Dear Faculty and Staff,
The Office of Emergency Management would like to update you on some of the preparations we are making for the fall semester. In an effort to protect the health and safety of the campus community, SUNY New Paltz has masks available for free to all faculty, staff and students. COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. In combination with social distancing and handwashing, properly wearing and maintaining masks is the first line of defense against the spread of COVID-19. Masks must be worn anytime you cannot maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet from other people. It is required for everyone to wear a mask in classrooms and indoors except when in an individual office or Residence Hall Room/Suite.
How will faculty and staff receive masks?
Over the course of the summer, OEM staff have been utilizing the Haggerty Administration Building mailroom as a distribution site for each department. All administrative and academic offices should have two reusable masks available for pickup in the mailroom. In addition, faculty teaching in person courses have 10 disposable masks available in the mailroom for pickup. These were divided up by course subject. If you have not already picked up your masks, please send one person to collect the packages and distribute within your department. If there aren’t enough masks in the mailroom for all employees in your area, please submit a request to the central store for additional face masks.
What is the central store? What can my department request?
The central store was developed over the summer to house personal protective equipment (PPE) for the campus community. It will be staffed by the Office of Emergency Management throughout the semester to fulfill requests received for PPE. Available to faculty and staff include masks, signs, disinfectants and sanitizers. We are asking that you submit requests to the central store from one person for your whole department/office.
Requests can be submitted in two locations:
Departments can choose to have the supplies picked up in person or delivered to an office. The central store will be accessible to faculty and staff from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in South Classroom Building 103C if you wish to pickup requested supplies.
How will students receive masks?
All residential students will receive three masks available to them when they move in. Residence Life staff have been working diligently to make sure all residential students receive these masks before the start of the semester.
Commuter students will have to pick up their masks during the first three weeks of the semester. Volunteers will be staffing a pop-up tent outside of Jacobson Faculty Tower on the concourse during this window. All commuters will be able to pickup two cloth masks, a 2 oz. bottle of hand sanitizer and a SUNY New Paltz branded mask while supplies last. Students will need their school IDs in order to complete pickup of these supplies. Please note the following schedule of operation:
- Week 1: MWF (8/24, 8/26, 8/28) 10 a.m. - noon, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
- Week 2: M-F (8/31 - 9/4) 10 a.m. - noon, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
- Week 3: MWF (9/7, 9/9, 9/11) 10 a.m. - noon, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
When would I need a new mask?
Cloth face masks are no longer effective if the following condition(s) exist:
- The mask droops too low and no longer covers your nose and mouth.
- The mask is too stretched out where it does not stay on your face when worn.
- The mask is critically damaged where protection is no longer provided. Masks are defective if the ties or straps break, or the fabric of the mask has holes or tears.
If one or all of these conditions exist, you should retrieve a new mask from the distribution locations outlined in the next section.
What happens if I need a new mask?
If you arrive on campus without a mask we ask that you prioritize the central store for pickup. Staff will be in South Classroom Building room 103C as a pickup location throughout the semester. If you forget your mask or notice that is no longer effective, you can receive a new one from this location. Mask pickup will be available week days from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. out of this location.
Alternatively, the campus has stocked vending machines on campus with masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) in several locations. Available for purchase are a pack of three disposable masks and a kit of one mask, hand sanitizer and wipes. These are available in Humanities Building, van den Berg Hall, Sojourner Truth Library, Coykendall Science Building, Peregrine Dining Hall, Science Hall and upstairs in the Student Union Building. Packs of reusable masks are also available in Open24, the large vending machine outside of the Student Union Building.
Scott Schulte
Director of Emergency Management
Matt Alfultis
Assistant Director of Emergency Management
