Binghamton University students returning to campus, begin classes Tuesday

VESTAL, N.Y. — After spending the weekend moving in, classes for all of Binghamton University’s 18,600 students are set to begin Tuesday.

About 3,000 first-year students, 1,000 transfer students and 1,600 new graduate students are expected to join the SUNY school this year, Binghamton University said.

Nearly 48,000 students applied to Binghamton for this academic year, including 39,535 first-year, 3,887 transfer, and more than 4,450 graduate-student applications for fall 2021 admission.

“We are excited to start the semester and thrilled that as of Aug. 16, close to 90% of currently enrolled students have either provided proof of vaccination or have been granted an exemption for medical or religious reasons,” Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger said in a release. “We have been able to keep our COVID-19 cases low, with only one positive case all summer.”

Given the rising concerns about the delta variant, all persons on campus — regardless of their vaccination status — are required to wear a mask when indoors, Binghamton University said. This includes classrooms, hallways, libraries, common spaces and offices, as well as buses and shuttles.

Masks will not be required inside personal residence-hall rooms or personal-office spaces, while eating in on-campus dining areas, or in non-public-facing personal workstations.

The university will “continue to monitor the data and revisit the mask requirement as appropriate,” per its release.

Binghamton will continue to offer in-person classes, has no plans to revert to remote learning, and continues to “strongly encourage” vaccinations for all members of the campus community. Vaccinated students are required to upload their proof of vaccination to the student health portal. Vaccinated employees have also been asked to provide proof of vaccination to human resources.