NYU students can now bring outside guests into residence halls and other campus spaces — a reversal of a policy that has been in place since fall 2020. Students, faculty and staff can also bring visitors into NYU buildings and events, as long as they are pre-approved and comply with NYU’s vaccination requirements.

Steinhardt first-year Maria Victoria Palhiero said she spent a lot of time setting up the side of her room in Founders Hall and is glad that her dad can finally see it. She said that he arrived late during her move-in day, so he was unable to help her move in due to the two-hour time slot for guests.

“He came to Founders with me and saw the inside from the outside and took photos, but he couldn’t get in,” Palhiero said. “I’m excited to show him my side of the room because it took a long time, so I’m really proud of it.”

For each on-campus guest, an NYU student or faculty member must submit an Access Request Form through VEOCI, an online service that manages visitor requests. Guests are also required to upload proof of vaccination to the system at least five days before arriving, or bring it to a designated vaccination check station upon arrival. Vaccination check stations are located at the Gould Welcome Center, the lobby of 2 MetroTech Center and the NYU College of Dentistry, and are open from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Sponsors can bring up to three guests at a time in residence halls during regular hours —  from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weeknights and from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends. After completing the visitor requirements, guests who have filled out the request form must present a Violet Go pass, a verification of an individual’s vaccination compliance, upon arrival. Those who do not upload proof in advance must instead present a government-issued photo ID and a receipt, which will be handed to them after they check in at one of the designated sites.

In past semesters, students have found ways to avoid NYU’s required health precautions — notably the Daily Screener, which Violet Go has since replaced. CAS senior Tina Panda believes a similar situation may arise with the new visitor policy. She also said that she is excited that policies have changed, but she thinks that visitors who are unable to visit a vaccination check station during open hours might become frustrated with the policy’s restrictions.

“It can be overridden in a lot of cases like the Violet Go pass and the Daily Screener have been traditionally,” Panda said. “Because there is a five day policy, a lot of students who might want to invite guests overnight might not be able to use that. They’re going to have to plan in advance.”

[Read more: Skirting the Screener: How students fake NYU’s COVID pass]

Panda added that the new visitor policy has the potential to create conflicts between roommates — an issue that she would be responsible for as an RA. Steinhardt sophomore Tali Dardashtian, however, said she does not expect that the policy will create any issues. She said that she is looking forward to spending more time with friends who do not attend NYU.

“I know that I want people to come into my dorm that aren’t at NYU because it is a city campus, so I have friends who are at other schools,” Dardashtian said. “If other colleges can do it, then we should be able to do it too.”

Contact Adrianna Nehme at [email protected].