Syracuse University’s Food Services has partnered with Grubhub to expand food delivery services for students remaining on campus and in the city amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

SU announced March 16 that it would move classes online for the remainder of the semester due to the virus and encouraged students to leave campus by March 22. Students unable to leave could apply to stay in university housing via MySlice.

All students who remained in university housing have been relocated to South Campus, said Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, in an SU News release Thursday. Shaw Dining Center, which had remained open for take-out and delivery, is now closed.

Goldstein Dining Center on South Campus is now open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day for take-out or delivery via the Grubhub app, Haynie said. Delivery is also available for items from the South Campus Express convenience store on weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., he said. Students can also have groceries and health and beauty supplies delivered. 

The coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected at least 1.5 million people worldwide and killed at least 90,000. New York state has reported 159,937 cases of the virus as of Thursday and 7,067 have died. 

Haynie provided several additional updates about SU’s response to the pandemic and resources for students, families and university employees. 

The SU Bookstore will work with MBS, its book partner, to create an online buyback option for students to sell their unneeded books, Haynie said. Students can enter book information digitally and receive a shipping label to send back materials, he said. Shipping will be free. 

Students planning to take summer courses who haven’t already contacted their academic advisor should schedule an appointment to discuss how the session will operate, Haynie said. SU announced Wednesday that it would move all previously scheduled on-campus courses for the Summer Session II term, which runs from June 29 to Aug. 7, to online formats. 

All essential SU staff, including Food Services employees, Department of Public Safety officers, Facilities Services staff and essential researchers, are now being provided with masks and gloves, Haynie said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommend everyone wear cloth or homemade masks when in public. 

SU’s Environmental Health and Safety Service is training all custodial staff about proper protocols for cleaning and disinfecting campus spaces, Haynie said. 

Staff have begun using electrostatic sprayers to disinfect high-traffic areas on campus, Haynie said. The sprayers were used during SU’s mumps outbreak in 2017, he said. 

The university’s Office of Parking and Transit Services will apply credits for unused permit parking for staff and faculty working remotely, Haynie said. SU will calculate the credits when normal business operations resume or the permits expire, and will apply the money toward 2020-21 parking fees, he said. 

Published on April 9, 2020 at 3:16 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3