The University of South Carolina has placed 15 students under interim suspension and charged six Greek Houses with violations after they recently hosted parties and large gatherings as COVID-19 cases on the campus rise.
On Monday the university announced that six Greek Organizations are charged with student conduct violation for hosting unauthorized parties and gatherings.
They'll be banned from campus activities until their cases are adjudicated through the Office of Student Conduct.
Three more Greek Village houses have also been forced to quarantine since last week after some students in those houses tested positive for the virus, bringing the total of quarantined Greek houses to nine out of 20 on campus.
Administrators did not release the names of the students or which fraternities or sororoites were punished.
It comes two days after photos emerged of more than 200 University of South Carolina students gathering for a packed pool party at an apartment complex near campus on Saturday.
On Monday the University of South Carolina placed 15 students under interim suspension and charged six Greek Houses with violations for hosting parties and large gatherings as COVID-19 infections on campus rise. College students pictured moving back onto campus on August 10 for the fall semester that started August 20
On Monday three more Greek Village houses have also been forced to quarantine after some students in those houses tested positive for the virus, bringing the total of quarantined Greek houses to nine out of 20 on campus
The party was busted by Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins who noted attendees were ignoring social distancing, not wearing masks and drinking and dancing 'like Mardi Gras'.
According to latest data from the University on Thursday 620 people tested positive for the virus and 553 cases remain active on campus, according to USC. There are 35,364 students enrolled at its main campus.
The campus safety alert level increased from 'new normal' to 'low', which means the campus will be 'open fully or partially with additional, elevated risk mitigation measures in place targeted areas'.
In response to a spike in cases after fall semester started on August 20, saliva testing will become more widespread this week.
The school says all student cases are asymptomatic or minor and no hospitalizations have been made.
It comes two days after photos emerged of more than 200 University of South Carolina students gathering for a packed pool party at an apartment complex near campus on Saturday
People were seen drinking, not wearing masks and ignoring social distancing. The apartment complex houses many University of South Carolina students
The university’s president Bob Caslen has condemned the parties and gatherings thrown by reckless students in a message slated to be sent out Tuesday morning.
'Our total number of active cases is larger than we expected at this point, and some student behavior off campus is both disappointing and unacceptable,' Caslen said, according to the New York Times.
University spokesman Jeffrey G. Stensland said disciplinary action Monday isn’t related to pool party over the weekend.
'Most students are doing the right things and abiding by safe public health guidelines, but we want to be proactive and take disciplinary measures when possible against those who aren’t. We are conducting extensive contact tracing and do know that some of these larger events contribute to community spread,' he said.
This chart by the university shows how cases of COVID-19 have risen since reopening campus and starting fall semester on August 20
According to the university since August 1 there have been 639 positive COVID results
The University of South Carolina isn’t the only school grappling with concerning outbreaks of the virus after starting the semester.
The University of North Carolina was forced to shut down in-person classes and switch to online instruction after the positivity rate on campus reached nearly 14 percent.
Similarly the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and Temple University in Philadelphia paused in-person classes for two weeks after there was an uptick in cases.
Syracuse University also placed 23 students on interim suspension for violating campus safety rules by taking part in a large gathering on the quad, which officials slammed as 'reckless'.
