Amali Gordon-Buxbaum ’21

Metro-North train. Photo courtesy of MTA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has dispersed the Sarah Lawrence student community all across the world, some staying in dorms on campus, others as far away as California or China. However, a handful of students remain in between: commuters, who live off-campus but close enough to travel to Bronxville when necessary.

Janey Amend-Bombara ’21, living in Harlem for the semester, gets on the Metro-North three to four times a week to attend her in-person dance component and to work her on-campus job.

“It’s pretty difficult,” she said. “I can either take the Metro-North and pay $17 for each round trip or spend over an hour on the subway.”

Amend-Bombara explained that when she decided to live in the city, she had not expected to have to make the trek to campus as often as she does now.

“I wish the school would provide money for commuting,” she said, adding that she had applied for the money provided by the CARES Act, but had not received any funds.

Dean of Studies and Student Life Danny Trujillo hopes that commuter students like Amend-Bombara still feel like a valued part of the Sarah Lawrence community.

“We try to help and support them as much as possible,” Trujillo said, commending commuter students for the challenges many of them faced in order to return to New York.

With the SLC student body scattered around the world, Trujillo adds that, “One of the most important pieces is how to make sure everyone still feels connected.”

The College’s current policy for students traveling to campus allows them to use most buildings on campus — the library, the Barbara Walters Campus Center, Marshall Field, Campbell Sports Center — after receiving confirmation of a negative test result. Under Phase III of reopening, which began on Oct 12, commuter students are also permitted to create or join in community pods with friends on campus.

Signage at the Bronxville Metro-North platform. Photo courtesy of MTA.

“It’s really helpful for students in the city to be able to have access to spaces like the library and the campus center,” said Co-Senior Class President Jasmine Lewin Holmes ’21. She added, however, that students have come to her with concerns regarding communication.

SLC confirmed its first positive COVID case on campus in early October. The affected resident, whose identity is kept anonymous, and students with possible exposure had been put into isolation, and the following week, the number dropped back down to zero. On Monday, Oct 26, it was announced on the SLC Instagram account that two tests had returned with two positive results and that both students were in isolation— one on campus and one presumably off campus.

Lewin-Holmes, who is also a commuter student living in Brooklyn, explained that in both instances, she discovered this information either through social media or word-of-mouth, but never received any formal communication from the administration.

“If you’re commuting to campus, especially from the city, you should be given that information for everyone’s safety,” she said. “The counter-argument is that it affects people on campus the most, but it doesn’t help the goal of making commuter students feel like part of the community.”

According to Trujillo, students, both residential and commuter, will only be notified of a positive case if they were in close contact, defined as less than six feet apart for more than ten minutes, with the affected person. Following a positive test result, both the affected individual and those at risk of exposure are expected to quarantine.

“It’s a question of what information is going to be helpful to different populations,” Trujillo said. “The information that commuter students use or need may be distinct and different from information that our resident students might value. And some of that may overlap.”

Amend-Bombara received an email notifying her of the first positive test result among students on campus and explaining that her in-person dance component would go online for the following two weeks. However, she noted a confusing lack of details in the message.

“My dance class went remote but others didn’t,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if people in my class had been exposed or not.”

For Lewin-Holmes, the policy for communication the school currently has in place does not feel adequate, especially at a time when students are considering, or reevaluating, whether or not to return to campus in the spring.

“I think there should be at minimum a global email when positive cases are found on campus,” she said. “Transparency is super important, and if conversations right now are about how to build and keep a safe community, that information is essential.”

COVID-19 policies for both resident and commuter students can be found on the SLC website. The next set of testing for commuter students begins on Wednesday, Nov 4.

After Confirmed Cases, Commuter Students Call for Transparency from Administration