New York University students returning to campus this week will be forced to leave quarantine in their bedrooms as part of the school’s improved coronavirus security protocols. The school provides all meals to students – but things have not just gone smoothly.
More than 2,600 students have not been allowed to leave their homes for two weeks under a mandate from Governor Andrew Cuomo, and many of them share the less than optimal meals they have received so far on TikTok. NYU students seem to be taking over the app – dozens have posted no-viral videos asking the school to improve its quarantine meal plan.
According to the school, students living in dorms are meant to receive three meals each day, which arrive in their dorms in cardboard boxes and paper bags. They were asked to give up all allergies and dietary restrictions in advance.
In a video posted to TikTok that now has more than 2.6 million views, New Year’s Madison Veldman showed what she got for breakfast: bottles of water, a plain bagel in sealed packaging, a croissant in sealed packaging and grape juice in a plastic container . In another video, freshman Nautica Nolden said she did not get breakfast or lunch – all three of her meals were delivered at 6pm, including dried cereal, “warm” orange soup, and a now infamous salad consisting of watermelon and chicken.
Some other food items highlighted in the students ’videos include bags with chips, pudding cups, lemons, granola bars, plain chicken, unripe fruit, cheese sticks and bread rolls. Many students were asked to report vegetarian and vegan meals that they received meat products, including a “steak and cheese salad” and a “Moroccan spicy kippot.”
Many students also say that their meals come at random times. Nolden told CBS News Friday that the school has repeatedly failed to provide her breakfast and lunch, so she has made a lot of her own food.
Nolden also said she, and many other students, ordered dinners through DoorDash, “but that gets expensive on our already high class.” Several students pointed out that take-out for two weeks was not ordered for low-income students.
Many students said in follow-up videos that they did not want to thank as grateful and acknowledged that many Americans experience food insecurity during the pandemic. But given NYU’s shameful exorbitant tuition, students said they felt the school could do more.
“We are not grateful, it is simply unenforceable,” Veldman said.
Tara Shear, also a newcomer, has shared several no-viral videos showing the random assortment of food she has received, including a stomach muffin and spiced watermelon. Shear told CBS News Friday that ordering supplies from local restaurants is far too expensive for most students in dorms.
“Those of us who dorm on campus are not the demographic of NYU students who can afford to quarantine off-campus in a hotel,” Shear said. “When NYU told us we would be provided with three meals a day for free, we assumed we would feed well, but many of us brought snacks in case we went hungry.”
Shear said she has received many products that contain dairy despite an allergy – a problem echoed by many students with dairy and gluten intolerance. She added that her dinner one night consisted of a bag of potato chips, two granola bars and a lemon.
“These are not substantial foods,” Shear said. “These are snacks.”
Freshman Ricardo Sheler’s video of his meal, which has been viewed more than 1.8 million times, shows his dinner with “chicken caesar salad”, which contained a bag of chips, an apple and salad dressing – but no salad. Sheler told CBS News on Friday that his dorm manager has now offered to personally deliver complimentary meals to students in his Brooklyn dorm.
New York students and residents have come together to support the most vulnerable, sending money via Venmo, PayPal and Cashapp and throwing baked goods at bedrooms. However, students said they would rather hold the school accountable for food.
NYU responded to the criticism Thursday, saying it was disappointed how its food retailer, Chartwells, handled the process.
“We are aware of the students’ complaints, which are valid,” NYU spokesman John Beckman said in a statement. “This is an unprecedented operation for us … But it’s essential to get it right.”
Beckman said the school is implementing a number of changes, including ensuring that meals are delivered earlier in the day, adding staff to deal with complaints and delivering food, recruiting staff to treat specific foods with dietary specializations, another provider of bring in food services, and authorize staff to give students money for delivery.
“We recognize that when people have to quarantine themselves in their rooms, a few things a day are more important than looking forward to something fun to eat, so this is a particularly sad mistake, and a let-down for our students,” he said. Said Beckman.
Some students reported receiving food Friday morning, but Sheler said he and his roommates had not received food since 1:20 p.m. “Every now and then, all the changes are essentially performative and not practical,” he said.
Nolden said she has seen more students get food on time, but said they are still not making substantial meals, typically consisting of fruit and a snack.
NYU also sent students an apology letter Thursday night, giving each of them a $ 100 e-card to order food bans, which Sheler called a “pillow” the school uses to buy itself more time . The letter did not address exactly how that system would work, and students said they have not yet received the credit.
“NYU is trying to help us, I think,” Shear said. “It’s just not enough to meet our needs.”
Despite the feeding situation, many students say that the school treats returning to campus well, and implements every possible implementation safety measure to qualify for a “normal” semester.
“I really think we’re doing it insanely well,” Shear said. “I was personally tested for COVID-19 right after I moved, and although the wait was long, not a single student could be seen without a mask or non-social distance. As a community, we do not want to be sent home.”
Many students said they are hopeful NYU will not send them home early, like many other schools have done, because of its strict policy.
“Despite the food issues, I really appreciate everything NYU does for us,” Nolden said. “They are really trying to keep cases and keep us healthy and personal. I believe their pre-quarantine and test measures are above and stricter than many other universities.”
However, students still hope the school comes up to improve their quarantine experience.
“If NYU wants to maintain the wide-ranging operational integrity of quarantine and they expect students to make sacrifices to ensure on-campus safety, they must maintain their end of the deal by creating a comfortable quarantine environment that promotes for circumstances that encourage compliance at the end of the student year, ”Sheler said.
“NYU is breaking out on security, and we feel really safe here,” Shear said. “We’m just hungry.”
.
