CAPE CORAL, Fla -- One challenge we've seen when it comes to stopping the spread of Coronavirus on college campuses has been parties and large gatherings. Despite the rules colleges have in place, some have chosen not to follow them.
We saw this happen very recently at Florida Gulf Coast University. The university saw a spike in cases and investigated reports of off-campus parties and gatherings, which led to disciplinary action of two fraternities, a sorority, and individual students.
Psychologists believe this motivation to break the rules amid the pandemic, has to do with the traditional mindset students have about the college experience.
"An enormous part of going to college is the social experiences and the social awakening and the independence of moving away from home and those two components are really inconsistent with living in quarantine," said Ben Locke, senior director for counseling & psychological services at Penn State University.
He added that at this stage in brain development, teenagers are more wired to take risks in lieu of social benefits. He said that just like adults, they're impacted by mixed messages from government officials. Plus, younger people don't have any prior experience with this kind of global event.
"The decision that you make is not about necessarily your safety. It's about other people's safety, and the consequences of a bad decision on your part might not be known to the person next to you for ten days. It's really easy to be lulled into thinking everything's fine," said Locke.
He said most students he's talked to want to make this work, and are frustrated with others putting them at risk. He thinks schools can help by encouraging everyone to work together to stay on campus and punishing students who don't follow the rules.
FGCU recently released a statement in regard to Florida entering Phase 3, which said students need to keep in mind that they have a unique responsibility to the community:
FGCU has a unique responsibility to our community. The three Southwest Florida counties (Charlotte, Lee and Collier) have a disproportionally large population of senior citizens who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. We have to be fully focused on and committed to their well-being. This, of course, means doing all we can to avoid spreading the virus to our friends and neighbors.
Despite Florida entering Phase 3, FGCU said it will continue to judiciously apply its policies and strategies until the threat of COVID-19 is gone.
