A TYPICAL YEAR? CAMPUS LIFE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC
January and February gave every indication of a (relatively) typical 2020. Mayor Justin Elicker — who has stressed government accessibility and repeatedly called on Yale to increase its financial contribution to New Haven — took office in January, upsetting three-term incumbent Toni Harp. Yalies shopped for courses (here were a few of the most popular), the Yale women’s basketball team had its longest win streak in history, the Whiffenpoofs selected multiple non-male members for the first time in history and Spring Fling was set to spotlight an all-female lineup. (Photo: Lukas Flippo, photo editor.)
A GROWING FEAR: BEGINNINGS OF COVID-19 AT YALE
But even as campus life remained in full swing, the looming coronavirus pandemic began to affect Yale and New Haven. In late January, Yale Model United Nations abruptly canceled its final conference session after a high schooler from China exhibited flu-like symptoms (though the student later tested negative for COVID-19). Ten Yalies studying abroad in China left the country, while others returning from China voluntarily self-isolated with University-funded stays at the Omni. By the middle of spring break, the coronavirus concerns changed campus life as we knew it. The Ivy League was early to scrap its postseason basketball tournament and spring sports, New Haven Public Schools closed indefinitely, the School of Music canceled concerts and University President Peter Salovey announced that students would complete the remainder of the semester remotely. (Photo: Daniel Zhao, senior photographer.)
HOW YALE RESPONDED TO THE CHALLENGES OF A WORSENING PANDEMIC
In March and April, Yalies and New Haveners grappled with how to manage the rapidly intensifying viral spread in the Elm City. The Payne Whitney Gymnasium’s Lanman Center was outfitted with makeshift hospital beds, and Yale cleared 300 dormitory beds for first responders — but only after Mayor Justin Elicker publicly criticized the University for initially declining the city’s request of 150 beds. In late March, the University canceled commencement for the class of 2020, and Yale College seniors lamented the unexpected end to their college years. Then, after a coalition of undergraduates urged the University to give spring semester grades on a “universal pass” basis, Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun announced a mandatory pass/fail policy in early April. For faculty, the University instituted a hiring and salary freeze through June 2021 and, months later, a controversial buyout plan. (Photo: Courtesy of Yale University.)
YALE EXPERTS COMBAT COVID-19: SEWAGE, TESTING AND SALIVADIRECT
As the spring semester progressed, University scientists, doctors and other experts explored the virus’ characteristics and possible treatments, becoming leaders in the battle against the pandemic — even as testing capacity initially lagged and more than 600 staff members across the Yale New Haven Hospital system tested positive. The University launched a coronavirus testing program for students, faculty and staff in June, as other teams monitored viral traces in sewage and the Yale School of Public Health partnered with the NBA to validate a saliva-based testing protocol. The method, SalivaDirect, received emergency use authorization in August and began processing authorization requests from other labs — although Yale’s own centers instead used tests from the Broad Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Photo: Lukas Flippo, photo editor.)
BLACK LIVES MATTER: THE ROLE OF NHPD AND YPD AT YALE AND IN NEW HAVEN
The police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many other Black Americans, this year and over centuries, led Yalies and New Haveners to protest and push for change amid a national reckoning over systems of racial injustice and police brutality. New Haveners protested Floyd’s death in late May and June and demonstrated against the indictment ruling in the Breonna Taylor case in September. And in October, first years co-led a protest in support of Black Lives Matter. Students and student groups, including Black Students for Disarmament at Yale, continually called on the University to defund and dismantle the Yale Police Department. To their calls, President Peter Salovey said that everything is on the table — except abolishing YPD. Discussion between BSDY leaders, administrators and others is ongoing. (Photo: Pranav Senthilvel, contributing photographer.)
CAN AN ONLINE EDUCATION COMPARE? YALE'S RESIDENTIAL-REMOTE MODEL
As the summer continued, the University announced a shifted fall calendar and “residential/remote model” for fall-semester instruction, with students living on campus but taking classes online, as well as an online finals period. First years, juniors and seniors were invited back to campus in the fall, although not all accepted that invitation. In the spring, first years — with some exceptions — are asked to remain home, while sophomores can return to campus for the modified spring semester beginning on Feb. 1. As University policies continued to shift, some questioned the value of a remote education, while others considered the potential impact of the University’s reopening plan on New Haven. (Photo: Amay Tewari, photo editor.)
PROMINENT YALE LAW SCHOOL PROFESSOR SUSPENDED DUE TO ALLEGATIONS OF HARASSMENT
In late August, the News learned that Yale Law School professor Jed Rubenfeld has been suspended for at least two years due to allegations of sexual harassment. Then, students from two groups at the law school — Yale Law Women and the YLS Title IX Working Group — jointly released a report in early October addressed to University President Peter Salovey, demanding that Rubenfeld be permanently removed from campus and raising concerns about the lack of transparency and other issues in the University’s sexual misconduct investigation process. In early November, Salovey broke the silence on the students’ report with an email that addressed broader concerns around the University’s management of misconduct allegations but did not offer any specifics about Rubenfeld’s case. (Photo: Yasmine Halmane, contributing photographer.)
