OBSERVER Photo One of the #FredStrong flag flies above campus this week.

State University of New York at Fredonia administrators and the Chautauqua County Health Department are delivering a simple and stern message to the campus and community: with cases continuing to climb in the region, further spread of COVID-19 needs to be reduced. In addition, there will be consequences.

Sent to students via e-mail, the notice Tuesday came after the university announced the suspension of 13 students for violating the Student Code of Conduct relating to COVID-19 and off-campus gatherings. Those disciplinary actions were revealed in an email to campus in the afternoon by University President Stephen H. Kolison, Jr. and Dr. Cedric B. Howard, vice president of enrollment and student services.

“Throughout the preparations for — and start of — the Fall 2020 semester, Fredonia encouraged wearing facial coverings and social distancing. We also talked honestly about repercussions for not following the rules,” the administrators said. “Any Fredonia student who endangers others by disregarding public health precautions will face serious penalties. Those who fail to respect their responsibility to our community during the pandemic will find that the Student Code of Conduct and local governmental restrictions will be enforced.”

The suspensions that were handed out are pending a review by the Office of Student Conduct, the statement noted. It also praised those students who are following proper protocols.

“Thank you for being vigilant and for being leaders among your peers. We need that behavior and leadership amongst students now, more than ever, if we are to continue having a successful semester.”

In another message, from the county and administration, additional warnings were issued on how to prevent infection. “Through the isolation of positive cases and subsequent contact tracing to identify individuals that need to quarantine, public health staff has identified several scenarios that are believed to be contributing to the spread of the virus on campus,” the statement noted.

Through Tuesday evening, according to the SUNY Fredonia dashboard, there were 10 positive cases involving five on-campus students and five living off campus. Some of the items students are being told to avoid include:

¯ Congregating in common areas, such as inside and outside Starbucks or Tim Hortons. This, officials say, is leading to close contact among individuals. “Moving forward, students need to limit assembling to less than 10 minutes in common areas, even outside, when facecoverings are not continuously worn. This includes members of the larger Fredonia-Dunkirk communities who frequent places like Starbucks and University Commons.”

¯ Residence Life will be strictly enforcing the no visitation policy in the residence halls.

¯ Large off-campus gatherings are in violation of the State’s Executive Orders and will be monitored by local law enforcement. Attendance at such gatherings can result in a 14-day quarantine.

“Please know we are working diligently to provide the best living and learning environmentpossible within the limits posed by these challenging times,” the joint statement concluded.

James Malatras, state SUNY chancellor, commended Kolison for his action in a news release issued late Tuesday and said the state will be monitoring the situation at SUNY Fredonia now that the campus is using the aggressive pooled testing regimen developed at Upstate Medical University.

“Unfortunately, 13 SUNY Fredonia students have been suspended who clearly ignored COVID-19 safety protocols. Again, this is a small number of students–but their actions have a broader impact on the entire college community. I commend President Kolison on his immediate action. Most of our students understand the responsibility they have to their classmates, teachers, and the community at large. We will continue to send a collective message across SUNY that we will do everything in our power to stop a small fraction of students from ruining the fall semester for everyone else. And, with an aggressive pooled surveillance testing regimen developed at Upstate Medical University now being utilized at SUNY Fredonia, we will monitor the situation on campus and be prepared to take further actions if they are needed to keep the campus safe and contain this virus,” Malatras said.