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For Joshua Freson, a typical day in quarantine at Flint Hall includes watching TV with his floormates and playing ultimate frisbee outside – all while wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.

Freson, a freshman sports analytics major at Syracuse University, is one of about 400 freshmen and transfer students who moved into SU dorms Aug. 2 to begin a mandatory two-week quarantine in compliance with New York state’s travel advisory. The advisory requires individuals from coronavirus hotspots to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. 

While returning SU students from COVID-19 hotspots will have to quarantine in New York or another “cold” state at their own expense, freshmen and transfer students could pay $1000 to quarantine in SU residence halls. But strict guidelines in the dorms haven’t stopped the students who are quarantining from enjoying their first few weeks at SU, Freson said.

“It’s like college without any classes. The fun part of college,” he said. “All the people that are quarantined in this building right now. We’re all going to be super close with each other by the time the semester starts because we’re all hanging out now.”

SU has adopted extensive rules in accordance with state law to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the on-campus quarantine period, with one SU official likening the experience to a “minimum-security prison.” Despite the strange circumstances, students quarantining in SU dorms told The Daily Orange that they’ve appreciated the extra time to settle into their dorms and form relationships with their quarantine groups. 

Quarantining students have limited social interactions outside of their quarantine group, or “pod”, which consists of 15 to 20 students. The groups, often determined by floor, each have a “pod leader,” an SU staff member who does not live in the dorm but holds virtual meetings, keeps in touch with students and helps address their concerns.

Students are required to maintain six feet of distance between one another, wear masks when they go outside their room and gather in common rooms in groups of no more than five people. Each student also has an assigned bathroom based on their dorm room.

Limiting the social groups to five people has been difficult, Freson said, because his floor houses 18 people who all share one common room. 

“The capacity rule has gotten us into a little bit of trouble a couple times,” he said. “But other than that, we’re all following the rules pretty well. We all social distance and wear masks.”

One students said that limiting social groups to five people has been difficult. Young-Bin Lee | Contributing Photographer

Lindsey Fine, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major who lives in Lawrinson Hall, said she and the other students on her floor have been finding ways to entertain themselves during quarantine, including holding game nights and watching movies.

“We’re really trying to make the best of it,” Fine said. “You can still do things while wearing a mask and social distancing that can give you the college experience.”

Fine said there’s not as much supervision in her building as she expected. There is no resident adviser living on her floor, and the security guard in the lobby is the primary person enforcing the university’s quarantine rules, she said.

Residential directors are living in buildings used for on-campus quarantine and are making rounds on each floor, said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications, in a statement.

The majority of students in Fine’s pod have taken the rules seriously, she said

“On the individual floors, it’s really up to the individual person to abide by social distancing and mask rules,” she said.

SU has shown its willingness to crack down on students who violate quarantine requirements or other health guidelines outlined in its “Stay Safe Pledge.” Within four days after Aug. 2, the university placed a group of students on interim suspension for “knowingly violating” the terms of quarantine. The specific details of the number of students and their alleged violations remains unclear. 

Students in quarantine also do not dine together, instead ordering all meals directly to their floor through an online form. During the first week of quarantine, students were not allowed to order food to their dorms through delivery services such as GrubHub. Students can now order from these services as long they have the food dropped off outside their door and pay beforehand, Scalese said Tuesday.

Before Sunday, students were not allowed to order food to their dorms through delivery services such as GrubHub. Young-Bin Lee | Contributing Photographer

Each pod has two hours of designated “outside time” every day, which is double the amount of time students had during the first week of quarantine, Scalese said Tuesday.

Students are only allowed to walk on a certain path around campus, which SU illustrated on a map for quarantining students, Fine said. The paths prevent students from traveling outside the SU campus.

Upon arrival, university officials tested quarantining students for COVID-19 through saliva testing and confirmed they had completed the required pre-travel test requirement. Students were only allowed to bring one guest into their dorm to help them move in.

Nick Luttrell, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major in Lawrinson Hall, stayed in the university-owned Sheraton Hotel for the first two nights of quarantine because he submitted his pre-travel test results a day late. SU has partnered with the Sheraton to provide quarantine and isolation housing for students during the semester. 

For Luttrell, the biggest downside to beginning his quarantine in the Sheraton was that his mom didn’t get to help move him into his dorm, which she had been looking forward to. He also wishes he had more time to say goodbye to his friends at home.

Nonetheless, the quarantine has been more fun than Luttrell expected. The university has offered him plenty to do, he said.

“Syracuse is still making it fun for us,” Luttrell said. “They’re still giving us opportunities while keeping us safe and are doing the best they can to adhere to New York state’s requirements.”

Published on August 10, 2020 at 3:44 pm

Contact Abby: akweiss@syr.edu | @abbyweiss_21