Dear Students & Families:
On behalf of Student Affairs at Clarkson University we look forward to your arrival in August. We recognize that you may have been reading guidelines from Governor Cuomo of New York State and the US government. International students and students arriving from certain states on Governor Cuomo’s Travel Advisory list must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival to Clarkson.
Since your location of residence is currently listed within these guidelines, we wanted to reassure you that Clarkson has a plan in place to help you meet this mandate and to begin your semester. At this time, we are asking all impacted students to begin quarantine on August 1, 2020 in order to begin the academic semester in-person on time.
Due to the ever increasing number of states required to quarantine upon entrance to New York State and limited capacity for quarantining on-campus, residential students are recommended to quarantine off-campus in New York State or in a state not listed on the NYS Travel Advisory. In special circumstances or hardships, students may request permission to quarantine on-campus by contacting Troy Lassial at reslife@clarkson.edu. Quarantine space is limited and will be provided on an individual basis as space permits. Off-campus residents will quarantine in their local off-campus residences.
Most students who are approved to quarantine on-campus will quarantine in their fall housing assignment. Due to ongoing construction in Price Hall, some students may be quarantined in a temporary housing assignment.
Students who are approved to quarantine on-campus must arrive by August 1 and follow the pre-arrival testing procedures. Any student unable to start their quarantine on August 1 for any reason must delay their arrival to campus until after they have completed a 14-day quarantine off-campus in NYS or in a state not listed on the NYS Travel Advisory.
Students Quarantine Information Form
- Please complete the following information form and survey to provide information regarding arrival, food services, and associated information – Student Quarantine Information Form
Transportation / Lodging upon arriving in NYS
- Students who travel by air are encouraged to arrive in Syracuse, NY.
- Upon arrival in Syracuse, students will need to take a taxi to the main bus terminal, located at 1 Walsh Circle Ste 30, Syracuse, NY 13208.
- Tickets may be purchased in advance with a final destination of Potsdam, NY. To purchase a ticket, please visit https://trailways.com/schedules/bus-from-syracuse-ny-to-new-york-ny/
- If you are taking the Trailways bus service to Potsdam, currently, the Clarkson University stop is not operating. The available stop, ‘Potsdam, NY,’ is located in downtown Potsdam. We will have an option to transport students to campus from this stop. However, if the ‘Clarkson University’ stop is available when purchasing your ticket, please select this option as that brings students directly to campus when operational. Please be sure to list your arrival information on the survey above.
- Hotels: We recommend that you contact a hotel directly vs. booking online to ensure that any policies that they have in place are met.
Students Completing Quarantine in NYS Away from Campus:
- Students who have made the decision to quarantine themselves in NYS but not on the Clarkson campus will be required to communicate this to the University through the following Quarantine Information form (same form as listed above).
- First-Year students who have completed their off-campus quarantine will be welcome to arrive on campus on August 16th and August 17th. Returning students who have completed their off-campus quarantine will be welcome to arrive on campus on August 18th.
Upon Arrival to Campus:
- Students will check-in at the Student Center Welcoming Desk between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm to acquire their residential quarantine room key. After 4:00 pm, students will need to pick up their keys at Campus Safety & Security in the Educational Resource Center (ERC).
- Students will move all personal belongings into their residence hall quarantine room by themselves. No parents, guardians, or guests may enter campus facilities. Once students have completed their move-in process they must remain in their residential room.
- In all cases, except for construction purposes, students will be in their semester room.
Off-Campus Students (in local area):
If you have a location in a region of New York State rated Phase 3 or higher, and where all residents at that address will adhere to quarantine guidelines you can provide proof that you are quarantining in NYS and a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for the start of semester in lieu of quarantining in Potsdam.
- Students residing off-campus will not be allowed to leave their residence.
- If you are residing with others, they need to quarantine in place with you.
- For groceries / market goods, students are asked to use InstaCart, and other online ordering and delivery service during the quarantine period.
- A Care Team Member from campus will be assigned to you to answer questions and to be a resource during the quarantine time frame. The Care Team Member will reach out regularly to speak with you to answer questions, assist with answers to questions, and to just converse with you as you acclimate to Clarkson.
During Mandatory Quarantine:
New York State Quarantine Guidelines
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/07/nys-covid-travel-advisory-faq_0.pdf
- At this time, students will not be allowed to leave their quarantine room except to use the restroom where applicable. We are currently awaiting an answer from St. Lawrence County Public Health regarding the possibility of having some time outdoors.
- Where applicable, students must wear a face covering (mask) to exit their quarantine room, and use sanitation supplies on all surfaces within the restrooms.
- The maximum occupancy of all bathrooms will be indicated on each restroom door from August 1-15.
- Students will order (3) meals online in advance and have them delivered to their quarantine residence once per day.
- All food will be at the student’s expense, at a discounted rate. This period is not part of the campus dining/meal plan. For students residing in on-campus apartments (Weston, Woodstock, Riverside, and Townhouses), this is optional. The total cost is $225/person and will operate from 8/1 – 8/15. Student meal plans begin with brunch on 8/16.
- Students will be able to communicate their need for microwave and refrigerator access, as well as dietary needs by filling out the Quarantine Information form .
- Students will not be able to visit the laundry rooms during quarantine and are encouraged to plan for this restriction. No laundry service will be provided by the University or outside entities. Once the semester begins, students will use a laundry schedule.
- Students will not be permitted to go outside or congregate in public areas. Students in traditional style housing may only leave their rooms to use the restroom. As mentioned above, we are awaiting some further guidance from public health officials to see if we can identify alternatives in this area; however, ultimately, we must adhere to NYS guidelines.
- Mail services will be operational and can arrange to have delivery.
- A Care Team Member from campus will be assigned to you to answer questions and to be a resource during the quarantine period.
- A Care Team Member will reach out regularly to speak with you to answer questions, assist with answers to questions, and to just converse with you as you acclimate to Clarkson.
- If a student begins to show symptoms of COVID-19 they must contact the Student Health and Counseling Services (SHAC) at (315) 268-6633 for more information and further instructions. Students may also reach Campus Safety anytime by calling (315) 268-6666.
- In the event of a fire alarm, students will be required to exit the building while wearing face masks and maintaining a minimum of six feet of distance from others.
- In the event of any emergency, students should contact Campus Safety & Security at (315) 268-6666.
Testing
Please remember that students need to have a negative COVID-19 test within 7 days of arrival and will be required to show proof of a negative test result prior to moving in. We realize that some states, and countries, have limitations regarding availability of testing. If you encounter this situation, please contact reslife@clarkson.edu.
Activities
While quarantine is a period of isolation, Clarkson has some activities planned during this 14 day period to engage students and to encourage inaction with one another. In addition, for first-year students, Residence Life programming will already have started and you will have met some students via distance before you arrive on August 1st.
We realize that some students have reached out via email to share plans. We ask that you also complete the Quarantine Information Form above for University records. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We look forward to welcoming you and to making this quarantine period as comfortable as possible before you begin the semester.
Sincerely,
Brian Grant
Vice President of Enrollment & Student Advancement
