15 BYU Students Disciplined For Refusing To Follow COVID Guidelines
Sep 14, 2020, 6:00 PM | Updated: 11:48 pm
PROVO, Utah – Fifteen students at Brigham Young University have been disciplined for failing to follow COVID-19 safety requirements.
Disciplinary measures include “suspension or restrictions from on-campus participation, such as classes, work or in-person campus services,” university officials said.
2/ These measures include suspension or restrictions from on-campus participation, such as classes, work or in-person campus services. BYU has repeatedly & urgently asked members of our campus community to please be intentional right now to keep themselves and our community safe.
— BYU (@BYU) September 14, 2020
“BYU has repeatedly & urgently asked members of our campus community to please be intentional right now to keep themselves and our community safe,” officials said in a tweet Monday. “We’ve been clear that in order for this semester on campus to work, it will take a concerted effort from all of us, working together. We will continue to collaborate with state, county & city officials, as well as @UVU, to encourage compliance w/ health and safety guidelines.”
The announcement came after state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said Utah has seen four days of more than 500 new COVID-19 cases, and almost 40% of those cases were reported in Utah County.
“We are experiencing a clear upward trend in case counts right now,” Dunn said in a statement. ” … Since last Friday, 39% of all new cases have come from Utah County, this despite the fact that Utah County’s population represents just 20% of the state’s population. Most of these cases are among 14-24 year olds, and the majority of those are among college-aged young adults.”
4/ The majority of students are following university, local and state health guidelines on campus. However, we are imploring our students to display this same kind of careful behavior off-campus for our community and our campus to stay safe.
— BYU (@BYU) September 14, 2020
Multiple large parties have been held in Orem and Provo this month, and Aislynn Tolman-Hill, public information officer for the Utah County Department of Health, said they have already seen positive cases tied to those events.
“There’s pictures online of people not social distancing, people not wearing masks, and those really go directly against all of those guidelines that we see,” Toman-Hill said. “Which is definitely a concern for the population that is attending those events, as well as the greater population here in Utah County.”
The Provo City Council approved an ordinance requiring face masks at certain indoor and outdoor events, overriding Mayor Michelle Kaufusi’s veto on August 27.
“One by one, I heard more and more of my roommates saying yeah I have COVID, yeah I have COVID, yeah I have COVID,” said student Landon Egbers, who is quarantined with his five roommates.
They were all showing mild symptoms Monday.
“If I hadn’t been told I have COVID I would think I had like a very mild head cold,” Zach Thompson said.
Zach and Landon were just two cases among hundreds. BYU officials reported 218 active cases Monday, which was up from 79 just a week ago.
As for Utah Valley University, they’ve got 186 cases — and it’s not just students, but staff as well.
“It is a concern for us, any time those numbers spike,” said UVU spokesperson Scott Trotter.
Both universities have strict measures in place to make sure students are wearing masks and social distancing. But it’s not enough.
“We’re encouraging them, highly encouraging them, to do these same things off-campus so we can keep the school open and keep face to face classes going,” Trotter said.
“At least five people that I was around tested positive,” said Kenzie Holbrook, who was in quarantine but still waiting for her test results.
She wasn’t too surprised there were so many cases in Utah County.
“ I just felt like it was going to happen here because I think our age group is just so social and we’re just always looking for stuff to do,” she said.
