The vibrant nightlife at Florida State University (FSU) has recently begun reversing the decline in the school’s COVID-19 cases. After limiting cases to 0.95 percent of the student body at the end of November, the university this week recorded a positivity rate of 1.29 percent.
According to the FSU tracker, 15 students and four employees have tested positive this week. While this is a substantial decrease from the 48 cases that were detected before Thanksgiving, the university website is on alert for more coronavirus-related developments.
FSU has had 1,814 total cases in its student population of 33,000 since the start of the pandemic. This long-standing battle with coronavirus might be partly caused by the party culture instilled within its students.
Posts on social media platforms such as Instagram show that local bars are still a popular spot for young party goers while they fail to observe safety protocols.
Potbelly’s and Public House Tallahassee are among the college crowd’s favorite local spots and are seen packed with people who are not wearing face masks. The Tenn Nightclub and Lounge also posted pictures of young patrons wearing FSU clothing but no face masks and not social distancing.
Among the posts that sparked public backlash is a now-deleted video posted by a supposed sorority sister from the university. The Instagram clip featured massive crowds attending recent social events such as concerts and parties without masks. Fox News reported that a college freshman from Coral Springs, Florida, commented on the video and said, “This is why I got COVID.”
When Students Violate COVID Protocols
Other colleges and universities have suspended students for attending unauthorized social gatherings and other violations of pandemic safety protocols.
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at the University of Kentucky was slapped with a cease and desist order by the fraternity’s national organization because of alleged “student code violations concerning COVID-19.”
Columbia University also levelled harsh sanctions for disobeying coronavirus safety protocols when it banned 70 students from reentering campus because they had gone on a trip to Turks and Caicos in defiance of its strict travel policy, put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19 infections.