Syracuse, N.Y. -- Videos and photos posted to social media on Wednesday night show a large number of Syracuse students gathering on the school quad, seemingly in violation of school policies made to limit the spread of coronavirus.
The videos and pictures were first reported by the school newspaper, The Daily Orange, which estimated that more than 100 students were gathered on the quad. The students do not appear to be wearing masks or physical distancing, which violates school policies put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. The school’s Stay Safe Pledge also asks students to limit gatherings to 25 people. It’s unclear how long the students gathered before disbursing.
Syracuse University did not provide an immediate comment on the gathering.
The videos come the same week that videos of college parties at other campuses have gone viral on social media and the University of North Carolina campus was shut down due to substantial coronavirus spread among students in the first week it was open. Notre Dame moved classes online for two weeks because of a spike on its campus shortly after opening, while schools like Ithaca abandoned their attempts at an in-person experience before they were set to begin.
Syracuse is re-populating its campus this week. Most freshmen and new transfers spent Monday through Wednesday moving into residence halls, while returning students living on campus are scheduled to move in over the next three days.
The gathering highlights the substantial challenges that colleges have in trying to reign in traditional student behavior during the pandemic.
Syracuse has a reputation as a party school and a number of students told Syracuse.com in late July that while they planned to be a little more cautious they didn’t expect their peers to tone down their partying this semester despite school rules against it.
The fact that the gatherings occurred on campus, near the school’s public safety building, where the school has placed tents to encourage safer outdoor gatherings and classes, highlights the challenge for any college trying to operate safely in a pandemic. The gathering was outside, which is better than if it occurred in an indoor space.
While the gathering occurred on campus, the biggest challenge for the school likely remains trying to shift behavior in students living in off-campus housing, where the school has less oversight than on its quad and residence halls. When asked about oversight in surrounding neighborhoods during the last week of July, the school said it was still trying to determine its approach for controlling those spaces.
Syracuse’s reopening is different from schools that have seen major outbreaks in that SU does have a more thorough coronavirus testing process in place and is bringing in a population of students from the Northeast that is less likely to have the virus.
The school is requiring all students to pass a coronavirus test before arriving on campus, shortly after arrival and again two weeks later. It’s unclear whether the students on the quad could have all received negative test results before gathering. Even if they had, tests are not guaranteed to catch every single case.
Syracuse has punished some students caught breaking rules early on severely, placing some that violated the school’s mandatory quarantine orders on interim suspension.
Local and national health experts have told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard over the past month that they believe attempting college is appropriate given the local conditions and the potential benefits to education, the economy and mental health. They’ve said that making the effort requires having a quality plan in place.
They also all noted that parties and large gatherings are the biggest threat to colleges operating on an in-person basis. The number of people present creates the possibility of a super-spreader event, the potential of overwhelming contact tracing efforts performed by the school and increases the odds of the virus moving into the local community.
Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1639
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