Students should follow social distancing or face suspension

03/31/2020 

The following advisory regarding social distancing was sent to students by President Erik J. Bitterbaum:

Students,

It was disappointing – and frankly, frightening – to learn that some SUNY Cortland students in Cortland last weekend were congregating and engaging in potentially dangerous behavior in violation of state directives and the university’s student code of conduct.

I had thought the university administration was quite clear last week when it notified students living in Cortland that they could face immediate interim suspension for attending parties or gatherings of any number of people while COVID-19 remains an ongoing threat.

You should know that SUNY Cortland is working closely with Cortland City Police to make sure that the social distancing requirements implemented by Governor Andrew Cuomo under the New York State on Pause program are enforced. As a reminder, SUNY Cortland students in Cortland, whether living on campus or off campus, should NOT:

 Host or attend gatherings of any number of people

• Stand, sit or walk closer than six feet from another person

• Participate in contact or group sports or engage in unnecessary outdoor activities

• Use public transportation unless absolutely necessary

• Allow people to congregate outside your residence

• Engage in unnecessary contact with vulnerable populations, such as seniors or people with underlying health issues

I understand that these conditions prohibit many of the special college experiences that you may have anticipated, and I genuinely sympathize. But these are not normal times. We are in the middle of a global crisis, and right now New York state is at the center of it.  It has been decades since Americans have been asked to sacrifice and work together to combat a national threat of this magnitude, and all of us must rise to the occasion and do our part.

If you are not worried about your own health, please consider the health of those around you. Although it is true that many of the young and healthy people who make up the bulk of SUNY Cortland’s student body might contract COVID-19 without experiencing extreme or lasting symptoms, that very trait could make you a potentially dangerous carrier of the disease. Without realizing it, you could unintentionally infect someone for whom the virus could be fatal.

And that is something that the SUNY Cortland students I have come to know would struggle mightily to live with.

So please, make the sacrifice, follow the rules and, above all, stay safe.  

All the best,

Erik J. Bitterbaum

President, SUNY Cortland