An Inside Look at Marist's Off-Campus Isolation Spaces

Conklin Hall (shown above) is one of two quarantine and isolation spaces. Photo taken from a video shot by Natalie Ford ‘21

It’s no secret that Marist College has struggled with COVID-19 during the spring semester. After doing a decent job in limiting campus cases in the fall semester, the school saw its COVID-19 dashboard spike up, but this week, it steadily returned to less than 100 active cases. Students that test positive have two options: go home or stay at isolation sites near the Marist campus.

There are two places where students quarantine and isolate: Conklin Hall, a dormitory at Dutchess Community College, and Talmadge Court, apartment-style buildings owned by the college that sit a few blocks away from Marist’s campus.

Once students with positive tests alert the school of their situation, they have a limited amount of time to gather their belongings before making the walk to the white vans that shuttle them to their destination. Once you reach either Conklin or Talmadge, you are mostly on your own.

“They didn’t give you anything when you got there,” Leigh-Anne Zanella ‘23, a member of the swim team who was recently isolated in Conklin, said. “All you got were some paper towels, hand sanitizer and a thin sheet for the bed.”

Once Zanella settled into her Conklin living space, she noticed that no one really checked in on her and her roommates. “The rules were not clear about seeing others, going outside and getting food delivered. We hung out with some friends that were also positive, but we didn’t know what areas of the building were designated for different purposes.”

Students told the Circle about parties where COVID-19 positive students gather in rooms. Conklin also houses a small number of Marist students who are not in quarantine or isolation. 

While Zanella’s circumstances and surroundings were less than ideal, she kept the best attitude that she could during her stay at Conklin, which at least functioned like a dorm.

“It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated,” Zanella said. “People made a big deal of it and said a lot of bad things, but the rooms were nice and spacious—at one point, I was in a six-person suite with two other people—and they do feed you.”

On the other hand, there is Talmadge Court, where Chris Mobeck ‘23 spent his isolation. Mobeck, a sophomore who is a resident assistant at Sheahan Hall, went to Talmadge after developing symptoms and testing positive. He lived in close quarters with three relative strangers.

“The first things I felt were the fever and the headache,” Mobeck said. “Then, my skin started feeling sensitive to the touch. At one point, it kind of felt like my muscles were all tearing. It’s funny because I’m the one showing the least amount of symptoms.”

Unlike Conklin, Talmadge is modeled after an apartment, which means there is not much room for the inhabitants to spread out.

“There’s one bathroom, two bedrooms, and four people.” Mobeck said. “There isn’t that much privacy if you want to try to get work done or talk on the phone. I’m with nice people, but you have to be focused on what you’re doing because the environment is not conducive to getting work done.”

The food situation is similar to Conklin, with students ordering meals through GrubHub. Mobeck is from California and needed to quarantine at Conklin ahead of the fall and spring semesters. A rare person with experience in both buildings, he certainly knows where he would rather isolate.

“(Talmadge) is bad compared to Conklin,” he said. “Conklin is new, it has better rooms, more space and you can easily isolate.”

The Talmadge units are older buildings that are only meant to house two students, one in each bedroom. With the rooms doubled up, Mobeck estimated that there was always someone within 20 feet of him.

“It’s like throwing three or four dogs in a cage,” Mobeck said.

“It would be nice if they just gave us some basic amenities,” Zanella concluded. “There’s nothing to keep you entertained there.”