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NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2021 · VOL. CXLIII, NO. 16 · yaledailynews.com
Yale extends test-optional policy for 2021-2022 admissions cycle wish, but maintains that students who choose not to submit scores will not be disadvantaged. “The staff at the admissions office understands that students have many priorities associated with the consequences of the pandemic; completing standardized tests should not be among them,” the announcement read. Director of Undergraduate Admissions Margit Dahl told the News that the pandemic has continued to limit testing dates and sites. Because current high school juniors applying in next year’s admissions cycle have fewer opportunities to take standardized tests, Dahl said it did not seem reasonable to require them to submit scores. Yale first implemented a test-optional policy for applicants to the
BY AMELIA DAVIDSON STAFF REPORTER Yale announced on Thursday that it will continue to be test optional for the 2021-2022 admissions cycle due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With Thursday’s announcement, Yale joined a growing group of colleges and universities — including all other Ivy League Schools — in extending test-optional policies for applicants to the class of 2026 and 2021-2022 transfer applicants. In an official announcement posted to the Yale Admissions website, Yale cited the “extraordinary circumstances” of this year as reason to extend the policy. Yale will allow students to submit SAT or ACT scores if they
class of 2025 last June, as SAT and ACT testing dates were cancelled or delayed in the first few months of the pandemic. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan told the News that the test-optional policy did not create “significant disruptions” to the admissions process this year, allowing the office to be more comfortable with a one-year extension of the policy. “Our thoughtful whole-person review process allows us to consider many factors when considering applicants, and test scores are never determinative,” Quinlan wrote in an email to the News on Friday. “We have responded to the many disruptions caused by the panSEE TEST-OPTIONAL PAGE 4
New COVID-19 test result type the Broad Institute in Massachusetts, Yale's primary COVID-19 testing partner, and comes as the world faces the imminent threat of COVID-19 variants. The new inconclusive result type — which neither confirms nor denies the presence of the coronavirus in the sample — is meant to be followed up with another test to confirm whether or not the person has an active infection. "Late last month, the Broad testing center upgraded our high-
BY MARIA FERNANDA PACHECO STAFF REPORTER In an email sent to the Yale community on Tuesday, Yale Health Chief Quality Officer Madeline Wilson announced that there will now be three main results for COVID-19 tests administered through Yale Health: positive, negative and "inconclusive." The announcement follows recent developments in testing at
REGINA SUNG/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Students who test inconclusive will temporarily move to isolation housing in Bingham Hall.
Judge denies Yale’s motion in Fontes case
HEDY TUNG/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A judge has ruled against the University’s motion to dismiss a case that six plaintiffs have brought against it. BY ROSE HOROWITCH AND BEATRIZ HORTA STAFF REPORTERS A Connecticut judge has ruled against Yale’s motion to dismiss allegations that the University and Yale New Haven Hospital inadequately responded to harassment allegations that six women lev-
eled against Yale School of Medicine anesthesiology professor Manuel Fontes. On Feb. 9, Connecticut federal Judge Janet Arterton rejected most of the University’s motion to dismiss the charges against it and SEE HARASSMENT PAGE 5
scale testing to double our capacity and increase the robustness of our assay," David Cameron, director of communications and media relations at the Broad Institute, wrote in an email to the News. "After two weeks’ worth of data from the upgrade, working with the MA Department of Public Health, we adjusted the interpretation thresholds that we use to call a test ‘positive.'" Prior to this change, alerts that could have appeared on someone's MyChart account included “test not performed” — for samples that "could not be processed for technical reasons, most often because too much mucus was on the swab" — and “invalid” for samples where no genetic material was detected, often due to improper swabbing. Moving forward, those who receive an inconclusive result will be treated as if they were positive for COVID-19 until a negative result negates that possibility. Students who test inconclusive will be contacted by Yale's testing team so that they can temporarily relocate to isolation housing at Bingham Hall on Old Campus while they wait for follow-up test results. Faculty and staff who SEE COVID PAGE 4
Three found dead in New Haven on Monday BY RAZEL SUANSING STAFF REPORTER The New Haven Police Department is investigating three deaths that were first reported on Monday. Two men were found dead in a storage space on College St, and a third person was found dead near East Rock Park. NHPD officers responded to a 911 call at approximately 12:03 p.m. on College Street and Crown Street downtown. There, in a stor-
age space in the back alley behind Jack's Bar and Steakhouse, they found two unresponsive men in their mid to late 50s. The two men were confirmed dead on arrival. A third victim was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, where police say the person is expected to make a full recovery. NHPD has reported that they are investigating the incident as a case of drug abuse and overdose. NHPD Assistant Chief SEE BODIES PAGE 4
ADRIAN KULESZA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The New Haven Police Department investigates two incidents that happened Monday.
NHPS middle schools to reopen BY ALVARO PERPULY AND CHRISTIAN ROBLES STAFF REPORTERS Ellorem volor minihil iquideliAfter allowing most New Haven Public Schools elementary school students to return to school for in-person learning on Jan. 19, district officials announced on Tuesday that middle school students will also have the opportunity to return to campus beginning March 4. On Tuesday, NHPS parents and Board of Education members received an email from Superintendent Iline Tracey that middle school students will have the option to enroll in an in-person, hybrid or remote form beginning on March 4. In an email to the News, Tracey wrote that the district’s decision comes after conversations with teacher and faculty unions. Tracey added that the district will consider reopening high schools in the near future, though she did not offer a timetable. Following the announcement, some community mem-
CROSS CAMPUS
INSIDE THE NEWS
THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY, 1981.
CHILDCARE
An unidentified man falls to the bottom of a laundry chute in Payne Whitney Gymnasium. The man — estimated to have fallen seven stories — is taken to Yale New Haven Hospital.
YALE DAILY NEWS
Quinlan confirmed that Undergraduate Admissions would remain test-optional next year but would not make decision on testing status past that point.
For many Yale employees, arranging for childcare during the pandemic has proven difficult — and can have lasting effects on workplace gender inequity. Page 3 UNIVERSITY
MASKS
bers praised the district’s continued commitment to reopening schools, while others have called on the district to keep schools closed, as case rates fall into the CDC’s classification of “high transmission levels.” “It's always been our plan to do a phased-in return to in-person instruction,” Board of Education President Yesenia Rivera wrote to the News. “Bringing back the
remainder of the students in the K-8 schools — which were prepared prior to the return of the PK-5 students — makes sense.” NHPS parent Zeidy Cruz expressed support for the middle school reopening, telling the News that like other NHPS students, both of her children have struggled to adapt to virtual SEE REOPEN PAGE 5
DANIEL ZHAO/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
The district plans to reopen middle schools early next month, over a month after its elementary school students returned to classrooms.
A School of the Environment study found people are more likely to leave their residences in areas where mask mandates are implemented. Page 7 SCITECH
FILM
On Feb. 19, The Council on African Studies will host its third annual Yale Africa Film Festival, which will showcase films from the African continent and its diaspora. Page 8 ARTS
ATHLETE
The Ivy League announced the cancellation of athletic competition this spring but left open the possibility of local nonconference competition. Page 14 SPORTS
