Penn State Suspends Fraternity, and Petition Circulates to Send Home Freshmen for 'Breaking Corona Rules'
Penn State's "Back to State" return process appears to be off to a rocky start, as the university suspended a fraternity for a social violation and a petition was started to send home freshmen for "breaking corona rules."
In response, Penn State President Eric Barron issued a statement Thursday asking students, "Do you want to be the person responsible for sending everyone home?"
Penn State announced Thursday that its Office of Student Conduct has placed the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity under interim suspension after the fraternity held an unauthorized gathering this week. According to a news release, the fraternity violated local and state government mandates, as well as university policy, against indoor gatherings.
Photos and video shared anonymously on social media showed "more than 15 individuals gathered indoors not wearing face coverings or participating in social distancing," the release said.
"Across the country, other schools and communities are struggling with their return to in-person experiences, and social gatherings are the primary cause," Damon Sims, Penn State vice president for Student Affairs, said. "We need to impress upon all of us the seriousness of this situation, which begins by enforcing the basic requirements of social distancing and masking, and we're determined to do so as clearly and consistently as we can."
Elsewhere, video appeared on social media Wednesday of students, many without masks, congregating in large groups on campus.
The videos prompted a change.org petition to "send all PSU freshmen home after breaking corona rules." By noon Thursday, the petition had more than 3,000 signatures.
Barron called the behavior "unacceptable" and said that the crowds dispersed after university intervention.
"This behavior cannot and will not be tolerated," Barron said. "We have said from the beginning health and safety is our priority, and if the University needs to pivot to fully remote instruction we will. As a reminder, we are using our student conduct process to identify students who are not compliant with University requirements. It’s important all students understand that the consequences for violations include possible expulsion. We also announced this morning that a fraternity was put on interim suspension for a potential violation of COVID-19 rules regarding socials."
Penn State has compiled a lengthy series of procedures for re-starting in-person classes, which includes requiring students to sign a "COVID-19 Compact." With the compact, students agree to, among other requirements, wearing face coverings inside buildings and distancing when possible.
Penn State has started a "Mask Up or Pack Up" campaign designed to get the message out to students. The university encourages students to post photos of themselves on social media wearing masks with the hashtag #MaskUpOrPackUp.
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