammatory health issues, and had to deal with heightened side effects associated with the vaccine. While the student is vaccinated, they stated, “I don’t feel safe getting the booster or expressing how I feel because I do fear what the school/others will do if I speak for myself.” “I don’t think it’s right that we’re mandated to get the booster while staff isn’t, just like the vaccine,” they continued.
The student further explained that they do not feel they have control over their body, and felt that they should have a choice to get the booster shot since they are already fully vaccinated. “It was selfish of me to put my health first, but I felt I had valid reasons to be afraid,” the student said. The student also believes that the COVID-19 tests and the ability for professors to have class over zoom are both very important.
They further explained that the mask mandate helps them to feel safe in class, but not all of their peers follow it. “I think professors should reinforce those expectations because it shouldn’t fall on us to tell our peers to wear one in class.”
With an overwhelming amount of mixed emotions about coming back to Fredonia for the spring semester, Deborah Dibble, the director of Student Health offers some advice to students to stay safe and healthy during the semester.
“Even in times that we are not dealing with a pandemic, it is important to stay healthy by eating right, getting regular physical activity, making sure to get adequate rest and taking care of our mental health,” says Dibble. She explains that following these procedures can help us be healthy and more protected against COVID-19.
If students feel ill, Dibble advises that they should stay home and avoid going around others. “If these symptoms are like those that could be COVID-19, please make an appointment to see a medical provider either at the Student Health Center, an urgent care or at your primary care physician’s office,” she said.
Dibble then listed some tips for students to avoid getting sick while at school.
- Wash your hands frequently
- Avoid close contact with people who you know are ill
- Stay home if you are sick
- Cover your cough or sneeze
- Avoid touching your face
- Clean and disinfect high touch areas frequently
She concluded by saying that students can reach out to the Student Health Center at health.center@fredonia.edu for any health-related questions or concerns.
In a Zoom interview, Kolison said students should be sure to receive their negative COVID-19 test results 72 hours before returning to campus. “I understand that some students are having a hard time finding a test, if that happens to be the case, they need to let us know before they arrive,” he said.
Kolison also said that safety and patience are very important. “My encouragement is, do not get tired,” he said. “Let’s do everything we can so that we have a wonderful semester ahead of us. “I understand the fatigue, but what choice do we have? If we give up, then people are going to get sick,” he said.