Dear ESF Students,
Please see the following statements from newly appointed SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras regarding recent events on SUNY campuses.
Re: activity at SUNY Geneseo: “Today, President Battles and I spoke and agree that the overwhelming majority of the students on the Geneseo campus are complying with the safety protocols. SUNY Geneseo students should be commended for their actions to keep their campus safe. However, as we have seen in other campuses, a few students continue to blatantly ignore the rules designed to protect the safety and health of their campus community. I praise President Battles for taking the needed and swift action in suspending the nine students and three fraternities who violated the college’s code of conduct. We must all continue to send a strong and unified message across all our campuses that this irresponsible behavior will not be tolerated.”
Re: activity at SUNY Albany: “I applaud University at Albany President Rodríguez for taking immediate action by suspending the four students who blatantly ignored the safety protocols. Once again, we must send a strong message to all students that this irresponsible and reckless behavior will not be tolerated because it impacts the larger college community. We must continue to do everything we can to contain this rapidly spreading virus while praising the majority of our students who are following the rules and respecting the safety of their campus community.”
Re: activity at SUNY Oneonta: “Our campus-wide testing results give confirmation to our growing concern that SUNY Oneonta was at risk for more coronavirus cases as a few students blatantly ignored guidelines to keep the campus safe,” said Chancellor Malatras. “We know that the vast majority of students at SUNY Oneonta – and across our system – recognize the importance of COVID-19 safety protocols, and now we need full compliance. Those who engage in selfish, irresponsible behavior will face consequences and I applaud President Morris for taking swift action. With this data, SUNY, the Department of Health, and the City of Oneonta are providing additional resources and personnel to support President Barbara Jean Morris and her team as they work to contain the spread further. Over the next two weeks as campus goes to remote learning, President Morris, Mayor Gary Herzig, and I will continue to monitor the situation and will be prepared to take further actions. I thank Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health for immediately deploying resources to aid Oneonta.”
As has been reported in the news, SUNY Oneonta shifted to remote learning after 105 students tested positive for COVID-19 in cases directly related to ignoring safety protocols. These statements and actions by other SUNY institutions serve as a reminder that we must stay vigilant to keep the ESF and greater Syracuse communities safe. Please remember to wear your mask, socially distance, and practice good hygiene. We will only get through this if we all work together.
In addition, a letter published online Sunday at Syracuse.com by David Spector, a junior studying biochemistry, documents how COVID-19 touched the life of one of our own.
To monitor activity at ESF, please visit www.esf.edu/restart and review the dashboard. It is updated weekly (on Tuesdays).
Sincerely,
Joseph L. Rufo
Officer-in-Charge
CFO and Vice President for Administration
