The Mandela Room is once again open for student use, after being closed to accommodate COVID-19 surveillance testing.

On Oct. 2, the Mandela Room reopened for event reservations, a change announced at a Student Association (SA) Congress meeting four days prior. Surveillance testing has now been consolidated into Old Union Hall, instead of being conducted in both rooms.

The initial closure of the Mandela Room was announced in a Sept. 7 B-Line, with Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger citing concerns over University testing capacity and a desire to return to the capacity of last spring — during which the Mandela Room was also used for testing. The decision was met with some concern from student groups, as the room is often used by clubs and organizations to host events.

According to Sakib Choudhury, SA executive vice president and a senior majoring in computer engineering, the reopening of the Mandela Room was a group effort.

“We as an E-Board of the SA expressed to administration our concerns over the closing of this room and how it will affect our organizations negatively,” Choudhury wrote in an email. “Together we discussed possible solutions that would maintain the same rate of COVID-19 testing while still accommodating for SA [organizations] that wished to hold events in the Mandela Room.”

David Hatami, SA president and a senior double-majoring in political science and business administration, credited student concern and SA advocacy — particularly Choudhury’s — for the reopening of the room, a decision he described as crucial for student groups.

“I’m glad to see that our efforts in advocacy have been able to materialize into real, tangible improvements for student groups,” Hatami wrote in an email. “It is these kinds of scenarios that [keep] us as student leaders optimistic regarding the ability for administration and the student body to work together for the benefit of the community as a whole.”

A day prior to the announcement of the Mandela Room’s closure, the University reported a COVID-19 14-day rolling average percent positive of 3.11 percent. That number has since dropped to 1.22 percent, as of the Sept. 28 SA Congress meeting. As of Oct. 10, the rolling average 14-day positivity rate has dropped again to 0.57 percent.

Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations at BU, cited the drop in COVID-19 cases as a motivating factor behind the decision.

“Once the demand dropped, we were able to work with the University Testing Center to consolidate all testing operations in Old Union Hall,” Yarosh wrote in an email. “We are happy to bring the Mandela Room back online and available to students, faculty and staff.”

Though Choudhury and Hatami stated that another spike in COVID-19 cases may lead to changes, Hatami expressed an interest in making sure such changes are made properly.

“At this point in time, I wouldn’t rule out anything,” Hatami wrote. “COVID-19 remains a dangerous, unpredictable force worldwide. Our job is to continue working with the University to ensure that the obstacles brought about by the pandemic are as [manageable] as possible for you, me and everyone in between.”