It's the first week back to school at New York’s Public universities and SUNY campuses raise concerns over student diversity and health.
John King, SUNY Chancellor, encourages students who dropped out during the Covid-19 pandemic to return to college. King said SUNY takes a holistic approach to admissions, considering the background of each applicant.
“We're committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. So we're gonna look at first gen status, are you first in your family to go to college. We're going to look at socioeconomic status, make sure that we are including low-income students in our campuses. We're going to look at adversity that you may have overcome in your life,” said King.
This commitment stands despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to reverse affirmative action, which limited the consideration of an applicant’s race in the college admissions process.
King said the recent court decision still allows colleges to look at the individual impact that race may have had in a student's life through their college essay. SUNY is also looking to recruit more veterans and AmeriCorps volunteers, according to King.
In this area, SUNY includes Onondaga Community College, SUNY ESF, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oswego.
As classes resume, there is an emerging health threat of rising COVID 19 cases in New York State. As a result, King urges students to take precautions as new strains of COVID-19 spread across the country.
“We're going to follow the science at SUNY and we may in our campuses need to make changes as the virus evolves. But right now, just people have to make smart, safe decisions, particularly based on their health vulnerability,” said King.
NYS has seen a 48% increase in hospital admissions for Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks, according to the New York Times Covid-19 Tracker. While the newest BA.2.86 Covid-19 strain has not yet been detected in New York State, the Wadsworth Center Laboratory of Viral Disease continues to monitor and analyze samples for the new variant, according to the NYS Department of Health.
