The first half of the spring semester is coming to an abrupt end due to concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak. Half a dozen emails coming in the form of spaced-out updates detailed the growing concerns and restrictions. It was on March 4 that the student body received an email announcing that NYU Abu Dhabi would comply with the UAE Ministry of Education’s decision to [close schools and universities for a period of four weeks] (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/04/coronavirus-uae-cancels-events-announces-school-closures.html) starting on March 8.

In the same email, Vice Chancellor Mariët Westermann stated that “the announcement clarifies that private institutions of higher education have the freedom to apply the procedures they consider necessary to guarantee education continuity.” This left much room for doubt among students on what would come in the next few days, and more importantly, the subsequent weeks.

Though it was not banned, the cancellation of personal travel was recommended. At the same time, funding for university-related travel was suspended until April 15. This all came before the UAE announced a two-week self-isolation for anyone frequenting an educational institute who has returned from affected countries, shortly after which they altered the statement to encompass all countries. This had an effect on students, with many cancelling their spring break trips and opting to stay in Abu Dhabi instead.

Olivia Kato, Class of 2023, was planning to visit Spain and go on a trip to Kenya with her friends. Though she did not acquire refundable tickets, she is now trying to get refunds from airlines on the grounds of the government’s decision. Alongside the concern over health is the fear of being able to successfully continue education in Abu Dhabi. Kato said that “the entire group is not going to Kenya anymore; [they are] afraid [that] if anything happens in Kenya, they won't be able to come back to the UAE and they will have to take a leave of absence.”

Students have reached out to the university after receiving airline responses asking for documentation proving that they are not permitted to travel for valid reasons.

“I think I will be able to get a partial refund … that’s what I am hoping for, and what a lot of students are hoping for right now,” said Kato.

While many students seem to be cancelling flights due to similar concerns, others want to maintain their plans despite possible threats. In addition, there are students who must travel due to personal reasons. Of those students is Seyed Ahlesaadat, Class of 2023, who is travelling to London to visit his family. The United Kingdom’s cases rose up to 164 on March 7, the day he flew out of Dubai. The reasoning behind his decision was in order to be with his family in these troubling times. While he is worried about the closing of borders and the inability to return, he stuck with his decision.

“I am very afraid of travelling and being quarantined, but I feel an urge to travel because I want to see my parents in case they get sick … they live in another country and I’d blame myself if they got sick and I wasn’t with them,” said Ahlesaadat.

During the General Assembly held on March 5, there was much talk about what these newly implemented restrictions would mean for those trying to access labs. Hunter Peterson, Class of 2020, felt as though the arts were receiving less attention. For his film classes and capstone, Peterson needs to use programs and equipment only available in the Arts Center, and classes cannot realistically be taught online.

“I need these computers, my computer is breaking and would not be able to handle editing large files,” said Peterson, who has two terabytes worth of information saved on university computers, “Our files are on Premiere Pro, you cannot just take it off them and put it on another program … They are telling us to do something that they should very clearly know is not a real option, but they are treating it like it is and that it is our problem.”

In terms of his film capstone, Peterson is unaware of what will happen: “I am supposed to have my exhibition from April 5 to 11, but this [closure] ends on April 4, meaning I will have no time to prepare. I don’t have any sound equipment. I don’t have any access to the music rooms to make the sound for my films, color correction [and] editing software. There are so many unanswered questions.”

For the common student, a laptop certainly is required to switch to online courses. Megan Binnis, Class of 2023, was without a laptop at the announcement of online courses. Having previously relied on borrowing laptops from the library, Binnis was concerned with the news of the library’s closure and the anticipated increase in demand for laptops by other students.

“If I don’t have a laptop, how can I participate in the classes?” asked Binnis. After inquiring, she was able to ask for a laptop loan from the library.

Binnis further said, “Fortunately, they were very helpful and offered long loans for their laptops and made a list of people with priorities and gave options of which kind you need, and the longer loan is till the end of classes.”

David Isaly, NYUNY Class of 2022, who is currently spending his semester at NYUAD, came to the region hoping it would aid his Arabic language education with immersive learning.

“I think if you’re taking a language class, how are you going to learn Arabic from an online course?” asks Isaly. “It is a little disappointing, because we are paying a good bit of money to come out here and have this kind of experience and take these classes, and it is just going online, so it is a little disappointing.”

Another visiting student from New York, Nneka Jones, NYUNY Class of 2022, is attending NYUAD for a semester and was also impacted with the effects of the suspension of classes.

“On the academic side, for the first time, I am loving all my classes, the way of teaching here, I love it,” she said about her semester up to this point, “I love the environment, I don’t like the fact that it will be interfered with. It’s not just the professor; it’s the students I get to see and meet and become friends with. It’s my first and probably last time studying away, and it takes away a huge chunk of time I would have been exploring.”

Some students, however, are in favor of seeing things through a more positive lens.

“As far as this affects us in the day-to-day, [it] is really inconsequential. In fact it’s a benefit ... [I think] that work we do have to get done is not held [to] the same standard.” In these troubling times Roberts suggests keeping a calm head. “My tip would just be to keep a good humor about all of this.”

Different students have different opinions about the situation on campus, and likewise are affected by different issues with different priorities. This time has certainly posed challenges to the community, and only the coming weeks will tell how the student body handles these obstacles.