This message to all students has been approved by Dr. Amy Hecht, Vice President for Student Affairs.
Dear Students,
After spending the summer preparing for an in-person FSU experience, all of us are disappointed to see some students blatantly disregard University policies and county ordinances. While we have seen many students on campus abiding by important safety protocols and demonstrating their commitment to health and safety and preserving a Florida State University in person experience – the unwillingness of other students to help keep our campus community safe could jeopardize the in-person experience for all of us.
I have decided to temporarily reduce the student event size guidelines to no more than 10 individuals at an event, whether indoor or outdoor. I hope to return to a larger event size, if and when we start to see an improvement in safe behaviors on and off-campus. Many students who want to do the right thing may have questions about what this means. You can find an FAQ here to learn more about the reduction in student event size.
The team in Student Affairs is prepared to do our part. If we receive reports of violations, Student Affairs will follow up and when appropriate, we will utilize alternative resolutions or the student conduct process to preserve a safe environment on campus by holding individuals and/or organizations accountable. However, I know that we cannot rely on a conduct process alone. For FSU to continue the in-person experience, we need everyone to help keep our campus safe.
Student Affairs has established a Stay Healthy Ambassadors Program and would welcome students to join us in helping to keep their peers safe. I have been working with Student Government on the development of a stay healthy pledge, which will launch later this week.
People around the country are waiting for campuses like ours to fail. But I hope that FSU students will learn from the past weekend’s mistakes and rise to the occasion. These are difficult times and I know that the majority of our students are committed to doing the right thing because you love Florida State, want to be here in person, and care about one another’s safety.
Sincerely,
Dr. Amy Hecht
Vice President for Student Affairs