Written By: Jordan Ramos
With the return of indoor classes at Brooklyn College in the Fall of 2021 is almost set in stone, the administration held a Return to Campus Consultation event last week to inform staff and students about the administration’s plans for reentry.
The event was mostly a retelling of Michelle Anderson’s reentry letters but verified information within the letters. Moderators Jennifer Bell and BC’s Coronavirus Task Force Chief Carrie Sadovink told students and staff that the college will soon begin stage 2, where students will be able to have indoor classes. Sadovink also clarified that ventilation in buildings including Whitehead and Boylan is currently being surveyed to ensure conformity to CDC guidelines. Bell and Sadovink also said that seating in classrooms and lecture halls will be spaced out.
If everything goes well with stage 2, administration hopes they can loosen restrictions and allow more students and faculty on campus.
“We hope that stage 2 is a success and can move forward with stage 3 and fully have everyone back on campus,” said Bell.
According to the admin, the college will limit access to computer labs, but has not communicated with library staff about the library’s computers yet.
“We will talk to the staff and see what they recommend,” Sadovink said.
The moderators also talked about a potential positive case if a student or staff member contracts COVID and where to go.
“If any students have COVID they should go and tell student affairs about it and quarantine,” Sadovnik said.
The administration is working on plans to prioritize indoor class and lab spaces to match students’ schedules, which may include both in-person and remote classes.
Staff and students used the chat of the Zoom event for most questions, and a number of attendees asked about a vaccine mandate to return in person. The moderators said they didn’t have enough information to respond as of yet. The administration also did not have guidelines to deal with anti-maskers on campus. Staff and students also expressed concern about whether people exposed to the virus would responsibly report to the administration to prevent a potential outbreak.