News

Wearing masks, daily health screenings, and physical distancing have become the norm on the RIT campus this semester. But a team of 20 RIT Ready crew members, passionate about keeping the RIT community safe, has been roaming around making sure students, faculty, and staff don’t get complacent about COVID-19 safely guidelines.

Odessa Despot, staff psychologist with RIT’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS), has been appointed to the board of directors for the South Asian American Digital Archive. The nonprofit organization aims to create a more inclusive society by giving voice to South Asian Americans through documenting, preserving, and sharing stories that represent their unique and diverse experiences.

RIT’s Student Life Center opens Monday for students, faculty, and staff hoping to keep fit now that colder weather is settling in. It will be open from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, and noon to 4 p.m. on weekends.

RIT turned some heads over the summer when it announced it would begin testing wastewater on campus for traces of COVID-19, but the method has proven to be an important piece of intelligence for the university to combat the spread of coronavirus.

RIT classes for spring semester will begin Jan. 25. The semester will also include three “recharge” days and one reading day prior to final exams. The last day of classes for spring semester will be Wednesday, May 5, with final exams running May 7-13. Commencement is scheduled for May 14-15.

Virtual reunions, interactive programs, talks, a 5K, e-Sports, and even Tiger Trivia are just some of the dozens of events slated for Tiger Alumni Week, beginning Monday for RIT alumni, students, families, faculty, and staff.

RIT students are creatively connecting with each other, using applications like Discord and Slack to virtually study and socialize day and night.

A new app from the New York State Department of Health can alert people if they have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 — and all without compromising user privacy and personal information.

In his “Ask Munson” series on WITR-FM (89.7), RIT President David Munson said at least two break days will be added to next semester’s academic calendar to help students cope with the loss of spring break and continued stress surrounding COVID-19 during the pandemic.

Over the past several days, RIT has been tracking some connected cases of COVID-19 stemming from a student who traveled out of the Finger Lakes region. This has resulted in a slight uptick in positive cases on campus, and the campus alert level has moved to Yellow.

While this year’s Brick City Weekend events had to be planned with COVID-19 precautions, there still are plenty of free activities students on campus can enjoy this week.

Following feedback from students and the low prevalence of COVID-19 on campus, the administration has slightly relaxed the guest policy in residence halls starting today.