University Suspends 23 Students After Pandemic Party

The global coronavirus pandemic still rages, although not necessarily on a global scale.

A great many of the nations who dealt with the pandemic early on, such as China, South Korea, and much of Europe, have socially-distanced themselves back into some form of normalcy in recent weeks.

For the United States, South America, and other pockets of the Western Hemisphere, the virus still rages, due in no small part to the population density and the late arrival of COVID-19 in general.

And, of course, there is some arrogance to blame, particularly among young people who don’t seem to be taking the health risks very seriously.

That’s why the Syracuse University is taking bold action.

Twenty-three students faced punishment so far and officials were looking at surveillance footage to identify others who attended the Wednesday get-together in the quad that was a violation of the school’s coronavirus gathering and mask rules, the university said Thursday.

The meetup – the latest example of college students defying school guidance on the deadly virus – was met with a quick rebuke by a top university official.

“We have one shot to make this happen,” Vice Chancellor J. Michael Haynie wrote in a letter to students about the school’s effort to have in-person classes during the pandemic. “The world is watching, and they expect you to fail. Prove them wrong.”

While the punishment certainly seems harsh, there is precedent in 2020.

Purdue University in Indiana suspended 36 students last week for attending a party and Virginia Tech, St. Olaf College in Minnesota and Radford University in Virginia have all suspended students for issues related to the virus, including attending parties.

Until such a time as a proven treatment or COVID-19 vaccine arrives, (and not the bogus one that Russia is claiming to possess), our only weapon against the spread of coronavirus is social distancing – something that is particularly difficult for hormonally-ravaged young adults congregating in college towns around the nation.