Students Fear Voluntary Student Return Policy Will Bring Virus On Campus

Frostburg State University’s March 22nd voluntary return policy will provide needed housing for some students, but many others are concerned that the policy is not restricted to those in need.

Jon Huzier, a senior whose family lives locally, says, “I understand the need to accommodate students who don’t have internet access or who are otherwise homeless, but I don’t think either of those circumstances outweigh concerns for our local community. I think the voluntary return policy was short-sighted.”

Frostburg State University President Ronald H. Nowaczyk says that FSU’s policy falls within USM guidelines, “although they may be expressing it differently.”

However, a survey of other USM institution websites show a much more strict approach to welcoming students back to campus.

Salisbury University writes on their website, “In order to ensure the overall safety of campus, we request that you leave your residence by Saturday March 14th at noon and remain at home through the period when the University moves to online instruction. At this point students may return to campus on April 4th.” While SU is accepting requests for exceptions, the requests must be made at least 24 hours prior to arrival.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore says, “The campus will not be closed other than Monday and Tuesday of Spring Break as previously planned on the campus calendar, however, we ask that students not return to campus until Saturday, April 4.”

Since March 13, 2020, Frostburg’s Residence Life Office website says, “Residence Halls are Open.”

Huzier thinks that “students who chose to leave should stay away from campus” and “those that chose to stay should be accommodated.”

Indeed, others in the community, including Mr. Andy Duncan, a professor in the Department of English have said, “students who have nowhere else to go but their dorms need to be fed, housed and protected, but buildings that aren’t dorms or dining halls need to be locked and void of personnel during this emergency, and the vast majority of employees need to stay home.”

Frostburg’s “if you want to come back, do that,” policy is too loose for some.

“Instead, we have an unknown number of students returning from communities with known community transmission. I understand the administration is under a lot of pressure to get this right, bit I think it’s long overdue to come to terms with the reality we are facing,” says Huzier.

In order to quell fears like Huzier’s, Nowaczyk emailed the campus community on Tuesday, March 17 at 4:29 p.m., “to clarify Frostburg State University’s current status in this quickly evolving COVID-19 crisis.”

In his email, Nowaczyk says that “no classes are offered face-to-face.” A second email, sent at 5:01 p.m., reaffirmed FSU’s previously announced online-only instruction period through Sunday, April 5. This mistake caused students to take to social media with comments and concerns throughout the evening.

One student wrote on Twitter, “Frostburg is confusing me.” Another, “I officially hate Frostburg. That email was dumb.” A third, “The President put so much fluff into that email, I don’t know how anyone was supposed to understand that.” A fourth, “yeah, Frostburg just wants y’all (sic) money.” A fifth, “Frostburg didn’t clarify anything. His email just confused me and I wasn’t even confused at first.” A sixth, “Frostburg’s President needs to get it together with these emails…”

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Email gaffes and mixed messages aside, there are some students who are worried about having a roof over their heads and food to eat during this unusual time.

Amber Dukeman, a sophomore, is staying with family through spring break but plans to return to her on-campus Edgewood Commons apartment on Sunday, March 22.

“The reason staying on campus is my best bet is because I have a bad home environment. I don’t technically have somewhere to stay, and when I’m home for breaks, I quite literally sleep on a loveseat in a closet,” she says, “and the place is kept filthy.”

Dukeman also struggles with health issues that could be exacerbated by staying at home. “I have a medical issue that requires a special diet, which can be expensive,” she continues, “so generally, I can’t keep up with my diet at home because my household gets to the food before I can. To give myself the best fighting chance I can, being away from home is my only option.”

Another sophomore, Jaliyah Brunson, is also moving back into her on-campus dorm room this weekend. “I’m currently a homeless student on campus. Sometimes I go with my friends over breaks, so I was only expecting to get a little break for spring break and be back for school.”

In order to accommodate returning students, some of the Residence Hall Assistants (RA) were asked to come back to Frostburg. One of those RAs, junior Lyric Mitchell, says she’s glad to be coming back.

“I’ve made Frostburg my home and literally everything I do is there from my social life to my academics,” says Mitchell.

Senior Mario Oliva never left his off-campus Frostburg apartment during spring break and plans to stay for the duration.

“I work at the school so I stayed mainly because I needed to stay close to be aware of my employment and what the virus meant for that,” he says. “Secondly, my mother works as a nurse and my dad is a police officer so they’re likely to come in contact and it made sense for me to stay in Frostburg,” he says.

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Jay A. Perman, M.D., the University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor held a special meeting of the Board of Regents on Monday, March 16. In his address, he said, “Clearly, it’s tough to make decisions before we know, with any degree of certainty, the length of time that students will be off campus. But our financial officers have top-of-mind this obligation to compensate students and families for services that are going unused.”

For some students, this reassurance is not enough, while others would welcome the opportunity to be reimbursed.

“Honestly, the thought of not being able to go back to campus scares me… my education is paid for by the school and the state, so I don’t actually see me getting any of that back [through reimbursement] since I got it in the form of grants to start with,” says Dukeman.

If room and board fees were to be reimbursed, Brunson says she has some places to go, but that it wouldn’t be ideal.

“I have friends but for a female in my situation, I never want to have to ask. And with such short notice, I didn’t want to inconvenience my friends and family because I’ll have to live off of them,” she says.

Others, including Oliva, say reimbursement is their only option for being able to house and feed themselves. Oliva says, “I think if students knew their tuition and such would be reimbursed, they’d stay home and their families could afford the extra mouths to feed.”

“Being independent is very hard in this situation and most homeless students want their independence. We’re already on our own!” reminds Brunson.

