DAVIS, CA (KOVR) — UC Davis announced Saturday that it is isolating some of their fraternity students after a student tested positive for COVID-19.
The school is also investigating allegations that around 10-20 students may have gathered at a Theta Chi party Thursday night.
“It’s crazy to hear,” said Edgar Galvez, a UC Davis student. He was surprised to learn of the allegations and up until this point, had been proud of his Aggie community. “I think UC Davis has been doing a great job maintaining and keeping those numbers down.”
University officials said the student who tested positive is quarantining at their parents’ home. Nine others were placed into quarantine on Friday after it was learned a possible gathering was held. The university is doing contact tracing to find others who could be infected.
UC Davis said the fraternity is housed off-campus and is not managed by the school. Professional cleaners were called in to sanitize the house.
“I’m not surprised,” Liana, a UC Davis student said. She said parties in college are bound to happen, even if she doesn’t agree with it.
“Partying in these times is kind of selfish,” she said. “I don’t understand why people are doing it because if we all stayed inside, quarantined and wore our masks – we’ll all get out of it quicker.”
The university expressed a similar message in a press release on Saturday.
“We are deeply disappointed and troubled by the alleged behavior and decisions demonstrated by these students,” Chancellor Gary S. May said. “The majority of students, faculty and staff have taken Yolo County Public Health guidelines very seriously since the pandemic began earlier this year. We have awareness campaigns going strong on campus and in Davis. I urge everyone in our community to follow public health guidelines and mandates, including wearing face coverings, socially distancing from one another and washing your hands frequently.”
The university said they’re continuing to investigate the alleged gathering, and further disciplinary action may be taken if there were intentional violations of health guidelines.
