Following COVID-19 outbreaks at Greek Village sorority houses, North Carolina State University will move classes online starting August 24.
The decision follows UNC-Chapel Hill’s abrupt shift to online classes Monday after 135 students at the school tested positive for the virus in the first week of the semester.
Earlier this week, nearly a dozen students from NC State’s Alpha Delta Pi and Kappa Delta sorority houses tested positive for the virus, the third “cluster” of cases reported at the school. About 500 students are currently quarantined or in isolation after testing positive or awaiting test results. Meanwhile, more off-campus clusters are being investigated, officials informed students in an email Thursday.
“We have also recently witnessed the negative impacts caused by those who did not take personal responsibility. We’ve had reports of large parties in off-campus apartments,” Chancellor Randy Woodson told students in the email. “We’re seeing significant infections in Greek life, and at this time there have been another seven Greek houses that have been quarantined due to a number of additional positive cases.”
Starting August 24, all undergraduate classes will move online, however, residence halls will remain open. Students can apply for a refund of their housing tuition should they decide to move home.
“We are not where we hoped to be today, but we’ll learn from this too, with the goal of returning fully and proudly to campus, as one Wolfpack, in the new year,” Woodson wrote to students. “In the meantime, keep learning, keep working, and together we’ll keep moving forward.”
Follow Raleigh News Editor Leigh Tauss on Twitter or send an email to ltauss@indyweek.com.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
