Governor Cuomo announces plans to activate and deploy New York National Guard members

Order may affect military-affiliated students in our campus community

SUNY System Administration has alerted campus officials that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo will go forward with plans to activate and deploy ​members of the New York National Guard to assist with this year’s Presidential Inauguration.

The deployment of up to 1,000 New York State Guardsmen may affect military-affiliated students at SUNY New Paltz ahead of the spring 2021 semester. The Office of Veteran & Military Services (OVMS) has already received notification from one of our National Guard students who ​was activated this past weekend.

We refer faculty and staff to the College’s Military Leave of Absence Policy, which provides guidance on accommodations you may consider ​if you have a student who is activated.

We ask faculty and staff to be mindful of the following details about this deployment and our Leave of Absence Policy:

Students who are activated may not have adequate access to technology or downtime to access their coursework while activated.

The Governor’s order indicates this activation could last as long as two weeks.

Exact date of activation is unknown at this time; we ask that faculty please be patient and flexible.

The Office of Veteran & Military Services is available as a resource for any questions, concerns, or unique situations in your classroom regarding this ​matter. Please feel free to contact the office at np-vms@newpaltz.edu.

OVMS is working with military-affiliated students to learn who may be activated, and will assist these students with outreach to faculty as we progress.

We thank all members of our community in advance for your understanding and flexibility in working with our students at this time.

Sincerely,

Jeffery Gant, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Jason F. Gilliland, Director for Office of Veteran & Military Services