AN UNORTHODOX YEAR FOR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS: THE DOJ LAWSUIT AND A TEST-OPTIONAL ADMISSIONS CYCLE
On Oct. 8, the Department of Justice sued Yale over alleged discrimination against white and Asian American applicants in the admissions process — but this could change under a Biden administration, Yale affiliates said. And because many testing centers closed due to the pandemic, this year marks Yale’s first-ever entirely test-optional admissions cycle. On Dec. 15, Yale College admitted 10.5 percent of early applicants. (Photo: Logan Howard, senior photographer.)
‘AN OPPRESSIVE STATUS QUO’: AFTER SCHOOL OF NURSING DEI DIRECTOR RESIGNS, STUDENTS, ADMIN COMMENT ON RACISM AT YSN
Just 15 months after assuming the position, Raven Rodriguez resigned from her post as the Yale School of Nursing director of diversity, equity and inclusion in late October, a few months after the School of Nursing issued an anti-racism statement via email. And according to 19 students at the School of Nursing — and a collection of emails, instructional materials and other documents obtained by the News, there is a culture of racism at the West Campus institution. On Oct. 26, more than 220 students attended a forum set up to address a student petition calling for a full-time faculty member dedicated to DEI issues. And on Nov. 20, over 120 people from the YSN community gathered to hear school faculty and administrators discuss student complaints about ongoing racism and future plans for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at YSN. (Photo: Nick Tabio, contributing photographer.)
FROM THE FIRST CASE TO THREE CLUSTERS: A LOOK AT COVID-19 AT YALE DURING THE FALL SEMESTER
Throughout the semester, students, faculty and staff relied on the University’s COVID-19 dashboard — which was highly-rated, despite reporting delays — to keep them up to date on campus case numbers. Three clusters of linked positive tests emerged: within the Yale men’s hockey team, among students of three residential colleges and in Lanman-Wright Hall. Each cluster was eventually contained, after changes in University COVID-19 alert level and additional safety protocols. By the semester’s end, just under 400 members of the Yale community tested positive (here’s how we compared to other Ivies), and over 150 students — mostly first years — were sent to the COVID disciplinary committee for violating the University’s community compact. (Photo: Jasmine Su, staff photographer.)
A PHASED FALL FOR ATHLETICS AND A VIRTUAL TRANSITION FOR OTHER EXTRACURRICULAR GROUPS
The fall also created unique challenges for extracurriculars, forcing Yale’s athletics programs, arts organizations and other student groups to adapt. With competitions canceled, 40.2 percent of returning athletes took leaves of absence in the fall, while those enrolled in residence on Yale’s 35 varsity teams engaged in limited in-person conditioning and training. A set of phased guidelines dictated team activities, and the department shifted its phasing status six times over the course of the semester. Then, in November, the Ivy League announced the cancellation of winter sports. Meanwhile, other extracurricular groups found ways to adapt to pandemic life: the Yale Symphony Orchestra’s Halloween Show went virtual, and members of the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project transported food to soup kitchens — which had to develop a plan for serving food safely — by foot. But some organizations, especially smaller ones, struggled to stay afloat. (Photo: Courtesy of Yale Athletics.)
AN ELECTION YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
There’s no question that the 2020 election was unique and particularly stressful — both for the Elm City and everywhere else. In our Elections 2020 special issue, students, professors and experts weighed in on the historic moment and its impact on our communities in over 40 stories, podcasts and videos. We analyzed faculty political donations and voting rates, reported on contradicting polling site information that generated confusion on Election Day and heard from first-time voters. And after the election, students and faculty expressed an overwhelming sense of relief. (Photo: Lukas Flippo, photo editor.)
AMID A LONG STRUGGLE WITH THE PANDEMIC, IS IT ‘THE BEGINNING OF THE END’?
Over the last nine months, health care workers at the Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale Health, as well as researchers at the Yale School of Public Health, battled multiple surges of the virus while also working to end the pandemic for all of us. YSPH continued to face fiscal challenges as professors and alumni asked the University to prioritize public health. New programs at the hospital — including a neuroCOVID clinic and post-COVID recovery program — helped treat COVID-19 patients. YNHH health care workers detailed the physical and psychological trauma they have experienced due to the pandemic. But as 2020 draws to a close, there is reason to hope the pandemic will end soon: The first YNHH employees received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 15, and the city began vaccinating health care workers and other leaders on Dec. 18. (Photo: Courtesy of Yale New Haven Hospital.)
Correction, Jan. 1: A previous version of this story stated that New Haveners protested the lack of charges against Breonna Taylor. They were protesting the lack of charges against the officers who fatally shot her.
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Cover Photo: Yale Daily News