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On Monday, March 16, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that gym, restaurants, and bars would close effective 5:00 p.m. that day, except for carry-out or delivery.

In observance of this directive, FSU wrote the following on their COVID-19 page. “In compliance with Gov. Hogan’s executive order, the Cordts PE Center recreational and fitness spaces are closed until further notice.”

A source tells TBL that the Governor’s executive order will impact the Appalachian Station food court at the Lane University Center and Chesapeake Dining Hall, as well.

Chartwells, FSU’s independent catering service, has not yet announced changes in hours or meal options, but the source says that the food court, including Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, and Moe’s will be closed through April 6, 2020. They say that the Chesapeake Dining Hall will offer carry-out food only.

This requested change has been sent to Nowaczyk for his approval, says the source, but it is not yet official.

Dukeman has other concerns about nearby campus amenities shutting down, “there’s also the fact that I don’t drive and I am completely dependent on other people and public transit.”

“This was so unorganized (sic) and I pay for everything myself so this is just a big inconvenience,” says Brunson.

FSU plans to reopen the Lane University Center and Lewis Ort Library on Sunday, March 22. President Trump, Governor Hogan, and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, have called for all gatherings to be limited to 10 people or less. It is unclear if this advice will impact the re-opening of on-campus facilities.

Given that fewer amenities will be offered, Oliva says, “I’m not sure what people will do with their time. I can’t say. My gut says that it wouldn’t be used for studying.”

Students on social media are more explicit about how they plan to spend their time. “Who tryna (sic) party for three weeks?” wrote one user.

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Another element in a student’s decision making is the likelihood of contracting COVID-19. On Twitter, some students have said, “Should’ve stayed in Frostburg where it’s safe” and “let me take my [expletive] back to Frostburg, that’s the LAST place a person gonna come with corona.”

Mitchell also thinks Frostburg will protect her from contracting COVID-19. “I feel I am safer at school because I live closer to the confirmed cases,” she says. Mitchell lives in Lexington Park, Maryland.

However, not all students think Frostburg will be safe from the virus.

“Oh, I am terrified. I fall into the vulnerable population. I’ve had a long history of scarring in my lungs, an immunodeficiency, and kidney damage,” says Dukeman. She says she’s only had one previous experience with Brady Health, FSU’s on-campus clinic, but that it was very positive. “As for the local hospital, I don’t even know where it is,” she says.

Another student, who lives in Westminster Hall and asked to remain anonymous says, “my biggest concern about students returning to Frostburg after going home or traveling over spring break, is them being carriers for the virus and not knowing it. However, I feel as though any student who would be better served being on campus, whether they need housing, food, or internet services, should be allowed to come back. I just wish there were plans in place to have those students tested.”

FDA guidelines from March 15, 2020 say that “A negative result does not exclude the possibility of COVID-19.” Moreover, the CDC says that the incubation period for COVID-19 is between 2 and 14 days, during which time people carrying the virus are contagious.

The same anonymous student says, “I have absolutely no faith in the hospitals in this area being able to care for anyone that either thinks they may have the virus or are a confirmed case. Brady Health is the closest option for students right now, but their limited space and staffing leaves them unable to help more than a few students at once.”

As TBL previously reported, updates about the number of available tests or increased hours of operation have not been announced by Brady Health. 

Moreover, FSU has no plans to ask returning students where they traveled to during their time away from Frostburg and will not be tracking that information.

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In his March 17 email, Nowaczyk addressed concerns about the number of students who may return on March 22.

“I hope only a few students return. President Nowaczyk did mention that only 1/3 of the students live on campus, so that leaves things to be kinda messy with students living off campus,” says Dukeman.

While Nowaczyk’s email says that only 1/3 of students live on campus, this is contradictory to the Residence Life Office (RLO) website.

According to RLO’s count, 1,778 of the 3,272 undergraduate and graduate students who attend FSU at the Frostburg campus live in residence halls and Edgewood Commons.

That figure represents 54.3% of the student population.

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For details about these figures:

• Edgewood Commons: 402 Residents
• Frost Hall: 71 Residents
• Allen Hall: 76 Residents
• Gray Hall: 84 Residents
• Annapolis Hall: 162 Residents
• Simpson Hall: 86 Residents
• Cumberland Hall: 113 Residents
• Sowers Hall: 84 Residents
• Diehl Hall: 83 Residents
• Westminster Hall: 308 Residents
• Frederick Hall: 309 Residents

TOTAL: 1,778

(note: on the FSU RLO website, these figures are classified as “residents,” not “number of beds.” It is unclear if there are more beds available.)

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Mitchell says that RAs have not been notified about how many of their students are coming back to campus or how many she will be caring for. “I’m not sure how many are returning, but that’s okay. We will be prepared!” she says.

As for programming for those students, Mitchell says there will “probably not” be Residence Life programming, “but if there’s nothing to do on campus, most students will have gatherings and cookouts to spend time with each other.” She says, “Frostburg is what you make it, so the students will find something to do when there’s nothing to do.”

Oliva says that President Nowaczyk’s wishful thinking about the number of returning students being low is unfounded. “Almost my entire fraternity and the majority of the rugby team is returning on March 22nd.”

“I think the whole situation is a mess, but I am so grateful that students have the option to go home and come back after break. That makes me feel like the school has my back,” says Dukeman.

“My biggest concern is with my peers,” she says, “I can hide in my apartment all I want, but I have no control over my peers. I feel that people don’t really understand that you don’t have to look vulnerable to be vulnerable. I plan on hiding in my apartment, but I’ll have to go shopping eventually. I can’t stay there forever and that’s when I’ll be the most vulnerable. That genuinely scares me.”