Pictured above: As of March 20, residence halls remain open on both the USF Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses. The email sent to residents on Friday afternoon urging students not to return to campus applies only to those who have left, according to Carrie O’Brion, director of marketing and communications for USF St. Petersburg.
Devin Rodriguez | The Crow’s Nest
By Emily Wunderlich
Residential students got the email at 5:44 p.m. on a Friday — nearly an hour after the housing office had closed for the day.
“Please do not return to campus so that we can continue to limit our potential exposure as a community to COVID-19,” it said. “We will be back in touch as soon as possible to provide appropriate guidance on a new move-out process that aligns with CDC guidelines.”
Some were left wondering what the email meant. Were they being asked to vacate their dorms after initially being told they could stay?
“My family and I need to know whether or not I am staying on or off campus, and for how long,” said freshman political science major Eric Bright. “If I am to be evicted, when am I going to retrieve my belongings from my dorm?
“Additionally, if I am mandated by the university to vacate my dorm, will I be financially compensated for this endeavor via a refund or other similar transaction for only living on campus for half a semester?”
Carrie O’Brion, director of marketing and communications for USF St. Petersburg, said residents are not being forced to leave at this time.
The email, she said, was intended as a reminder for students who have already left campus not to return until at least May 7, unless they need to retrieve “essential items” such as computers or medications.
In that case, they would need to email the housing office for their specific campus: Tampa, at housing@usf.edu, and St. Petersburg, at housing@usfsp.edu.
Emily Wunderlich | The Crow’s Nest
On Friday afternoon, USF’s coronavirus FAQ page said that “USF leadership is actively working with the Florida Board of Governors, as well as with other state universities, to finalize a plan of action for residents arrangements on-campus, including possible refunds and credits.”
At 7 p.m. Friday, that message no longer appeared on the website.
As of March 20, the residence halls on the Tampa and St. Petersburg campuses remain open. O’Brion told The Crow’s Nest on March 18 that about 115 residents had elected to stay on the St. Petersburg campus, although that number is subject to change.
The university announced its first positive case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on Wednesday. The person, who was not identified, was a staff member at the counseling center on the Tampa campus.
The staff member was on the campus on March 9 and 12, the university said, and had direct contact with “13 students and several employees.”
The Florida Department of Health is investigating to determine if any other individuals had contact with the person. Students who visited the counseling center on the specified dates can call USF Student Health Services with any questions at (813) 974-2331.
On Friday, the state surpassed 500 cases of COVID-19. As of 6 p.m., the total number of cases was 563, with 510 of them being Florida residents, according to the health department.
The number of cases in Pinellas County has risen to 22, with 43 test results pending. In Hillsborough County, that number is 32, with nine test results pending.
A familiar confusion
USF St. Petersburg residents may have been right to wonder about the future of their housing.
Since the outbreak, colleges and universities across the country have forced their residents off campus with little notice and, in some cases, no refunds. Those schools include Harvard University, New York University, Stanford University, and the University of Akron in Ohio, to name a few.
The latest confusion is somewhat reminiscent of how the USF administration handled preparations for Hurricane Irma in September 2017.
As the hurricane headed toward Tampa Bay, then-USF system President Judy Genshaft and Sophia Wisniewska, the regional chancellor in St. Petersburg, clashed over whether — and when — to close the St. Petersburg campus and evacuate its residence halls.
Subsequent correspondence between the two administrators revealed that Genshaft initially countermanded Wisniewska’s decision to close the dorms. Then, when Genshaft reversed direction the next day and ordered them closed, Wisniewska insisted on waiting for clearance from the university’s legal staff.
The residence halls were finally closed on the morning of Sept. 9, when only 10 residents remained on campus.
The hurricane skirted by Tampa Bay late the next day, but another storm quickly erupted.
When Genshaft learned that Wisniewska had evacuated to Atlanta without telling her, the president ousted Wisniewska for abandoning her post and jeopardizing the safety of students.Wisniewska took sharp issue with Genshaft’s account of events and ultimately sued Genshaft and the university for defamation and breach of contract in Hillsborough County Circuit Court. The suit is still ongoing.
Savannah Carr contributed to this report.
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