TO: NYU Students

FROM: Marc Wais, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs

DATE: September 11, 2020

Dear NYU Student,

We hope all is well with you and your loved ones, and that your semester is off to a good start. As we approach the weekend, we also hope that it will be a chance for you to enjoy the beautiful NYC weather, to explore all the city has to offer, and to catch up with friends, old and new! In this day and age of COVID, we trust that you’ll continue to act in a safe manner and be thoughtful and responsible in your decision making: please wear a mask, physically distance, and keep to small groups of friends, on and off campus.

Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo singled out large groups of people partying in Washington Square Park as a health risk and reiterated the strict guidelines for COVID infections at colleges set by New York State. As I wrote last week — and have said hundreds of times before! — we know how smart and caring our students are and that none of you want to intentionally put the larger NYU community and our NYC neighbors at risk. So avoid gatherings where people aren't wearing masks or distancing. Stay vigilant. New York has done an outstanding job of maintaining a low rate of COVID cases and we can’t let our guard down now, particularly as we witness the painful consequences of the pandemic across the country. Just a few super-spreader events can trigger a second wave.

We've all worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get to this point.  We believe in you, we trust you, and we're all in this together.  Take good care, keep each other safe, and enjoy the weekend!

Marc