And again, I’m not being naive, but that really carries a lot of weight.”Īrielle T. “There’s a strong social network and strong peer pressure to behave accordingly. “But there is a lot of self-policing that goes on within our neighborhood,” he added. “Does that mean that there’s going to be absolutely no violations, we’re going to have 100 percent compliance? No, we don’t have that now,” said West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis, who believes the promise is a way to successfully repopulate the college town. Purdue has its pledge, and so does Virginia Tech, which includes a behavior agreement as part of their housing contract. Forty percent of institutions surveyed by EAB, an education consulting firm, reported that they were planning to ask their students to sign a pledge or agreement to uphold physical distancing when they arrive on campus. Local politicians are left without many options, and putting their faith in pledges, like the one at Purdue. UGA is limiting gatherings, but will allow some, like fraternity and sorority rush activities, to go on virtually. Since the infamous spring breakers case, UT Austin banned parties altogether, for example. Now, colleges and universities say they’ve got the partying issue figured out. The agency said during its investigation of the outbreak 211 students went to Cabo San Lucas, 49 students on the trip tested positive for the coronavirus, and 298 people were identified as having come in contact with people who had tested positive. UNC’s first day of classes was Monday.Īnd at the height of the pandemic, a group of University of Texas at Austin students partied in Mexico during spring break and ended up spreading the virus to 64 people, according to a CDC report from June. In one of the first weeks students were back on campus, 13 UNC students tested positive for Covid-19, according to UNC’s dashboard of cases on campus. Students at UNC have not been cooperative with the communicable disease investigation and control measures, Stewart said. If getting students to abide by public health and safety rules when it comes to partying is difficult, getting them to abide by strict social distancing guidelines could prove to be an impossible challenge. That means students could spread the virus off campus and all the way back to their hometowns.Ĭolleges and universities have long struggled to wrap their arms around the party culture off campus that has resulted in deaths from binge drinking, Greek life hazing and more. But, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has said college shared living spaces, including dorms, are like nursing or assisted living homes and could have a similar pattern of person-to-person transmission of the virus. “If students begin to move back on campus next week, we could quickly become a hot spot for new cases as thousands of students from all across the country world merge onto the UNC campus and begin to interact in a manner very normal for college students,” Orange County’s Health Director Quintana Stewart said last month.Įarly data suggests young, healthy college-aged people can become infected by the virus but are likely to have mild or no symptoms. In West Lafayette, Ind., home of Purdue University, the mayor is banking on the “ Protect Purdue pledge” that pushes masks and hand washing to keep students and his city safe. In Athens, Ga., the mayor is warning that University of Georgia students could put his residents in danger if the city can’t enforce mask mandates and a 10 p.m. In Chapel Hill, N.C., the county health director wants classes at the University of North Carolina to be fully online for the first five weeks of the semester. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Subscribe on Google PodcastsĪcross the country, it’s move-in season for colleges, and while universities are desperately trying to save their academic year and preserve the finances of struggling schools, local officials are bracing for a virus explosion among young people who live in tight quarters, don’t follow social distancing rules and often behave as though they are young and invincible.
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