OSU suspends more than 200 students for breaking coronavirus protocols

Ohio State University will also remove funding from organizations that do not adhere to COVID-19 rules

Ohio State University thegrio.com
(Credit: Ohio State University)

Classes have not even officially begun at Ohio State University but the officials have temporarily placed 228 students on suspension for not adhering to coronavirus guidelines.

Classes at Ohio State in Columbus, one of the largest universities in the country with almost 70,000 students, started Tuesday. But some students have already run afoul of the rules put in place to counter the ongoing pandemic.

CNN reports that Vice President of Student Life Melissa Shivers, sent a note to students last week about their behavior since moving back to campus on Aug.12.

Read More: Nearly 100K children test positive for COVID-19 as schools reopen

Ohio State University thegrio.com
(Credit: Ohio State University)

Students were instructed to wear masks, restrict gatherings to 10 people or less, and maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but those requirements were not adhered to.

“Perhaps knowing about the action we are taking will influence your decisions and prompt you to encourage others to take this situation seriously,” Shivers wrote in a recent letter. “And remember that this is all about more than the individual. We have one shot at this — responding to what so many of you asked for: an on-campus semester at Ohio State.”

Shivers warned that students could lose funding and recognition for their organizations if guidelines continue to be flouted. OSU has directed the Office of Student Life to report any student in violation of the mandate, according to a school spokesperson.

The disciplinary actions are to prevent outbreaks that have taken place at other schools that are also reopening for in-person education amid the novel coronavirus. President Donald Trump has made his preference for student’s return to campus clear, but many schools have been struggling to contain the virus once they are on-site.

Students walk through the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on August 18, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Read More: Florida, nearing 600,000 virus cases, records youngest COVID death in six-year-old girl

As TheGrio reported, more than a thousand students were quarantined in Georgia last week due to COVID-19. The Cherokee County School District serves more than 42,000 but had to shut down a high school due to no mandate for mask-wearing and other safety measures.

“My personal fear is that I’m going to die before my career is over, that this tiny virus is what’s going to take me out, and not old age or some horrific accident,” said science teacher Olivia Vacid. “I don’t understand the county’s refusal to mandate masking for students.”

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