COVID-19 Residence Life Update

Updated Monday, June 29, 2020

Message below was sent to all returning residential students June 26, 2020

Dear Residential Student,

Campus is not the same without residents living here and we are hopeful about opening the residence halls for Fall 2020. As noted in a recent email from President Geisler, the plan is for every residential student will have the option to live in a single room, at the double-room rate ($4,427). The transition to single occupancy rooms will impact the housing assignments that were selected during the room selection process in April. Our goal is to facilitate a reassignment process that will honor your housing requests with the least amount of disruption as possible. We encourage residents to carefully review the options below and then discuss this matter with their roommate(s) and suitemates.

Residents assigned to the following room types have the following options:

• Single rooms - residents assigned to a single room will remain in their current assignment; unless they volunteer to be removed from the suite.
• Double rooms – residents assigned to a double room have the option to continue to live together or notify the Office of Residence Life which of the two residents volunteer to be displaced and reassigned to a single room elsewhere.
• Triple rooms – residents assigned to a triple room have the option to continue to live together or notify the Office of Residence Life which of the three residents volunteer to be displaced and reassigned to a single room elsewhere.

Residents who wish remain in a double or triple room with their roommates should understand that living in a space with increased occupancy has additional health risks. Residents who choose this option should note the following:

• All residents of the suite must agree to the increased occupancy in the suite and sign a waiver stating that they understand and assume responsibility for the additional risk.
• Residents who elect to remain in a double or triple room will a pay the triple room rate ($4,325).
• The number of guests allowed in a residence hall room will be limited during this time; thus, increasing the number of residents living in a unit may limit the number of guests permitted in a unit.

Once a decision has been made, residents should notify the Office of Residence Life of their plan by completing the Fall 2020 Reassignment form on or before July 7, 2020. This form is available on the MyHousing Portal.

*Note: Residents assigned to double/triple rooms who do not complete Fall 2020 Reassignment form by July 7, 2020 will be randomly selected by the Office of Residence Life to be displaced and reassigned to a single room elsewhere.

Displaced residents will be reassigned, by the Office of Residence Life. We will do our best to reassign students to the same building as their original assignment; however, this is dependent on space availability, and not guaranteed.  The Reassignment Process for displaced residents is presented below:

• Displaced residents have the opportunity to match with new suitemates between July 10, 2020 - July 22, 2020. Residents can match in groups of 4 or 2, or choose to get reassigned as an individual. The Office of Residence Life will honor suitemate requests as space permits. Again, this is not a guarantee.
• New assignments will be emailed to students and posted on the MyHousing Portal the beginning of August.

When students return to campus they will see an increase in cleaning and sanitation of community spaces, faculty and staff wearing masks/face coverings, plexiglass barriers at points of service, as well as changes in expectations of student behavior. Residential students will be called upon to think about the health and safety of the entire Manhattanville Community. Policy changes are still in the development stage, pending guidance from the State, but residents can expect to see policies regarding COVID-19 testing and screening, quarantine and isolation protocols, mask/face covering requirements, limited visitation, closed lounges and community kitchens, and an altered experience in the dining hall. Please note that this is a sample list of policy changes intended to help students anticipate what it will be like to live on campus during the pandemic. Additional policy changes may occur. All changes will be communicated to students prior to their return to campus.

The Office of Residence Life understands that the decision to live on campus during this time will be guided by every students’ individual circumstance. We also understand that many factors changed since the housing selection process. Thus, the cancelation deadline has been extended to July 7, 2020. Students who cancel their housing agreement by this date will be released from their agreement without penalty. Please log into the MyHousing portal and complete the Housing Cancelation Request form to cancel your Fall 2020 Housing Agreement.

Moving into the residence halls will also be impacted by the pandemic and the need to check people in while providing physical distance. We are currently in the process of solidifying these details, including move-in dates. An email with instructions about Move-in will be distributed as soon as possible. In the meantime, note that move-in will take place in the days leading up to the first day of class, August 31, 2020.

While we are thrilled to prepare for a Fall 2020 opening, please understand that adjustments to this plan may occur the State provides further guidance. We will make an official announcement about the status of the residence halls at that time. In the meantime, we are excited to assist you with our reassignment process. We understand that the reassignment process and/or the decision to live on campus in the Fall may be stressful. The Residence Life team is here to answer all your questions and to help residents navigate these decisions. Please do not hesitate to contact us at 914-323-5217 or reslife@mville.edu for assistance.

