INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun 8 Pages – Free
Vol. 139 No. 44
TUESDAY, March 14, 2023 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
The Sun Room
Wallen Returns
Men's Hockey
Snowy
The Sun's new podcast released a new episode on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Cornell community, available on Spotify.
Ili Pecullan '26 reviews Morgan Wallen's chart-topping new album, "One Thing At A Time." | Page 5
Men's hockey swept Clarkson to advance to the ECAC semifinals, where they will face off against Harvard. | Page 8
HIGH: 32º LOW: 24º
Three Years Since Campus Shutdown
Reflecting back on COVID-19's impacts on the Cornell student experience
By SOFIA RUBINSON and AIMÉE EICHER Sun Managing Editor and Sun Assistant Managing Editor
Exactly three years ago Monday, Cornellians sat next to each other in classrooms and chatted face-to-face, while professors spoke, maskless, to lecture halls full of students. They thought this would be the last day of classes for three weeks. It turned out to be more than two years before the campus would return to a sense of normalcy. Through quarantine regulations, masking requirements and weekly mandatory testing, students and faculty navigated the pandemic together. Each class year currently at Cornell faced different challenges and opportunities throughout their time at the University, with the Class of 2023 the only one to experience pre-pandemic Cornell. The Shutdown In December 2019, Abby Drucker ’23
BORIS TSANG / SUN FILE PHOTO
recalled hearing about the coronavirus for the first time. As a first-year experiencing the excitement of campus, she didn’t imagine that a virus that had yet to make it to the United States would have an impact on her daily life. “First semester freshman year was overwhelming, but in a great way, because you entered a new atmosphere and you’re meeting so many new people,” Drucker said. “Back in December, I had heard of some virus in China. My mom was always saying make sure to wash your hands and whatnot, but I don’t think anybody expected it to be as big as it was.” On March 10, 2020, Cornell announced that the University would go virtual for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester following spring break on March 27. However, in a move that was described as “unexpected,” President Martha Pollack released an update on March 13, 2020 that all in-person instruc-
JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
tion would be suspended immediately and students were strongly encouraged to return to their permanent residences. Drucker remembers going on a run and seeing a friend who asked if she had seen the announcement. Chris McDermott ’23 recalls waiting for the University’s announcement email in his dorm building. “People were just running out into the hallway, just reading out what the email had said,” McDermott said. “I just remember there being mixed emotions. People were happy, they were scared, they were confused.” The Transition On March 20, 2020, the first reported positive cases of COVID-19 at Cornell were documented. In the new era of social distancing and uncertainty, students and faculty had to readjust courses and learn how to teach and participate in classes virtually. See COVID-19 page 3
JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Keep your distance | Social
Mask on, mask off | Indoor
Testing patience | To minimize
Herd community | Large
distancing required students to stay six feet from one another.
masking was mandatory until the end of the Spring 2022 semester.
outbreaks, all Cornellians had to take a weekly COVID-19 test.
gatherings of maskless students became more common this year.
COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Cornell Closes Campus Due To Heavy Snow By JONATHAN MONG Sun News Editor
The University has announced that the Ithaca and AgriTech campuses will close on Tuesday, March 14 beginning at 3 a.m. and will tentatively reopen on Wednesday, March 15 at 3 a.m. due to a severe snowstorm that has been forecasted to produce between nine and 18 inches of snow and winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. This announcement comes despite a 2020 policy that stated in-person classes would move online during periods of inclement weather. However, current University policy regarding inclement weather is decided by the Administration’s assessment of public safety. CornellALERT will send a message regarding reopening plans no later than Tuesday evening. As part of the closure, all University classes, exams, events and activities will be canceled.
Although residence halls will remain or Wednesday, check the relevant web open, the CornellALERT emergency sites to determine the current operating messaging service has cautioned students status of services and facilities, dress for to limit outdoor exposure. Libraries and the weather, plan your route carefully and allow extra time for travel.” on-campus retail stores will be closed. Cornellians can check the Travel will be heavily impacted, with blowing snow and blizzard conditions University's operating status or by callimpacting visibility, falling tree branch- ing the Inclement Weather Line at 607255-3377. The es and power outUniversity will ages all possible. also announce Up-to-date road As part of the closure, changes to camconditions can be all University classes, obtained by callpus’s operating 511. ing status in exams, events and “Campus perCornellALERT activities will be messages to all sonnel will be canceled. Cornell email clearing roads addresses and to and walkways but enrolled cellular continuous snowphones. fall and blowing Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit snow may cause surfaces to remain snow covered and slippery,” the Office has not yet made an announcement on of Emergency Management wrote in an any planned service changes, although email that was sent to all students on they have posted a statement to their Monday evening at around 6:15 p.m. website reminding riders to check for “If you must venture out on Tuesday travel updates before heading to the bus
stop. “Given that conditions are constantly changing and impacts to routes vary, TCAT asks riders to please consult the TCAT Bus Tracker to see Public Service Messages at the bottom left of their screen,” the statement reads. “Riders are also encouraged to download real-time information apps.” The Ithaca City School District has also announced that the district will be closed tomorrow. All classes, afterschool and evening activities and the ICSD Board of Education are canceled. “After vigilant monitoring throughout the day, the decision to cancel is made out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students and staff,” the district said in a press release. “This decision is made in consultation with our Transportation Department, local highway department officials and the National Weather Service.” Jonathan Mong can be reached at jmong@cornellsun.com.