Syracuse University will decide whether to cancel Commencement 2020 due to the coronavirus “very soon,” an SU official said Thursday. 

Commencement, which is scheduled for May 10, would be held on the Quad. The ceremony typically takes place in the Carrier Dome, but the stadium closed in early March for renovations.  

“We are working now to assess whether it is in the best interest of the health, wellness and safety of our students and their families to host Commencement activities as planned,” said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation.

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected more than 242,000 people and killed over 9,800 globally. There are currently 4,152 confirmed cases of the virus in New York state, and at least 12 people have died. Onondaga County has confirmed seven cases.

The university announced Monday that it will transition to online classes for the remainder of the semester. Administrators have asked students living in university housing to move out by Sunday. 

SU is working with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies to decide whether it should reschedule, postpone or cancel graduation activities, Haynie said. 

The CDC this week recommended that events with more than 50 people in attendance should be canceled or postponed for the next eight weeks. Thousands of SU students and family members attend Commencement each year. 

A Change.org petition calling on SU to provide information about its plans for Commencement has garnered more than 950 signatures in three days. The petition asks whether the university will be making alternative plans to celebrate 2020 graduates. 

“We recognize the uncertainty is frustrating, and the prospect of Commencement being postponed or altered is disappointing,” Haynie said. The situation is “complex and challenging,” he said. 

Haynie also announced that SU will prepare longer-term housing for students who are unable to return home as the coronavirus spreads. Students who can’t move out can stay in their current on-campus housing for now as the university develops alternative accommodations, Haynie said. 

Shaw, Sadler and Goldstein dining centers will be open for take-out only, Haynie said. South and West Campus Express convenience stores are also open, and campus vending machines are stocked, he said. 

All SU faculty and staff should work remotely unless personally asked to come to work, Haynie said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday mandated that all employers reduce their on-site employees to less than 25 percent of the total workforce.

It’s important that the university acknowledge unplanned obligations it has asked faculty, staff and students to shoulder, Haynie said. 

“It’s true that sometimes our ‘just the facts’ approach to communications has the unfortunate and unintended consequence of not adequately acknowledging how overwhelmed many of us are feeling about the present and the future,” Haynie said. 

Haynie expresses empathy and gratitude for individuals making sacrifices for the university, he said. University officials recognize the consequences their decisions have on SU community members, he said. 

“This reality is not lost on me, or on those other Syracuse University leaders who are conscientiously and humanely working to navigate this truly unprecedented time in the history of our institution.” 

Published on March 19, 2020 at 3:54 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3