Some OSU Students Unsure About Return To Class After Video Shows Packed Stillwater Bar

Monday, August 17th 2020, 6:51 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Oklahoma -

Some students at Oklahoma State say they don't want to attend classes on Monday after videos of a packed crowd at a Stillwater bar surfaced.

Stillwater City Council will meet Monday night to discuss the Twitter video and the current guidelines in place. The video has more than 200,000 views and surfaced after 23 members of the Pi Beta Phi sorority tested positive for COVID-19.

As of Monday, all the people living at that sorority are in quarantine.

OSU President Burns Hargis sent out a Tweet late Sunday night saying,

"With classes starting... I cannot overstate the importance of everyone strictly following health guidelines: wear masks, social distance, and wash hands frequently. Let's ride together and be respectful and responsible."

Hargis issued the following statement to the OSU community Monday regarding the recent gatherings:

Cowboy family,

Oklahoma State University is disappointed in the behaviors exhibited by some of our students off campus over the weekend. Attending large dance parties where neither mask wearing nor social distancing occurred showed a clear disregard for the protocols set forth by both the university and the city of Stillwater. OSU and city officials have communicated behavior expectations to limit the spread of COVID19, and a successful, in-person instructional experience requires everyone to take personal responsibility.

We ask that our students follow university and city protocols, avoid large gatherings, practice social distancing and wear masks, and appreciate the vast majority of those who are taking our guidelines seriously as evidenced by a .7% positive rate on move-in day. The in-person campus experience we all love here at OSU depends on it this semester.