Category: Coronavirus

New School continues masking requirement following divided survey results, increasing cases

Students wear masks as they study in the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts building Monday. Students, staff and faculty at The New School are required to wear masks in most indoor spaces through the end of the semester, but administrators are considering switching to a mask-optional policy in the future. Photo by Lilly Gorman

The decision came amid a peak in COVID-19 cases and following the results of a masking preference survey, which was completed by over 4,600 New School community members…

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New School halts mandatory COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated, increases visitor campus access starting Monday

The New School’s Provost Office announced new COVID-19 protocols in an email to the community yesterday. Beginning Monday, fully vaccinated and boosted individuals will no longer have to participate in mandatory testing unless symptomatic, and some visitors will be allowed on campus and in the dormitories. Illustration by Lilly Gorman

The New School will no longer require individuals who are vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19 to participate in regular testing and will expand visitor access to campus effective…

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Admin Acknowledges Two-Day Buffer Period Past 14-Day Testing Policy

SCANNING IN — Kayla Dantz, a second-year Fashion Design student at Parsons School of Design, scans her ID card to enter the University Center at The New School. The university’s COVID-19 testing procedures have left her nervous about unjustly being locked out of campus buildings. “There have been a lot of instances where students in my class have gotten tested in time or have gotten false positives and they haven’t been able to get onto campus and then they haven’t been able to even Zoom into class so they miss the entire class,” Dantz said. Photo by Alexandra Nava-Baltimore

Vaccinated individuals can access campus buildings up to 16 days past the date of their last COVID-19 test, a COVID-19 coordinator confirmed Friday. In an interview with The…

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Students and Faculty Report Continued Building Access Despite Missing Two-Week Testing Mark

ACCESSING CAMPUS IN THE PANDEMIC — The New School’s 55 W. 13th St. location, Arnhold Hall, features turnstiles that students and faculty must tap with their ID cards to open. The electronic system should not let through individuals who have not uploaded up-to-date negative COVID-19 test results to their Student Health Services portal, but this is not always the case. “I was able to access campus for the one day that I had to even though my access was red [revoked due to insufficient testing],” said Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts first-year Theo Lim-Jisra. Photo by Stevie Rowley

As The New School enters its fourth week of classes, at least five known students and one faculty member have been able to enter campus buildings despite failing…

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