Tulane University students who host parties or gatherings of more than 15 people will face suspension or expulsion, according to a recent announcement from Erica Woodley, the dean of students.
The announcement was in response to news of students hosting parties while not practicing social distancing or wearing face masks. Such gatherings have been referred to as “super spreader” events. In the notice to students, Woodley said students who attended such parties are “disrespectful, selfish and dangerous and not in line with Tulane values.”
“These events were disruptive to our neighbors and drew a lot of very negative attention to Tulane,” Woodley stated.
The New Orleans university currently offers an online reporting system where students can submit concerns about peers not practicing proper safety precautions.
A statewide mandatory mask order was put in place this month by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. On July 10, more than 2,600 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Louisiana — the second-highest daily increase since the outbreak began, a local CBS station reports. The spike in coronavirus cases has caused the state to postpone its Phase 2 reopening plans.
Rumors of college students attending super spreader events intensify concerns that colleges and universities may not be able to prevent the spread of COVID-19 once some campuses reopen next month. The Washington Post released the results of an investigation this week showing that many campus health centers are ill prepared to respond to the pandemic. The investigation found that college students often struggle to access health care on campus and that misdiagnoses are frequent.
At HBCUs the campus health center disparity is higher, with 12 percent of the roughly 80 HBCUs surveyed, not having campus clinics at all, according to the report.
Only 220 campus medical clinics nationwide are actually accredited by outside health organizations for meeting best practices, according to the Post.
