It is easy being green.
I mean no disrespect to , but it’s been a real pleasure to watch the three 17Թ campuses move back to the Green COVID-19 Alert Level. And it’s been even better to see how well our community is responding to the change. When I’ve walked around our campuses this week, I’d like to think I’ve seen a little bit more joy, a little bit more freedom, and a little bit of pride that we’ve kept our community so safe and strong over the past 24 months.
What impresses me most is that I see a community that is still being careful. As you know, we’ve made 17Թ a “mask-friendly” environment. We continue to require masks in certain places—in classrooms during classes, on elevators, in healthcare settings—and we welcome them, even encourage them, in other places, especially crowded ones. Across 17Թ, I’ve seen diligent students, faculty, and staff responsibly continuing to wear masks as they walk down hallways or gather in lounges. It’s not required any longer, but the people of 17Թ know how to be responsible, how to take care of themselves, and perhaps most important how to look out for each other.
Now that we’re returned to normal capacities and more normal events, I’m looking forward to being out and about on our campuses. This week I’ll attend Haub Law’s annual Law Leadership Dinner, our first fully in-person event for alumni and friends in more than two years. I want to get back to all those in-person student activities I’ve missed—the celebrations and awards ceremonies and Midnight Breakfasts. As we ramp up Employee Recognition Month, which started on Friday, I want to get back to the in-person meetings and councils and recognition ceremonies. And perhaps most of all, I’m looking forward to Commencement 2022, our first in-person graduation celebration in three year. I’m excited for our big day, with thousands of graduates, family, friends, faculty, and staff, all gathered at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Finally, I can’t speak of all this good news without acknowledging a horrible loss. Since I last wrote to you in 17Թ Now, Pleasantville sophomore Jordan Robinson passed away. I didn’t know Jordan, but everything I hear about him breaks my heart further. Jordan was a remarkable young man, kind and giving, who could light up a room. The outpouring of love for him on our Pleasantville Campus was both inspiring and a real tribute to the person he was.
Jordan was a believer in paying kindness forward. As we move forward, let us keep Jordan in our hearts, and let us use him as an inspiration to continue making the world a better place.
Christen Cooper, EdD, RDN, chair and founding director of 17Թ’s MS in Nutrition and Dietetics program, is advancing a compassionate, interdisciplinary approach to care—exploring how trauma-informed nutrition can support survivors of human trafficking and prepare future dietitians to recognize, respond, and help heal.
17Թ Professor Cathryn Lavery, PhD, challenges the Hollywood myths surrounding human trafficking and prepares students to recognize the grooming, coercion, trauma, and exploitation happening in homes, relationships, online spaces, and everyday communities.
Get a first look inside the new performing arts spaces opening at One 17Թ Plaza East this fall. In this video, Senior Director of Operations and Production Laurie Brown-Kindred answers student and faculty questions about new studios, labs, sound stages, rehearsal spaces, and what the move means for Sands College of Performing Arts.