On September 2, San Diego State University announced that they would halt all in-person instruction for the foreseeable future due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases on their campus. Their first recorded positive case was reported on August 21, just two days after move-in day at the dorms. Despite the fact that classes are no longer in person, students remain in the dorms, where the majority of the infected individuals currently reside. Students who test positive for COVID are moved to isolation dorms, rather than being sent home or relocated off campus.

Students on social media are speaking out against the university, and are mainly concerned with the lack of precision in isolating students with positive COVID test results. In a viral twitter thread, @sharky_marky17 explains that students who test positive must pack their things and move themselves into a residence hall that has been designated for isolation. The plans and procedures for isolating these students are allegedly failing, and students both in and out of isolation are feeling unsafe. An anonymous student currently in isolation explains, ”I’ve been in isolation and they haven’t given me soap, hand sanitizer, sheets, a pillow, or any bathroom commodities.” Another anonymous student explained that she only had 10 minutes to pack her things and get ready to be moved to isolation. More and more students are coming forward with their stories, due to the popularity of this thread.

Since the beginning of the new semester, SDSU recorded upwards of 500 confirmed COVID cases across their campus, with most cases coming from the dorms. Students were allowed to move in two weeks ago and were told there would be extensive procedures in place to ensure their safety while staying in the dorms. The blanket term given to the school’s new protocols and policies for COVID protection is SDSU Flex. 

This program was implemented with the intention of protecting students and faculty, but according to the outcry from SDSU students on social media, their Flex model isn’t working the way it was meant to. In a tweet from his viral thread, @sharky_marky17 explains that he is a student RA who is not being properly protected from infected residents, and that he has witnessed all sorts of careless protocol violations go unnoticed. One tweet from the thread explains, “I expect cases to get a whole lot worse, and there is very little support to those of us working in the residence halls… SDSU made a mistake implementing Flex.”

In response to concerns from students, faculty and parents, the university’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec, put out a statement three days ago saying, “Despite the increasing number of confirmed cases, the university is confident that SDSU will remain open.”  

According to CBS8 News, the university also extended the stay-at-home order for students on campus to September 14, amidst over 500 health violations issued in the area since the beginning of the semester.

CBS8 also reports that the current number of confirmed cases at SDSU as of September 10 is 513, with one infected student in the hospital for COVID-related complications. 

At Sonoma State, there are currently zero reported COVID cases, and the university is working with local health officials and studying health guidelines closely in order to maintain a safe, clean environment. For updates on COVID at SSU, please visit www.covid19.sonoma.edu.

It is important to keep in mind that although there haven’t been any confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the Sonoma State campus, the County of Sonoma emergency webpage reported that the total number of active cases in our county was 2,211 on September 12. This infection rate is still dangerously high, but is a large improvement from the August 14 report of 12,614 cases. For updates on COVID-19 news in Sonoma County, please visit www.socoemergency.org.