Back To School But At What Price? Colleges Grapple With Partying Students As Classes Reopen

Colleges across the U.S. are reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, but many students are not making it easy to promote safety as they continue their partying ways and violate face mask orders.

One college, the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, saw its students attend a large off-campus party at a housing apartment complex on Saturday, where crowds of partiers were caught on video dancing and drinking without wearing face mask.

Sylvia Carson, the university’s executive director of communications, told CNN in an email: "We are disappointed that many of our students chose to ignore COVID-19 public health guidance by congregating in a large group without social distancing or face coverings.

“The University of North Georgia continues to emphasize to our students and university community that everyone has an individual responsibility both on and off-campus to follow guidance from the Georgia Department of Public Health and the CDC to prevent the spread of the virus."

Georgia does not have a face mask mandate in place, but the University of North Georgia does require face masks in university buildings and facilities. Georgia has over 237,000 positive cases of the coronavirus and over 4,700 COVID-19 deaths, Johns Hopkins University reported.

Georgia is not the only state that is seeing students gather in masses as the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Walter Maddox, pleaded with students from the University of Alabama in a Twitter post after crowds of students without face masks were captured in a photo.

Maddox said in his tweet, “Why? We are desperately trying to protect @tuscaloosacity.”

Maddox’s comments come as the state looks to have a college football season. Alabama does have a face mask policy and has reported over 108,000 positive coronavirus cases with over 1,800 COVID-19 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

Cluster cases of the coronavirus are also spreading to universities across the country as students return to classes.

The University of North Carolina has had several outbreaks with the most recent being at the Sigma Nu fraternity, the university said. The university has also identified cluster cases at the Hinton James residence hall, Ehringhaus Community residence hall, and Granville Towers private apartment complex, according to its website.

In a statement, the university said, “The individuals in this cluster have been identified and are isolating and receiving medical monitoring. All residents in the living spaces have been provided with information and next steps.”

North Carolina does have a face mask mandate. The state has seen over 144,900 positive cases of the coronavirus, with over 2,300 COVID-19 deaths.

Also seeing a cluster outbreak was Oklahoma State University, where 23 members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority house tested positive for COVID-19, The Oklahoman reported.

Oklahoma State University spokeswoman Monica Roberts told the news outlet, "This was expected. When you bring back 20,000 students, there will invariably be more cases related to campus. We've prepared for this for five months and have protocols in place to manage the situation."

Oklahoma does not have a face mask order, but select cities in the state do require them in public. The city of Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Oklahoma State University is located, does require face masks. Oklahoma has over 48,000 positive cases of the coronavirus, with over 661 COVID-19 deaths, according to the state’s health department.