On the afternoon of Feb. 25, the University of Vermont announced that — effective immediately — all Covid policy violations would warrant a suspension.
Later that evening, seven university freshmen gathered in a single dorm room in their residence hall, against university policy. Their voices carried in the halls, drawing the attention of residence staff, who discovered them. All the students in that group were barred from campus as a result.
The seven joined a total of 482 UVM students who have been sanctioned this spring for violating the university’s “Green and Gold Promise,” which sets standards on Covid safety. Among other guidelines, the rules mandate twice-weekly testing and physical distancing. All guests are banned from dorm rooms.
Twenty-three of the 482 students have either been removed from campus, continuing their classes online, or suspended from the university entirely, UVM spokesperson Enrique Corredera told VTDigger on Wednesday. More are scheduled for disciplinary hearings.
The university announced the new sanctions policy as student cases rose sharply, prompting worries that the outbreak could extend beyond campus. Mayor Miro Weinberger commended UVM and thanked students for helping to “protect the Burlington community.”
In the days since, case growth has stabilized. On Monday, UVM reported 31 student cases, the same number as the week before, and down from the prior peak of 61 weekly cases.
On campus, however, tensions have mounted.
As of Friday, nearly 2,000 people, many of them students, had signed a petition condemning the university’s new, stringent Covid protocols. The petition claims the rules are inconsistently enforced. The students also assert that UVM has not provided mental health support.
“We’re literally all afraid to live here now,” reads one of the comments on the petition.
“My daughter calls home crying with loneliness,” says another.
UVM did not return a request for comment Friday about the concerns raised in the petition.
‘The school never cared’
George Von Weise, a signatory and one of the seven freshmen who were sanctioned the night that UVM changed its policies, said he wasn’t aware of the new sanctions when he and his friends gathered in a dorm room.
While he knew their actions violated university policy, which prohibits gatherings, Von Weise said several of his friends had felt isolated, which factored into their decision to spend time together that night, despite the protocols. The whole ordeal, he says, “has taken a toll on me and my friends. To me, it seemed like the school never cared about us.”
Von Weise has been suspended for the rest of the semester, barred from campus and classes. His tuition and housing costs won’t be reimbursed — the March 1 deadline for a partial refund had passed by the time the decision was handed down.
The university defends the punishment as commensurate with the risks of socializing during Covid.
“Such gatherings are currently considered a notable health and safety hazard within the context of the Covid pandemic,” Troy Headrick, a UVM conduct officer, wrote to Von Weise, in his decision on the case.
With new variants of the virus identified in Vermont, Headrick wrote, “the risks of noncompliance are even higher than before.”
‘A whole different level, for me’
Sandy Wynne would agree. She is an older resident in Burlington, living near UVM’s campus. Like many Burlingtonians, Wynne has been vocal about the university’s Covid policies, and the risks an outbreak on campus could pose for the community.
“It’s too bad that it has to be upped to that level,” she said of the new sanctions. Ultimately, however, she said the sanctions show the university is taking the risks of the pandemic seriously.
“For me to say I have sympathy for [the students] – well, it’s one thing when you misbehave,” she said. “But in this case, we’re talking about a deadly virus. That takes it to a whole different level, for me.
“Once you get Covid, you’ve got it. You don’t get a second chance.”
But the university’s handling of student suspensions has prompted outrage among students — and parents.
One parent of a suspended student, who asked not to be named to protect her son’s privacy, told VTDigger that her son had received no follow-up support from the university after his departure. Her own emails were left unanswered. “Crickets,” she said.
Hours after Von Weise’s appeal was denied — making his suspension official — his student card was deactivated, locking him out of his dorm and from the dining halls, before he had made plans to leave.
At no point, he said, did the university reach out to offer him support, or an explanation. “We weren’t told in the email anything about what to do. They didn’t say when we had to be off campus, they didn’t say how,” he said. Instead, he was left stranded.
Many of the remaining students on campus feel anxious, and isolated — even when they agree with the policies.
“I understand why they’re doing what they’re doing,” Megan O’Connor, a freshman, told VTDigger. “But it is rough on people.”
O’Connor lives in a six-person suite, which means she’s able to socialize with her roommates. But for the many students who live in single rooms, or in a room with just one roommate, UVM feels isolating, she said.
UVM acknowledges the stress
The concerns have peaked in recent days — reaching the ears of the university.
In an email to parents on Wednesday, which VTDigger obtained, vice provost Erica Caloiero acknowledged that “some of our students have recently voiced elevated levels of concern to our residential life staff,” citing, in part, “the stress caused by the high-stakes consequences attached to Green & Gold Promise violations.”
Caloiero included a message to students, as well: “I hear that you are asking us to do more to support you.” She promised new, individual check-ins with students and university officials.
The email provided little comfort to one UVM freshman, who says she remains worried about the lack of resources for students on campus. She asked not to be named, due to concerns about potential disciplinary action. “There’s no support. There’s no sense of actual community,” she said.
She and other students are confused about the new sanctions — and their consequences — prompting the kind of collective outrage voiced in Friday’s petition. “They’re sad,” she said. “And they’re isolated.”
