As of today, Sunday, February 28, we are lifting the pause of in-person instruction and activities at the Rose Hill campus (the Lincoln Center campus will continue to operate with COVID-19 precautions in place).

As I announced last week, Governor Cuomo announced changes in the rules governing Universities’ responses to positive COVID-19 tests on campus, making the threshold for pausing in-person instruction and activities less than “5% of the total on-campus population” testing positive over a 14-day period, provided that at least 25 percent of the on-campus population is tested each week. We are well above the 25 percent testing threshold.

We are able to resume normal operations as the University’s two-week average of COVID-19 infections is below the state threshold of 5 percent for pausing operations.

The following activities are affected at Rose Hill, subject to the same COVID-19 precautions that were in place prior to the pause, and which remain in place at the Lincoln Center campus:

• In-person instruction will resume on Monday, March 1.
• Ram Van service will resume on Monday, March 1, at 7 a.m.
• In-person student activities will resume today.
• Sunday Mass will resume in the University Church today with appropriate COVID-19 precautions.
• Athletics practice and competition will resume today for all sports.
• Ramfit at Rose Hill will open and operate on its normal schedule on Monday, March 1.
• Indoor dining will commence at 35 percent of capacity today.

We continue to closely monitor the trend of new cases on campus, in consultation with New York City and state Departments of Health. The number of cases in the area adjacent to the Rose Hill campus remains concerning. I cannot stress strongly enough that our ability to offer in-person classes and activities is almost entirely dependent upon students especially observing strict COVID-19 precautions, including wearing a mask at all times on and off campus, maintaining social distancing, and washing hands frequently.

With your cooperation, the infection rate is low enough to allow us to resume in-person activity under the revised state guidelines. I thank you for your cooperation and hope you will continue to be mindful of COVID-19 precautions for the rest of the semester.

Sincerely,

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

Due to a spike in COVID-19 cases at the Rose Hill campus (more than 110 cases in the last two-week window), we are pausing in-person instruction and activities on that campus for two weeks to reduce the infection rate, as required by New York state, effective Sunday, February 14, 2021.

The following restrictions are effective immediately and apply to Rose Hill only:

• All classroom instruction will switch to remote instruction (students who live on one campus and take classes on the other will also switch to remote instruction);
• All in-person student programming is suspended;
• Indoor dining is suspended;
• The Ram Fit Center and all indoor athletics facilities are closed;
• All athletics practices and competitions are suspended;
• Ram Van service is suspended between Rose Hill and other campuses.

Not affected:

• Residence halls will remain open;
• Students are not required to return home;
• Students are not restricted from leaving their residence halls nor off-campus residences;
• Outdoor walking, exercise, and other socially distanced activity is permitted;
• Walsh Library and the campus center will remain open with strictly enforced mask usage and social distancing.

University staff at Rose Hill should take direction from their managers regarding whether or not to report to work in person.

All activities on the Lincoln Center campus will continue without any new restrictions nor additional precautionary measures. During the next two weeks, members of the Lincoln Center campus community should not visit those on the Rose Hill campus and vice versa.

We take these measures reluctantly, but we believe pausing activities at Rose Hill offers us our best chance to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and to resume a more normal campus routine for the rest of the spring semester. For your health and safety, and that of the campus community, I ask that you faithfully observe COVID-19 precautions at all times, on and off campus:

• Wear masks correctly (snugly covering nose and mouth) at all times in public spaces;
• Observe social distancing of at least six feet;
• Avoid crowded indoor spaces, even if you are wearing a mask.

I understand this is another unwelcome development in a long and difficult year, but your wholehearted cooperation and observance of appropriate precautions is critically important in ensuring that we limit the spread of the virus and give our students the best opportunity for a positive on-campus experience for the remainder of the spring semester.

I know you can do this, given the good judgment and care for one another you displayed in the fall. Though we are not out of the woods yet, we can see the path forward. Please help us not to stray in these next few months.

Please know that you are all in my prayers today and every day.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.

This week, the sighting of the crescent moon will mark the holiest month in the Muslim calendar, and Ramadan will commence.  Muslims believe that the scripture was revealed to the prophet Mohammed during Ramadan; the annual observance of the holiday is one of the five pillars of Islam. During this month, Muslims fast from food, drink, smoking, and sex between the hours of dawn and dusk, and they aim to abstain from gossip, arguments, and lying. Ramadan is also a time where Muslims focus on charity and donating their time and money in service of others.

While the basic customs and traditions of the holiday remain the same this year, COVID-19 restrictions will prevent Alsiadi and other Muslims from sharing those traditions with loved ones.

“I am psychologically preparing to spend Ramadan at home,” said Alsiadi, recalling that even during the Islamist uprising in Syria from 1979 to 1982, he was still able to visit the mosque. “Those were difficult times, but even with daily shootings, we were still able to go to the mosque and pray. We had comfort in being able to sit together, to read the Quran together among our elders.” 

Now, mosques and other places of worship around the world have closed. “The mosques cry when there are no worshippers,” says Alsiadi. “The impact is not just on us as individuals, but it’s also on the house of God.” 

But, he said, Muslims can still find solace in the symbolic togetherness of being called to prayer at the same time and facing Mecca when they pray separately in their homes.  

Students and parents face particular challenges during Ramadan, not just this year but every year, said Zein Murib, Ph.D., assistant professor of Political Science.

“Ramadan often falls during the school year. Last year, Ramadan took place during finals, and I heard from many students who felt that they were alone in negotiating fasting and prayer alongside the rigors of late-night study sessions and back-to-back exams,” said Murib. “This year will be no different, and I wonder how finals and the compounded circumstances of COVID-19 and New York’s pause will impact Fordham’s Muslim students.” 

Alsiadi said that though this is an unprecedented and challenging time, we all have to do our part to keep each other safe. This includes being careful about our words. 

“Islam is peace. If we launch a war against a virus, then that lends itself to discriminating against people who are sick,” he said. “We have to be careful of that.”

Despite all of the disruptions this year, Ramadan remains a time “that we do things from our hearts,” said Alsiadi. “We have to be patient. Ramadan is an opportunity for Muslims to get an infinite amount of hasanats (credit for good deeds) by cleansing their soul by helping around. We must share what we have. If you have enough, share with those who have nothing.”

Tumultuous times can offer an opportunity to deepen one’s spiritual practice. This has been a focus for Muhammad Faruque, Ph.D., George Ames Endowed Postdoctoral Fellow at Fordham, who is spending Ramadan away from his family this year.

“One should meditate on the question of fasting, ponder the inner significance of an ascetic practice— what it does to the body and the soul, and how it can make oneself a better, compassionate human being.” Faruque said.  “For me, this Ramadan will be an opportunity to retreat into the inner sanctum of the self and explore the possibilities of inner happiness.”