The arrival of students on college campuses across the nation is reinvigorating the coronavirus pandemic – and reigniting the ongoing debate over how it should best be handled. At the forefront of this debate? Videos of raucous fraternity and sorority parties on college campuses that officials are blaming for the spread of the virus.
“The coronavirus is already spreading through colleges and universities at a frightening pace – and some of the biggest clusters have been at sororities, fraternities and off-campus parties,” noted reporters Amelia Nierenberg and Adam Pasick for The New York Times.
Nierenberg and Pasick cited outbreaks at multiple schools, including one at the University of North Carolina which caused the institution to cancel classes and move to “remote instruction” for the duration of the fall semester.
“We loved having you on campus, but it became clear that we needed to modify our operations to keep you, faculty, staff and the local community safe from the spread of COVID-19,” a recent message from school chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz noted. “The health and safety of our campus and community have been and will remain our top priority.”
Meanwhile, students at the University of South Carolina are continuing to “party like it’s 2019” despite the virus.
Take a look …
(Via: Provided)
According to our sources, this party was held in the Washington Park region of Columbia, S.C. – near Williams-Brice Stadium.
To be clear: We aren’t trying to be killjoys. We like parties. We like cold beverages. And we love 50 Cent (the rapper whose lyrics the party-goers are singing in the video clip posted above).
We totally get that kids will be kids. Expecting college students not to drink alcohol to excess and engage in potentially rash behavior is … well … not reasonable.
More substantively, this news outlet has consistently argued (and data has consistently shown) that if you are young or middle-aged and in relatively good shape – the coronavirus isn’t targeting you.
According to our sources, this “huge reckless party” was held even though incoming University students were supposed to be participating in the #IPledgeColumbia campaign and promoting “student awareness and social responsibility” amid the pandemic.
Incoming students were invited to sign a pledge in which they committed to join “the fight against COVID-19” and commit to “responsible actions and … being an accountable member of both the Gamecock and Columbia community.”
The pledge was not mandatory, however. Clearly.
Again, we believe this sort of spread was inevitable. Just as it is inevitable that an exceedingly small percentage of college students who test positive for the virus will wind up being hospitalized as a result of it – and a few of them might even die.
Which is tragic …
What other option is there, though?
-FITSNews
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