Coronavirus Cuts Marist Abroad Programs Short
Victoria Levy ‘22 returned to campus on Monday, Feb. 24. from her grandparents home in Dalian, China. The rising threat of the Wuhan coronavirus caused her semester abroad to last only two weeks.
“The plan was originally to go to China earlier to visit my grandparents for Chinese New Year,” said the digital media major from the Bronx. Levy would then spend a semester at New York University - Shanghai.
But after continuous postponals, Levy made the decision to return home to New York. “At first, NYU was supposed to start Jan. 31, then Feb. 10, and the Feb. 17 and then, all classes were online and they weren’t even opening up the school building.”
“All of the College’s policies on this issue are guided by the CDC and WHO.”
Levy left China before the threat of the Coronavirus extended its reach to many other parts of the world. Marist announced that regular programming and coursework at its Florence campus will be suspended for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester on Feb. 29, resulting in 163 students studying at Marist Italy to return home.
These students have been instructed to complete their spring semester coursework from home beginning Mar. 23. “Marist staff are working to support students to plan their journeys home during this difficult time,” said Dr. John Peters, Dean of International Programs at Marist, in a statement released on Feb. 29.
“All of the College’s policies on this issue are guided by the CDC and WHO,” said Marist Director of Media Relations, Julia Fishman. The Marist Abroad Office also said that they will work with any other Marist student in any other abroad program that wishes to modify their semester plans.
“Originally, when we made it optional, we were surprised at how many students wanted to stay,” said President Dennis Murray. “We realized, once it was elevated to Level 3, it just was in their best interest that we get them back.”
However, if the virus continues to spread, similar risks may reach the United States. A New York resident who recently traveled to Iran has been confirmed to have the first case of coronavirus in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday night.
Therefore, the Marist administration made their decision on the basis of having students with their families to access health care. “We think families wanted to have their children home, and if someone did get ill, they would be with family and have health care in the United States rather than being stuck in a foreign country,” Dr. Murray said. “It was a difficult decision, but I think it was the right one.”
Levy returned to the U.S. from Dalian — never making it to Shanghai — when she found out that her semester at NYU would resume online-only. “I told Marist I was coming home and Marist was like, okay, you can come back, but you have to quarantine yourself for two weeks,” she said.
A 14-day self-quarantine is required for all Marist students who plan to visit campus after returning from these abroad experiences. “It was a bummer because I was stuck in my house for two weeks — which I completely understand,” Levy said. “It was just a much shorter experience than I would have liked.”
“It’s been interesting because I have been so attuned to all the news since I’ve literally been through it,” Levy said. “I’m explaining the situation to people, and they don’t really understand the situation as it is.” In her return to the Marist campus, she will be taking a full schedule of online courses while interning with the Abroad office.
“The biggest obstacle we had is that there is a near 100 percent occupancy rate in our residence halls now,” Dr. Murray said. “We wouldn’t have let them back without a 14-day self-quarantine, but if we had a lot of open beds we probably would have let them come back.”
The students returning from their study abroad programs will be doing online or directed study programs remotely for the remainder of the semester.
“Everyone will get all the credit they had signed up for and everyone will remain on track for graduation,” Dr. Murray said.
Many other U.S. colleges and universities have been faced with the decisions of postponing and cancelling abroad programs.
New York University has decided to close their Florence branch campus for the time being. According to their official statement, they have urged students to leave Florence for this period and to make arrangements as needed during the closure.
“While we do not believe there is a pressing health threat to the NYU Florence community, the past month has taught us that countries may swiftly and unexpectedly make decisions that can significantly affect one’s ability to travel,” NYU said in the statement.
NYU has cancelled classes and has suspended operations at the campus on Thursday, Feb. 27. They will begin holding classes remotely starting on Monday, Mar. 2.
Damion Neth ‘21 has encountered similar events during his time abroad in Japan. The Computer Science and Cybersecurity double major is currently enrolled in Temple University’s Tokyo Semester Abroad.
“There seems to be a lot of worry,” said Neth. “There are a lot of warnings being put out and urges for people to try and stay home from work or school if they feel any type of sickness.”
The CDC has labeled Japan as a Level 2 country, meaning the country is “experiencing sustained community transmission of respiratory illness (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus.”
Neth also shared that Japan has closed all schools at a high school level or lower until early April, and that protective face masks have been sold out for weeks.
Similarly to Levy’s experiences, Temple University Japan has cancelled two of their trips, one to Nagano and the other to the Izu Peninsula, and have offered students refunds. Neth also planned an independent trip to the Studio Ghibli Museum, but it has since been cancelled due to the museums closure until Mar. 17 because of the virus.
Starting Monday Mar. 2, Temple University Japan classes will be taught online as a preventative measure, “so that students do not lose progress in their coursework,” according to a statement sent to the community via email.
“Over the course of these two weeks, we will determine if conditions will allow us to return to regular classroom teaching,” read the statement. “Please know that we continue to work with national and international leaders to track the [coronavirus] and take every effort to ensure your safety and welfare.”
Temple University has also given students the option to return to the United States and continue coursework online.
“I am not completely worried as people are typically very hygienic here,” shared Neth, “but there’s always that small worry in the back of my mind that I could get sick somehow. I always wear my face mask when I can, but I have to be careful because I am running low on face masks.”
This is a developing story. Please check maristcircle.com for updates. For more information, visit the Marist College Coronavirus Updates and Resources webpage.
Cover photo: Military Health System site