ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The start of college has completely changed for students, and many area colleges are cracking down on large gatherings and social events.
Social events on college campuses in our area are mostly being held outdoors, with limited capacity, mandatory masks and social distancing strongly enforced. Students caught breaking these rules could face disciplinary actions in an effort to decrease the potential spread of infection.
For first year students at Nazareth College like Andrew Wicklum, the parties and orientation events he expected when going to college will be completely different.
“Any kind of meeting or gathering social night, everything was outside on a big yard, everyone wore masks and social distancing was enforced by faculty and orientation leaders,” said Wicklum.
Students at Nazareth College can now face sanctions for behaviors both on and off campus that put the health of others at risk. That’s means no large gathering indoors- and no parties.
“What’s been really good the RA’s, the resident assistants on campus and all of the dorm buildings on all of the floors have been really strict in making sure visitors, there’s only one or two people in the room at a time,” said Wicklum.
SUNY Brockport is cracking down too, but have the added challenge of many students living off campus.
The Mayor of the village of Brockport sent a letter to students living there outlining their responsibilities. College leaders are working with police to crack down on parties, issuing tickets and even potential suspensions to students not in compliance.
“There comes some challenges with having a college age population living out in the community, and we know there will be a temptation as there always is to have off campus gatherings,” said John Follaco, Director of Communications at SUNY Brockport.
“We’re trying to educate students first and foremost, we are an institute of higher education but if some students decide to test the limits we’re prepared to respond,” said Follaco.
The Colleges are doing this in an attempt to prevent any spike in infections and have posted these as well as other safety plans on their website.