Concerned Frostburg Citizen Addresses SGA Regarding FSU’s COVID-19 Policies

Frostburg resident, Nina Forsythe, attended FSU’s Student Government Association meeting on Thursday, March 12. Forsythe, a long-time resident of the city approached the meeting to express concern over FSU’s decision to allow students to return to campus on Sunday, March 22 following spring break.

FSU’s decision is one that does not observe the urging of the Chancellor of the University of Maryland System, Jay A. Perman, M.D.

In his March 10 statement, Perman said, “Therefore, I strongly urge every university to prepare for students to remain off campus—for at least two weeks—following the end of spring break.”

Instead, FSU President Ronald H. Nowaczyk said on March 10, that, “we have students who want to stay home, and that’s fine, but we also have students who want to return, and we want to accommodate them” and “if you want to come back, do that.”

Forsythe, in her address to SGA took an informal survey of students at the meeting who would be returning to campus on March 22 and approximately half of them raised their hands. Some of the reasons included the use of equipment they needed for their classwork, lack of WiFi at home, and having paid for their housing for the semester.

Nowaczyk was asked on March 10 if room and board would be reimbursed to students. He replied, “We haven’t thought of that yet and we will play it by ear.”

Forsythe’s main concern she said, “is that students understand the seriousness of what is now being called a pandemic and the local conditions.” She continued, “We have an older than average population, many immuno-suppressed residents, and a small hospital system that could quickly become overwhelmed.”

Kaitlyn Morral, acting Director of Brady Health says that “if a student presents to the health center with symptoms, we have a triage process in please to handle the situation and place them in a private exam room hastily. If the patient meets requirements for COVID-19 testing, the health center will perform the test and send specimens to appropriate laboratories including the Allegany County Health Department.”

Morral continues to say, “We do not process any specimens here at [Brady Health], we only collect specimens.”

Brady Health has less than 8 private rooms within the facility. Moreover, Brady Health reduced their operating hours earlier this semester from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. They have not announced extended hours to address students who may have COVID-19.

Forsythe says that students who attended the SGA meeting “seemed to be aware of the necessity of social distancing and handwashing and hand sanitizing, but they weren’t sure that the rest of the student body was as concerned.”

Foresythe is also a City Councilwoman for the City of Frostburg. While she was attending the SGA meeting as a concerned citizen only, she was part of a discussion regarding FSU’s policy at the Frostburg City Council Work Session meeting held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 12. 

At the work session, a concerned citizen asked if the City of Frostburg had been consulted regarding FSU’s policy. At that time, Forsythe said that FSU’s decision “would impact the city.”

Mayor Robert Flanigan said at the meeting that he and President Nowaczyk spoke by telephone the evening of Wednesday, March 11 and Nowaczyk told him that, “this is all likely to change in the next 36 hours.” You can see video footage of the work session and all comments here.

The expressed concern was regarding an email sent from Nowaczyk on March 11 at 5:55 p.m. that read, “we are recommending that students stay home and participate in their classes online during this period.”

Nowaczyk sent a corrected email at 6:04 p.m. that read, “students may elect to stay home and participate in their classes online during this period.”

Nowaczyk did not provide a reason for the change in messaging.

The citizen at the work session feels this is a “recipe for disaster” and suggested that students who leave should stay home, while those who stay over during spring break should be allowed to stay. The citizen categorized dorm rooms as “cruise ships without the fun” which they hoped would illustrate the potential issues of allowing students to come and go as they please.

Forsythe mentioned at the work session that the lack of local medical specialists to address COVID-19 would be exacerbated by a large returning student population.

Vice President of the Student Government Association Benjamin Forrest who also serves as the President of the University System of Maryland Student Council, told the Cumberland Times-News, “I feel certain that the actions the university and the system are taking are in the best interest of the entire community in accordance with the information we have now.”

Forrest goes on to say that, “we are all trying our best to ensure that we are taking the proper steps to protect the members of the university community, especially those who are 60 or older and those are compromised immune systems.” 

As of 8:05 a.m. on Friday, March 13 President Nowaczyk would not confirm that students would be urged or required to stay home after spring break. He wrote by email, “the best thing is to monitor our website with its announcements that are updated as necessary.”

Whether students should pack their belongings and assume that returning to Frostburg will not be an option, Forrest expressed confidence at the SGA meeting that the administration would make sure that students would come back to get their stuff in an orderly fashion following any announcements. Forrest said things were in flux and directives from the university might change, but that no one had considered packing for spring break with that in mind.

To see all of Frostburg’s COVID-19 press releases and advisories, go to this website.

This is an ongoing and developing story.

The author of this article, Cassie Conklin, was also featured in the aforementioned CTN article as saying, “Frostburg’s decision to allow students to return to campus on March 22 goes against the urging of the Chancellor of the University System of Maryland. I believe this is a poorly thought out decision that could impact the aging population of the City of Frostburg.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misquotes Ben Forrest’s comments to CTN and may have made it seem as if he was responding to Nina Forsythe’s comments at the SGA meeting. It should be noted that Forrest spoke with CTN earlier on Thursday, March 12, prior to the 7:30 p.m. meeting.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly called Ben Forrest the “Chair of the University System of Maryland,” which was a typographical error. Ben Forrest serves as the “President of the University System of Maryland Student Council.”