After an uptick in COVID-19 cases the week before spring break some Greek chapters at the University of Idaho had to quarantine.
The Greek community has continued to adapt since the start of the pandemic. Struggling through various outbreaks that forced many students to quarantine. In October, 14 Greek houses were quarantined.
UI administration and the Panhellenic council released information about what efforts are being taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Greek life.
According to a recent memo from University of Idaho President Scott Green, no houses are currently under quarantine.
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Blaine Eckles helped create a rubric last summer to track active cases of COVID-19 in the Greek community.
“For fraternities and sororities that have chapter facility, we track if the student is in Greek life,” said Eckles. “I worked with public health last summer to create a rubric to help mitigate spread.”
The rubric is a percentage of members living in a Greek house that have active COVID-19 cases. When 10% of members are positive, the chapter is placed in quarantine.
“That’s the number we have been using all year,” said Eckles. “We communicate with the chapter presidents, and we never give names out to the chapter president of who’s positive or not. We found those members have already communicated to their chapter presidents to protect others.”
Emma Flolo, president of the Panhellenic Council, oversees 10 sororities at the university.
While 10% may seem like a lot, Flolo said it usually only ends up being a handful of members.
“Realistically, 10% of live-in members for a sorority is probably anywhere between five to eight people,” Flolo said. “For fraternities, it is probably anywhere between three to seven.”
Whenever the university discloses outbreaks in Greek life, they don’t reveal which houses are affected.
“We intentionally don’t put out the specific names of chapters, because people sometimes draw a different conclusion with limited facts,” Eckles said. “These are where students live, and I want to protect their privacy.”
Despite mandatory testing after spring break, students will be required to take a COVID-19 test to participate in classes. However, new cases of COVID-19 are always a worry.
“Greek life makes up to 20% of the student population,” Flolo said. “It’s tricky because it’s up to the students to manage their exposure.”
Before winter break, Eckles said the university anticipated a larger percentage of students to test positive.
There is concern about spring break and travel,” Eckles said. “I am confident our students will make responsible decisions because they have demonstrated the ability to do that.”
The Interfraternity Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Daniel Ramirez can be reached at [email protected]