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As more and more people get vaccinated, life is slowly going back to normal. For Syracuse University students, that means returning to a completely in-person semester. 

Chancellor Kent Syverud confirmed in a March 22 email that SU plans to bring all students back on campus for the fall 2021 semester. Further on in the email, Syverud asks students to “remain vigilant” and says that SU’s COVID-19 case numbers are manageable and relatively low when compared to other universities.

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo released updated requirements for shutting down college campuses, the required number for SU to transition to remote learning changed from 100 positive cases in a set two-week period to 880 over a rolling 14-day period.

While this change signals an incremental improvement in containing COVID-19 in New York state, it also gives students an opportunity to show whether they are responsible enough to take part in a full in-person semester. They have not failed to disappoint.

Following the SU men’s basketball team upset over West Virginia University in the NCAA Tournament, crowds of students gathered outside Castle Court to celebrate the win, and many were not wearing masks. The students at Castle Court seemed to forget that social distancing guidelines and restrictions on gatherings are in place for a virus that has already killed over 550,000 people in the U.S.

The Department of Public Security and Syracuse Police Department were called to disperse the crowd, but they were ineffective in handling the situation. After DPS left the scene, there still remained a sizable crowd.

A video of the gathering, which has been viewed over 80,000 times, was posted to @barstoolcuse Instagram page. While some students celebrated the win in the comments and reminisced about pre-pandemic times, others were angered by the students’ clear disregard for public safety.

It’s very disappointing to see events such as the Castle Court party, said Rachel Finkle, an SU student and central New York native.

“I’ve seen how this pandemic has hurt this area. Syracuse is already an economically vulnerable city, so affluent students who take the privilege of attending this university for granted, coming here and putting the surrounding community at risk just to have fun is really upsetting,” Finkle said.

As of Tuesday, there are currently 104 active COVID-19 within central New York and 257 students in quarantine. While both numbers aren’t close to the 880 cases that would cause a shutdown, it still goes to show that students are clearly not ready for fully in-person learning.

The size of the gathering at Castle Court was similar to that of the gathering early last semester on the Quad. But this time around, instead of receiving a direct email regarding the incident, a vague and oddly calm email was sent to students almost a week later.

The email was titled “Don’t Let March Madness Derail the Spring Semester!” and it mostly reiterated the importance of staying safe and wearing a mask. There was no mention of the event nor what kind of punishment students who were at the gathering specifically received. Rather, students were kindly told to “watch the game with your roommates or social bubble and order some pizza!”

It’s hard to predict where we will be at when classes start next year. States and countries are slowly defeating COVID-19, as some places have vaccinated more than 10% of their population. 

But even if students are able to get vaccinated, that doesn’t mean that life should go back to normal. Especially after students on campus have proven time and again that they are unable to abide by the Stay Safe Pledge and other public health guidelines.

“We can barely keep it together under all these restrictions and this hybrid style. Fully in-person is going to just further invite ignoring policies,” said Jake Waldron, a resident adviser in Flint Hall. 

For an in-person semester to take place, all students have to commit to keeping themselves and one another safe. Being selfish and ignorant will not only hurt other students but also the surrounding Syracuse area.

Isaac Ryu is a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at [email protected].

Published on March 30, 2021 at 10:19 pm