YU Temporarily Bans Students From Campus for Not Testing in COVID-19 Monitoring Program

Yeshiva University is temporarily banning students from campus for missing three consecutive COVID-19 tests in its COVID-19 Monitoring Program, which mandates they test twice every week. Vice Provost of Student Affairs Dr. Chaim Nissel first announced this policy in an email sent to the student body on Feb. 7. 

Students who are on campus receive weekly reminders via email to sign up for their required COVID-19 tests. After a student misses two consecutive tests, they are sent an email warning them of their disallowance to return to campus if they miss another test. If they fail to test for a third time, their YU ID card — which is required to enter into any YU buildings — is deactivated until they provide YU with a negative PCR test.

“The health and safety of our campus community is our priority,'' Nissel said.“Students who are non-compliant with YU’s mandatory Covid monitoring program have their access privileges to all YU buildings suspended.” 

If students receive the email in error, YU asks them to notify the university. In addition, students who tested positive for COVID-19 are exempt from testing for 90 days following that test. Students who are fully vaccinated still must partake in the testing. 

“I believe that it’s important for students to test weekly as it allows the campus to sustain a safe and healthy environment,” said Gilad Menashe (YC ‘23). “Students should do their part in contributing to the safety of the campus as a whole.”

However, Menashe noted that he thinks “students who have gotten vaccinated or have antibodies should not be required to test as well.”  

The COVID-19 Monitoring Program recently changed its procedures for students returning to campus after Pesach in response to NYS lifting quarantine requirements for domestic travel. As such, students returning from states outside the tri-state area, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania or Vermont no longer have to quarantine in a hotel for three days before receiving a negative test to return to campus. As usual, all YU students will be required to submit a negative PCR test before returning to campus.

“I think it is a really smart idea to deactivate somebody’s card if they don’t get tested because consistent testing is the way YU has maintained the safety of its campus,” commented Neeli Fagan (SCW ‘22). She also noted that the system has some problems, such as with some students who had been locked out of their dorm buildings because their IDs were deactivated.  “Other than that,” she said, “I think it is a really good idea; maybe it just should be a little more balanced.”
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Photo Caption: Students who are on campus receive weekly reminders via email to sign up for their required COVID-19 tests.
Photo Credit: The Commentator