Ryerson University issued the following announcement on Dec. 1.

On an October day, two first-year students choose to take their online class while they sit in the sun in front of Pitman Hall residence. All photos by Kiana Hayeri.

When the university moved to essential services status last March in response to the pandemic, every faculty and department began to adjust to the new reality. The university has restricted the number of people on campus, asking people to come to campus only for essential purposes. Still, some necessary services opened in August and September under strict protocols.

On Aug. 10, after the city moved to Stage 3, the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) was ready to open. The team had put together a 130-page reopening plan and a 36-page risk assessment report. The plan was so thorough that other universities and colleges travelled to the facility and consulted with Athletics and Recreation on how to prepare their facilities for potential openings, said Chris Nadavallil, manager of facilities, operations and risk management for Athletics and Recreation.

To continue offering access to programming, Athletics and Recreation has set up Move Everywhere: Online, group fitness and club sports via Zoom.

A student wearing a mask sits on a bench in the exercise room with an exercise band, while two other students work out in the background.

Ryerson Fitness Facility was open at a limited capacity after extensive planning and implementing safety measures.

When provincial health guidelines allow the facility to open (it is currently closed), gym equipment is spaced six to eight feet apart. Members book a 90- or 70-minute session to work out and numbers per session are based on provincial requirements. After each session, the gym is disinfected with multiple electrostatic sprayers. There were no group fitness programs onsite and the change rooms were closed.

“Our students that come in are so grateful to have this,” said Nadavallil in September when the facility was open. “As a mental, emotional, physical and spiritual release for them, they have a place to come and do this. And they know it’s a safe place where people care about their well-being and safety, maintaining our protocols and making sure our environment is tip top all the time.”

A student wearing a mask sits at a desk in the SLC, facing the camera.

A student studies in Ryerson’s Student Learning Centre. Students and researchers were able to book time in the Library and the Student Learning Centre for study and research space.

A woman stands in the gallery in front of large artwork on two walls

The Ryerson Image Centre was open for several weeks in the fall. A visitor, the first one and perhaps the last one for the October day, walks through the exhibition at Ryerson gallery, on the first floor of the Image Arts building.

A young woman in a Ryerson sweatshirt sits at the desk with a sign beside her that says Welcome to the DCC

Receptionist at the entrance of one of the three student residences. The capacity of three on-campus residences is 1,100; now there are less than 350 students, mostly first-year, residing on campus. Safety measures include a no-guest policy, a mandatory face-mask policy, closed common areas, increased cleaning protocols and hand-sanitizer stations.

A woman wearing a mask stands at the cafeteria servery. Empty tables are marked with yellow tape. One person stands in the background.

No dine-in is allowed inside Pitman Hall cafeteria but around lunch time, students show up with their green to-go containers in hand to pick up lunch and take it back to their rooms or outside.

Two students in masks stand and adjust a lighting umbrella in front of an orange backdrop in a photo studio.

Photography students practise strobe lighting in a School of Image Arts photo studio at Ryerson. The majority of Ryerson’s classes are online, however, a few were offered in-person during the fall term. For example, Image Arts had specialized sessions such as this first-year Image Arts studio class, with students coming to the Image Arts building for a six-hour class once a month.

Two women and a man wearing masks stand in a research lab.

Jessica Phulchand, Malek El-Aooiti and Veronica Bishop are graduate students, conducting their research inside the lab of the Food and Soft Materials Research Group at the Centre for Urban Innovation. A number of research labs on campus are open, after detailed planning for how each space would adhere to public health directives. Elements of the plans include physical distancing provisions and enhanced cleaning. Building systems, facilities and services continue to support essential research activities.

Original source: https://www.ryerson.ca/news-events/news/2020/12/a-day-in-the-life-of-campus-during-the-pandemic/