Video Shows Syracuse Students Not Social Distancing, School Says This May Make It 'Shut Down Campus'

Syracuse University students were recently captured on video gathering in large crowds across campus, not following social distancing measures. Shortly after, the university suggested that the students "may have done damage enough to shut down campus."

In one video posted to Twitter, hundreds of Syracuse students can be seen gathering on the university quad. "syracuse university freshmen are never seeing heaven," one Twitter user wrote as the caption to the video.

Chris Hippensteel of The Daily Orange, a student-run newspaper, responded to one of the videos, writing "several videos/reports coming out tonight of SU students gathering in large groups on campus, not social distancing."

"This is less than a week before the start of classes. Many students have yet to move in," Hippensteel added in his tweet.

In another tweet posted by Hippensteel, large groups of students can be seen gathering together on other parts of the campus. "A reminder: UNC Chapel Hill and Notre Dame both moved to online-only classes this week after COVID-19 outbreaks on campus," Hippensteel wrote as the caption to the picture.

A subsequent video, also posted by Hippensteel, shows a different angle of the students gathering on the quad, and the person recording the video can be heard saying "oh my God."

According to the Daily Orange, at approximately 1:20 a.m. ET, the quad was cleared of students and a photo from Hippensteel shows the area empty.

Following the different photos and videos, Syracuse University's Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, J. Michael Haynie issued a statement on Thursday morning, criticizing the students for their decisions.

"Last night, a large group of first-year students selfishly jeopardized the very thing that so many of you claim to want from Syracuse University—that is, a chance at a residential college experience," Haynie wrote in his statement. "I say this because the students who gathered on the Quad last night may have done damage enough to shut down campus, including residence halls and in-person learning, before the academic semester even begins."

As the statement continued, Haynie noted that "there was not a single student who gathered on the Quad last night who did not know and understand that it was wrong to do so," and added that the students ignored the Syracuse University Stay Safe Pledge, a set of health guidelines that the school has asked students to commit to.

The pledge lists a number of different health and safety guidelines in place to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, such as maintaining 6 feet of distance from others, limiting gatherings to 25 people or less and wearing a mask while on campus.

The statement from Haynie added that a full investigation is already underway, and the school's Department of Public Safety is reviewing security camera footage "and individuals that can be identified will be immediately referred to the student conduct process."

The situation at Syracuse University comes as colleges across the U.S. wrestle with different reopening plans amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the University of Notre Dame recently reversed their reopening plans and will conduct online only classes due to outbreaks of the virus on their respective campuses.

Newsweek was directed to the statement issued by Haynie after reaching out for comment.