It looked like a typical late August Sunday in Tuscaloosa, three days before the University of Alabama began its fall semester. In the heat of summer, UA students’ clusters formed loud noises outside bars near campus, many of them wearing no masks and mostly following non-social distancing guidelines.
It was a similar scene in Auburn, where offensive lineman Kameron Stutts tweeted a photo of a large group of students gathered in a bar without social distance.
But it was not a typical Sunday. The day before, an increase in coronavirus cases was reported in Tuscaloosa and Lee Counties, the homes of UA and Auburn, as Alabama has reached more than 130,000 cumulative cases since March and some colleges in the state are pushing ahead with their plans to reopen. to open with in-class instruction, which began Wednesday.
The University of Alabama System, which includes UAs in Tuscaloosa, UA-Huntsville and UAB, requires students to test for the virus before being allowed back on campus and mandates that they take COVID-19 training.
However, on Sunday, days before the 19th of August back to classes, caution against the wind was blown by many UA students. It angered Greg Byrne, the university’s athletics director, and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, who both said the behavior of the students at bars showed that they were jeopardizing the start of SEC football. . Twelve quotes were issued, and four arrests were made by Tuscaloosa police for mask violations among the students.
In response, President Stuart Bell of the University of Alabama said he was “deeply disappointed” by the actions of the students in a letter received Friday by AL.com that included restrictions on campus: the cancellation of university events for two weeks; a moratorium on personal events for students; and restrictions on Greek homes.
“The expected rules and behaviors of all students and student organizations are clearly defined,” the letter read in part. “While we appreciate those who have taken these expectations seriously, I am deeply disappointed that these guidelines are not being followed by every member of our student body.”
Josh Klapow, a clinical psychologist and an associate professor of public health at UAB, said these students may engage in risky behaviors, such as not socializing or wearing masks, because they “have the perception of health and inaccessibility.”
‘I’m young, I’m healthy, and honest, because of what we see in terms of the impact … there are a lot of young adults who get COVID who have minimal, relatively minimal symptoms. And the problem with that is it feeds the story that even though I’m sick, I’m fine, ”Klapow said. ‘The problem they are missing … this is an unknown disease. We know you may be recovering. What we do not know will have long consequences. “
The heads of students are also not fully developed, Klapow said.
“The development of adolescent mind, on average, trends to take risk, the frontal cortex is not fully developed until after about age 22, so what that means is its executive functioning, its ability to assess future consequences is not fully developed,” he said.
Demarcus Joiner, 21, a senior at UA and president of the University’s Student Government Association, said he was not worried about behavior at and near bars off campus, adding that students took the guidelines seriously. the campus and noted that they had to test negative for COVID-19 before being re-admitted to school.
‘When school started, most students wore masks. And those who were not from outside were outside reading or hanging out at the quad, so most students met, ‘he said. “I believe in all of our students that they will continue with the guidelines.”
The SGA put out a five-part video series on campus about the importance of wearing masks, washing hands and social distance. The group also worked with the five Greek councils on campus and the Black Student Union on a “Mask Up, Alabama” campaign, where students were instructed to go to the Ferguson Center to pick up masks.
While UA will measure “stricter sanctions and discipline” for students who violate the guidelines, Joiner said at the start of the school the university has simply issued warnings.
“Hopefully that will be enough if students see the importance of wearing masks,” he said.
Auburn said in response to Sunday, “it has now instituted a more robust face-coverage policy for both indoor and outdoor locations in response to experiences at other universities and observations of students on and off campus in recent weeks.”
“Auburn has made the health and safety of its campus community a top priority since the beginning of the pandemic,” the university continued. “The university’s goal remains an uninterrupted fall semester, and face masks are essential to achieving that.”
However, some students stayed after bars, and although some wore masks when they usually waited, they did not practice social distance. Others wore no masks while socializing in the bars.
Unmasked bar patrons stand in front of the stage at Skybar in Auburn in the city center and listen to a karaoke performance on Wednesday 19 August 2020. (Photo by Giana Han)
But for those on Sunday who do not wear masks or social distances, the consequences – fiscal, social or health related – may not be enough to change their behavior, according to Klapow.
While Klapow said that the brain development of a typical student is not fully developed, she does not absolve herself of responsibility.
‘You have to be above average intelligence here [in college], “he said.” Why are they doing this? I would say, ‘Go read the scientific literature, you’re in college.’ And if you still choose not to persist, then you’re misinformed or incredibly self- central. ”
The bar and party culture in Tuscaloosa and Auburn is not limited to the two universities. Across the country, similar behavior was observed during outdoor holidays at the University of North Georgia, where tweets from maskless students went viral, and at a club at Oklahoma State University, where the editor of the student newspaper of that school tweeted a video of large crowds without social distance or masks.
Even the ability to return to virtual classes, as the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill did earlier this week to four coronavirus clusters at the school, may not have been enough of a restriction of irresponsible behavior, Klapow argued.
“The virtual school is not punishable enough for some of these children,” he said. “What will happen in two weeks or three weeks? We have just completed sorority bids, the figures will skyrocket. And should we be surprised? No. This must become a matter. ‘
