Marist Students Ordered To Stay in Dorm Room, Students Suspended

After one student tested positive for COVID-19 many Marist students have been ordered to stay in their dorm rooms while other students have been kicked off-campus.

Earlier this week, just days before classes were to start, 15 Marist students were suspended for breaking COVID-19 rules.

Marist College President Dennis J. Murray said the students were suspended for not following the college's COVID-19 guidelines at an off-campus party. He warned he may have forced to cancel in-person classes.

"If this trend continues, we’ll have no choice but to completely close the campus and require students to finish the semester online. None of us wants this outcome to occur, so please help us to ensure it doesn’t happen," Murray said in a letter to Marist students. "Please don’t be a knucklehead who disregards the safety of others and puts our ability to remain on campus at risk."

Classes started on Monday. On Wednesday, college officials announced an off-campus student who had tested positive for COVID-19 recently came into contact with several Marist students, including residents of Champagnat Hall, at an off-campus party.

The student who tested positive was never on campus and didn't any attended class in-person at any point, officials say.

With contact tracing, college officials believe they identified all students who may have come into contact with the infected student. All students who attended the party were tested Wednesday evening, sent home to quarantine and were suspended pending a judicial hearing.

Until their results are received a temporary quarantine has been implemented at Champagnat Hall. All students who stay at Champagnat Hall have been ordered to stay in their room on Thursday, use Grubhub for meals and attend classes online.

"While we cannot provide an exact timeframe for the temporary quarantine requirement, we are working with MidHudson Regional Hospital, our medical partner, to expedite the results," Geoff Brackett, Executive Vice President; Thom Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Deb DiCaprio, Vice President for Student Affairs said in a message to students. "If any test results are positive, we will immediately enact a more comprehensive surveillance testing plan. We remain confident that the vast majority of Marist students are doing the right thing, and upholding their part of the shared responsibility to protect our community by wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining social distance. We appreciate your patience as we wait for the test results, and we will update the Marist community as soon as more information is available."