Welcome to our unusual new fall semester. We’re excited to have you on campus with us, and we’re looking forward to working together to keep everyone in our community safe. For that to work, we all need to look out for each other.
You know the rules about face coverings, no guests in the residence halls, and physical distancing. Each one of you has received two reusable Pace face coverings, and a bottle of hand sanitizer, and we’re sure many of you also brought your own. That’s great—now remember to keep using them!
We have all seen colleges in the news that were forced to shut down parties and, in some cases, close their campuses. Here at Pace, on the other hand, we have seen social media posts you made to encourage your peers to treat this seriously. We’ve seen how responsible you can be. You know that your fellow students are counting on you. Your families are counting on you. The faculty and staff are counting you.
And so as we reach the end of the first week of classes—congratulations!—we want to give you a simple reminder: Wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, you need to continue wearing your face coverings and respecting physical distance. That’s true on campus and off, during the week and on weekends. We’re counting on you. Gatherings that violate public health protocols have caused the closure of campuses around our country.
Students in NYC and Pleasantville residence halls: We are counting on you to not have any guests in your room or suite, to limit lounges to their posted capacity, and to wear your face covering when you are not in your room or suite.
Students in Pleasantville's townhouses: We are counting on you to follow the expectation of no more than eight people gathered outside your townhouse, wearing face coverings (except when you’re actively eating/drinking), without any guests, and while maintaining your distance.
We also want you to feel empowered to hold your peers accountable. We rely on our community members to let us know about situations that are potentially unsafe. To share your suggestion about what we can be doing better or to share information about potentially unsafe situations, please use our feedback page.
Remember that you still have opportunities to connect with others. Whether you’re enjoying our student center spaces, the parks in NYC, the lawn space in Pleasantville, the courtyard in NYC, or the athletic fields in Pleasantville, there are opportunities to remain connected while still ensuring the health of our community. Just maintain physical distance and wear your face covering.
Through this pandemic, New Yorkers have been “New York Tough.” We rally together as a community, help each other through challenges, and work hard to improve our communities. That is how we see Pace—we’re tough and up for a challenge, we love the campus community we create, and we hold each other accountable.
We will be New York Tough. We will hold individuals accountable who choose to violate our policies and endanger the health of our campus. We will face these challenges. We will be healthy and responsible. Together, we will finish the semester as One Strong Pace.
Sincerely,
