Just like a number of community and county leaders, State University of New York at Fredonia students are voicing their concerns over a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the last week.

Emma Voit, Caitlyn Mericle, and Jillian Stonefoot are students at the State University of New York at Fredonia who attend classes on campus. They were interviewed by the OBSERVER about their concerns and opinions regarding the recent uptick in cases at the school.

As of Friday, there have been 50 reported COVID-19 cases at the university. “I am very concerned about the recent increase of cases. Not only is that putting other students and faculty at risk, but also our community,” Stonefoot said. “As someone who has always lived in Fredonia and is also a student, I can’t blame the community for getting upset about the situation.”

Voit and Mericle also expressed their explicit concern about the jump in cases in the past two weeks. They both stated that they expect the numbers to keep rising as more tests are done. They were not surprised, but what they did not expect was for it to happen so quickly.

“When I got here I had thought that maybe it’d take a bit to get to the point we are currently at,” Mericle said. “Cases were bound to happen but 50 within the first two weeks of classes is a lot.”

Every year, the college has what the students and staff call the “Fredonia Plague,” which is usually just a common cold that spreads around. This is usually a funny and light-hearted joke, but could actually be plausible this year.

“I know some people on this campus aren’t taking it as seriously as they need to be,” Mericle said. “If we keep going at this rate, this year’s Fredonia plague could be an actual plague instead of just a common cold or sinus infection.”

All three students attributed the number of cases to mostly the same things: partying, not being tested, and sick people mingling. Voit believes that all students coming to Fredonia this semester should have been tested prior to coming on campus. Others said that the students should have been forced to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival.

Stonefoot and Voit think they know what the biggest contributor to this uprising in cases is: parties. “Students are continuing to party despite us being in the middle of a deadly pandemic,” Voit said. “I wouldn’t be shocked if the COVID party that happened over the past weekend is a major contributor to the amount of cases we currently have.”

That party was referenced in question from the media during the county press conference in Mayville on Friday. Public Health Director Christine Schuyler responded by saying, “Nothing that specific has surfaced as factual.”

Stonefoot also commented about the recent parties. “You would think common sense would kick in during a pandemic and they wouldn’t feel the need to congregate with 20 other people without masks but I guess not,” she said. “They would rather not think about the repercussions. The cases are definitely due to large groups of students gathering and having parties.”

Since students began arriving to campus in mid August, they have been inundated with emails from the administration, the mayors of Dunkirk and Fredonia and just this week received a communication from the chiefs from the village of Fredonia and University police departments. In addition, on Thursday, President Dr. Stephen Kolison sent a message regarding the spike in cases — an increase in 48 since Sunday.

Kolison’s message states what many students fear. If the number reaches three-figures, a new model kicks in.

“The guidance from New York state says universities that have 100 individuals test positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period must transition to remote formats for all classes and limit on-campus activities for a period of 14 days,” Kolison wrote. “While this is something we hope will not occur, we are putting plans in place to move to that modality should we need to do so.”

Obviously, this does not sit well with the students. “I personally do not want the whole campus to shut down,” Stonefoot said. “But maybe a couple of weeks of only remote classes could help.”

Regarding the sense of safety the students feel when going to class was mixed. Though notably, Mericle, who said she felt pretty safe as she has one in-person class. For Voit and Stonefoot, the story is different because they have multiple classes to attend to in person, especially Voit as she is a dance major.

“I’m going to be completely honest, I don’t feel safe going to class. I have to be in person classes three times a week for dance and I’m terrified the entire time because I do not trust that all of my peers are following the rules,” Voit said. “Even with all the hand sanitizer and the spacing and the cleaning it doesn’t 100% protect me or my friends (some of whom are immunocompromised) from getting COVID-19. I simply do not trust some of my peers enough to be sweating and dancing around a studio with them.”

The predictions for the rest of the semester are all very similar, if not identical, between the three students. They all predict that the school will shut down again like it did in the spring and everything will be done remotely. Voit said, “If we continue as is… I don’t think we’ll make it.” Mericle echoed this sentiment, explaining she’d be surprised if the school made it to the end of September without closing.

“I would bet that we will continue to be in person for just a little while longer and then the campus will shut down. I don’t want this to happen but unfortunately it’s inevitable at this point,” Stonefoot said. “We will end up doing the rest of the semester online like in the spring. At this rate I would say mid to late September before everything shuts down.”

Editor John D’Agostino contributed to this report.