Dear Members of the University Community,

Due to a spike in COVID-19 cases at the Rose Hill campus (more than 110 cases in the last two-week window), we are pausing in-person instruction and activities on that campus for two weeks to reduce the infection rate, as required by New York state, effective Sunday, February 14, 2021.

The following restrictions are effective immediately and apply to Rose Hill only:

All classroom instruction will switch to remote instruction (students who live on one campus and take classes on the other will also switch to remote instruction);
All in-person student programming is suspended;
Indoor dining is suspended;
The Ram Fit Center and all indoor athletics facilities are closed;
All athletics practices and competitions are suspended;
Ram Van service is suspended between Rose Hill and other campuses.

Not affected:

Residence halls will remain open;
Students are not required to return home;
Students are not restricted from leaving their residence halls nor off-campus residences;
Outdoor walking, exercise, and other socially distanced activity is permitted;
Walsh Library and the campus center will remain open with strictly enforced mask usage and social distancing.

University staff at Rose Hill should take direction from their managers regarding whether or not to report to work in person.

All activities on the Lincoln Center campus will continue without any new restrictions nor additional precautionary measures. During the next two weeks, members of the Lincoln Center campus community should not visit those on the Rose Hill campus and vice versa.

We take these measures reluctantly, but we believe pausing activities at Rose Hill offers us our best chance to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and to resume a more normal campus routine for the rest of the spring semester. For your health and safety, and that of the campus community, I ask that you faithfully observe COVID-19 precautions at all times, on and off campus:

Wear masks correctly (snugly covering nose and mouth) at all times in public spaces;
Observe social distancing of at least six feet;
Avoid crowded indoor spaces, even if you are wearing a mask.

I understand this is another unwelcome development in a long and difficult year, but your wholehearted cooperation and observance of appropriate precautions is critically important in ensuring that we limit the spread of the virus and give our students the best opportunity for a positive on-campus experience for the remainder of the spring semester.

I know you can do this, given the good judgment and care for one another you displayed in the fall. Though we are not out of the woods yet, we can see the path forward. Please help us not to stray in these next few months.

Please know that you are all in my prayers today and every day.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.