Following an emergency campus shutdown during mid-March of 2020 that unexpectedly continued through the entirety of the Spring 2020 semester, Stevens resumed in-person classes in August for the 2020-2021 academic year However, only first-year undergraduate (and select graduate) students were allowed on campus with strict limitations. In the interest of student, faculty, and staff safety, Stevens has developed a Health Honor Code that ensures that all 600 on-campus students will comply with social distancing rules, limitations on gatherings, seating assignments for academic buildings, restrictions on non-essential travel, and the like. In comparison to other colleges across the country, the number of positive COVID-19 cases at Stevens has remained low thus far, due to administrative procedures and a generally socially-responsible freshman class. However, campus life this semester is drastically different from years prior.
In addition to requiring protective face masks in all spaces outside of residence halls, the administration is now requiring all on-campus students, faculty, and staff to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. Every Wednesday and Thursday, on-campus individuals book slots to deposit saliva for testing at the Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, a clinical affiliate of Rutgers University. Students generally receive their results within 72 hours, and tests are free of charge. The reports are automatically sent to Stevens, and on-campus individuals who do not receive test results each week are contacted by the administration and face repercussions that may include dismissal from the campus.
According to Stevens’ Institutional Plan for Restart Document, Stevens has also reportedly spent a significant amount of funds on increasing the number of on-site sanitation stations and signage that regulates the flow of foot traffic. There are also temperature-monitoring stations that are placed at the front of randomly selected Stevens buildings. Students who wish to enter one of these buildings must approach one of the nurses posted in front of the buildings, and the nurse will check the student’s body temperature with a thermometer gun. Should a student be found to have a fever of 100.4ºF or higher, they are required to contact Student Health Services immediately and await further instructions.
The school has also been making a push for more outdoor seating to give students opportunities to socialize safely in larger groups. Sturdy white tents, many of which are decorated with string lights for a festive ambiance, now spot the campus lawns. If weather permits, students are often found seated at the tables beneath them, socializing, dining, or tuning into Zoom calls.
Stevens on-campus housing has experienced some of the most drastic changes. First-year students are not permitted to host guests of any kind, and peers living in the same residence halls are not allowed in rooms that they do not normally reside in. As such, Resident Assistants (RAs) now have a heightened responsibility within dorms, and students are expected to practice good judgment. Trina Ballantyne, Dean of Residential and Dining Services, stated, “Student Affairs staff and RAs have a more formal role in enforcing these policies and documenting alleged violations, but all students, faculty, and staff can hold one another accountable to keep our Stevens community safe.” Freshmen are no longer able to leave their dorm doors open or visit one another’s rooms, so RAs are making an additional effort to help students connect with one another. Ballantyne additionally noted, “RAs are still creating a community of their floors through programming and individual connections, while the operations staff sanitize and maintain furnishings, fixtures, and signage to help students remain safe.”
According to Dean Ballantyne, Stevens Dining Services has also made significant improvements at the start of this semester. They offer weekly outdoor events, themed lunches, and a new “G8” station that serves made-to-order meals that exclude the top 8 allergens. Dining options across campus have also transitioned to offering mobile ordering and delivery services with the Grubhub app. The “Premium swipes” that were once a part of the freshman meal plan have been replaced with 250 Grubhub Dining Dollars that can be spent at on-campus eateries and all local restaurants that participate in Grubhub. “The addition of the use of the Grubhub app as part of the meal plan is exciting and has increased the flexibility and value of the meal plan exponentially,” said Dean Ballantyne, echoing general student satisfaction with the new change, despite initial technical difficulties. Dining Services plans to continue using Grubhub Campus Dining in future semesters.
All on-campus dining locations are now strictly takeout only, with the exception of Pierce Dining Hall. Students have the option to pick up Pierce food or book reservations to dine inside the space; reservations allow administrators to conduct contact tracing in the case that a student or staff member falls ill. Employees are tested weekly and must follow strict protocols that have been set by Stevens. According to Dean Ballantyne, “Face coverings are always worn by staff and guests; gloves are always worn by staff when handling food. Plexi barriers have been installed at all points of services … and food stations are no longer self-serve. Staff continuously clean high-touch services and clean the back of house area every 30 minutes. The facilities are closed every hour for a deep clean, and disinfected upon closing.”
Though regular, in-person events have been severely limited, Student Affairs is continuing to offer a variety of events focused on socialization and connectivity to help freshmen ease into life at college. Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, explained, “We had to forgo some traditions such as the Wittpenn Walk and the Flock Party After Dark, but we’ve found creative ways to offer some of our favorite events such as Orientation, the Flock Party, New Student Convocation, Family Weekend, the Career Fair, and the upcoming Quack or Treat Halloween celebration. First-year students (both on-campus and virtual students) have been actively engaged in a broad range of virtual activities, workshops, and meetings hosted by student organizations and by the campus offices.”
Beyond changes to campus life, many students are finding that academics have been disrupted. According to Klein, approximately 100 freshmen and all upperclassmen are participating in the StevensFlex virtual learning format, while approximately 600 students are participating in hybrid learning while living on-campus. Students and professors alike are relying heavily on online instruction and virtual course management systems, meaning that many are now logging into early-morning Zoom lectures instead of attending 8 a.m. classes in-person.
A number of freshman courses are offered in a hybrid format. Students in hybrid lessons meet in-person on campus and connect with online students via Zoom. Many students are finding participation and collaboration to be more challenging not only for themselves, but also for their professors who now have to teach online. According to Professor Jason Vredenburg, who is alternating between online and in-person lessons, “it is a bit tougher to develop and to get the feeling of the class community and dynamic. The rooms I teach in this semester are much bigger than the rooms I would normally teach this course in, and since we’re all in masks we’re missing important components of non-verbal communication.” The sudden shift in classroom dynamics has left many students feeling as though they are unable to connect with their peers as they once did. Nonetheless, the recorded lectures and the new ability to attend class in pajamas are, welcome changes.
In these challenging times, Klein offered a sliver of hope: “The administration is monitoring the spread of COVID-19 on-campus and also locally in Hoboken and in New Jersey, and adheres to the changing guidelines from the City of Hoboken and the State of New Jersey. If the transmission rate remains low, we may consider loosening some of these regulations and gradually opening more facilities.” RAs and freshman students have been reminding one another to practice good judgment while the United States enters another wave of the pandemic. But as Professor Vredenberg stated, it is important to “be patient with yourself and practice self-care. This is a trying time for everyone. Be sure to reach out for help if you need it … These circumstances are not normal, and you’re not alone if you’re not okay. So be good to one another and practice patience and forgiveness, including with yourself. But, even so, the circumstances are what they are, and while I certainly hope for a return to something more normal and familiar soon, for right now we’re in the boat we’re in. You won’t have another first semester of college, or another last semester of college, or whatever else the situation might be. So make the best of it as best you can, even if these circumstances aren’t ideal. Take care of yourself and try to keep moving forward.”
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