FSU President Nowaczyk Responds After Violating COVID-19 Compact
The 13th Annual Frostburg Football Golf Tournament, held on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Rocky Gap became the topic of controversy after Head Football Coach DeLane Fitzgerald posted a photograph on Twitter where he and FSU President Ronald H. Nowaczyk can be seen violating the COVID-19 “FSU Social Compact.” Fitzgerald has since deleted the social media post.
The Social Compact, developed by the university administration in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, requires all campus community members to observe Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s orders, as well as additional health and safety guidelines.Those guidelines include wearing a cloth or medical face mask when participating in outdoor activities where physical distancing is not possible, and limiting travel to essential purposes and avoiding super-spreader events.
Students who have violated the Social Compact have faced serious consequences. As of Friday, Sept. 25, two students have faced interim suspensions, nine have been banned from campus pending negative COVID-19 testing results, 18 students have been placed on probation, and eight conduct hearings are currently pending.
The news of Nowaczyk and Fitzgerald’s violation of the order broke on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 11:08am. Within two hours, Nowaczyk and Fitzgerald co-authored a campus-wide email with the subject line, “Failing to meet our own standards” that read:
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At an event featuring alumni and coaches from the football team this past weekend, we posed for a group shot of participants in which we and many others were unmasked and not socially distanced. We apologize for our lapse in judgement. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and recognize that we must exemplify the behaviors we expect of others. We did not live up to your and our expectations in this case. This will not happen again.
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Students, staff, and faculty alike reacted to the apology on social media. One student wrote on Twitter, “students get suspended but he says sowwy [sic] and everythings rainbows.” Another student wrote, “I feel that this has become a double standard of how colleges are dealing with covid.” Faculty and staff members agreed that students have faced serious penalties for the same behaviors. “A large student gathering would probably be seen in a more negative light,” wrote a faculty member. “If this was students having a party they’d all be suspended or worse. No apology email would cut it,” wrote another.
Local community members who read the news had harsher words for Nowaczyk and Fitzgerald. One, who works as an educator in county, wrote, “students have been disciplined for violating the agreement. [Nowaczyk] should resign or take a leave of absence at best.” Another concluded, “I think that they both need to resign.”
Coincidentally, on the same day that Nowaczyk’s violation of the compact came to light, he was scheduled to attend a virtual coffee hour hosted by the Student Government Association. The first question of the meeting, which began at 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 22, was about Nowaczyk’s violation and the apparent double-standard in punishment. In response, the President said, “Again, I apologize for the picture and not wearing the masks, that was inappropriate, but let me walk you through some of the things here. We are being held to the same standards as the student body, the football coach has, again, these are personnel matters being addressed by the Athletic Director. I have informed the Chancellor about my behavior with regard to the photo. The social gathering, let me explain, not that it excuses it, there was distancing in the photo, it was probably no longer than one minute, all other aspects of the Governor’s guidelines and the CDC guidelines were observed. It was a last-minute decision [to take the photo] and we just… it was just a slip…”
He goes on to say that Governor Hogan is not requiring Marylanders to wear masks while participating in outdoor recreation. Nowaczyk did not mention that the FSU Social Compact requires masks when participating in outdoor activities when physical distancing cannot be observed.
The second question, “will the university be recalling the punishments delivered to students [for violating the Social Compact]?” was quickly responded to by Nowaczyk who said, “No.” He did not provide further clarification and approximately three seconds of silence ensued before SGA President Noah DeMichele moved on with questions.
The meeting, best described as tense, ran for approximately 65 minutes. Questions about Nowaczyk’s violation came up at least five separate times. On more than one occasion, the President responded saying that it was a “one minute mistake” and that “it’s a personnel matter.” Nowaczyk has a history of using the phrase, “it’s a personnel matter.”
The golfing event, which attracted 90 or more alumni from around the region, carried a price tag of $100 per participant. Nowaczyk reported during the coffee hour that he paid the admission out of pocket, not using university funds.
SGA President DeMichele responded to the situation saying, “it was certainly a lapse in judgement from our University’s leadership. I think for students, our duty is to stay vigilant. COVID-19 prevention is a group effort that ultimately impacts our education. As students, we have been holding ourselves to the highest standards regarding health precautions and we have to continue to do so.”
The Football Golf Tournament will not be the last fundraising event for the Athletic Department, however. Indeed, on Sept. 22, the same day that news broke of Nowaczyk and Fitzgerald’s violation, the Frostburg State University Alumni Association announced a Baseball Golf Outing to be held next Friday, Oct. 2 at the Rocky Gap Casino and Resort.
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