Sincerely,

Shari Crandall, PhD

She/her/hers

Director of Residence Life & Conference Services

914-323-5217

Message below was sent May 12, 2020

Move-Out Instructions: Students are able to collect their belongings and move out of their Spring 2020 room assignment from 5/16 – 5/25. Understand this process is designed to maintain social distancing and the number of students in each building, at any given time, will be limited for the safety of everyone involved.

Students must comply with the following conditions:

• Students will have a 3-hour window to complete their move-out. Please sign up for a move out time at http://mville.edu/myhousing. Students must select a time at least 48 hours prior to arrival on campus
• Students WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED on campus during their scheduled move out time
• Students who sign up for a time, will receive a parking placard via email. This placard should be printed and displayed in your vehicle to gain access to campus
• Students are permitted 2 additional people to assist them with moving out. Please arrive together if traveling in multiple vehicles

To ensure the safety of our staff and students:

• All individuals are required to bring face masks with them to campus and are expected to wear face mask at all times or they will be asked to leave the property. Manhattanville College will not provide face masks
• Moving Bins/Carts will not be provided. We recommend bringing a hand truck or cart with you
• Elevators are high-traffic areas. Please only use an elevator if you are moving large items, or have a mobility concern
• We recommend washing your hands or using hand sanitizer after touching items in common areas (door knobs, buttons, etc.)

Once on campus, students should follow the Express Check-out Procedure outlined below:

• Pick-up an express checkout envelope from the RA Office door
• Pack and remove all of your belongings from your room, bathroom and common spaces
• Dammann & Tenney Residents: Remove all items from the common room
• Clean and make sure all trash is removed. Trash should be brought to the dumpsters located outside each building. Failure to clean the space and abandoning belongings may result in improper checkout charges
• Fill out your express checkout envelope
• Lock all doors and place your key in the express checkout envelope
• Slide the express checkout envelope under the RA Office door

Students who are unable to return to campus during this time should contact Residence Life & Conference Services at 914-323-5217, Monday - Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm to discuss options, which will include a listing of businesses offering packing, storage and/or shipping solutions.

Sincerely,

Residence Life & Conference Services

Message below was sent to all Residential Students on March 21, 2020

As a result of the announcement from the Governor of the State of New York with a mandate to cease all non-essential functions and reduce workforce by 100%, we are now required to ask all residents to leave the residence halls. While essential services including food service and housekeeping will continue for the time being, the College will not be able to guarantee long-term adequate services and support to safely keep the residence halls open because we depend on outside providers who may or may not continue to be able to operate under the current circumstances.

We are painfully aware that this may put significant hardships on some of you. Please understand that we are taking this action based on an order from the Governor of New York State. If you do not have a home to go to off campus, or do not have the means to travel, please notify the Residence Life office immediately and we will discuss alternatives.

The New York State mandate goes into effect Sunday, March 22 at 8:00pm. All residents are encouraged, but not required, to vacate their rooms by Sunday at 8:00pm.

Please note:

• If you are unable to remove your belongings at this time, simply notify residence life staff at 914-323-5217 to make alternate arrangements.
• If you are moving belongings out at this time, only one person may enter the residence hall with you to assist. This will help keep numbers of people congregating in the halls to a minimum.
• If you opt to stay in the residence halls beyond tomorrow night, we cannot guarantee that the health department will not impose a mandatory quarantine and/or isolation if fellow residents test positive for COVID-19.
• All residents who opt to remain in the residence halls must notify Residence Life staff and sign a waiver that they will provide.
• If you are not currently on campus but still have belongings in the residence halls, we request that you not come to campus at this time in light of the social distancing directives for the safety of all. We will announce move-out times when feasible.

All offices will also now be closed for in-person assistance and staff and faculty will be unable to access campus for any reason until further notice. Remote learning will continue through the end of the semester and all students have the opportunity to complete coursework and accumulate credits. There are resources available from external internet service providers for those who do not have internet access. Information on both will be available at https://www.mville.edu/covid-19-planning-information. The following hotels in the area are offering discounts to college students at this time:

• The Hyatt House in White Plains
• Cambria Hotel in downtown White Plains
• Renaissance Hotel (10% off for Manhattanville students who book online)

We understand that changes caused by this unprecedented time in the world are increasing stress and anxiety. We hope that our campus community remains safe and healthy through this challenging time. Our goal is to resume normal campus operations as soon as possible, but unfortunately that will not be before the end of the semester. Questions should be directed to Residence Life at 914-323-5217 or via email at COVID-19@mville.edu.