Police Cracking Down on Student Gatherings

Central Connecticut State University students are in an unusual predicament this semester and possibly more to come. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students are not able to socialize with one another like they normally would. 

Now, things are very different on and around campus. 

In effort to keep the CCSU community safe, the university has had to implement new rules regarding the way students interact on and around campus. Some students say this is ruining their college experience and making them very unhappy. 

According to the university, students must social distance six feet apart from one another and wear a face mask when on campus.

CCSU officials also told students that they need to limit indoor gathering to 25 people. If students do not follow this rule, all offenders can face suspension or expulsion from the university. 

For the Fall 2020 semester, CCSU decided to open their residence halls as long as students abided by the new regulations made by the university.

The CCSU Residence Life implemented that residents are not allowed to have any visitors who live outside their residence hall. 

Some students say that these rules do not apply where it matters most. They report that most of these gatherings occur close by campus, which is patrolled by New Britain Police, not CCSU Police. 

Some CCSU students still accuse fellow students of still going out to large gatherings that are held at houses neighboring campus. These students hear about these gatherings from their friends who have either gone or know someone that has gone.

“I’ve just been to one so far... It was packed,” said Liam McCallum, who was invited to a CCSU party by his friend, “They made an effort to check people's temperatures.” 

Other CCSU students assert that from what they have seen so far, students have been making responsible decisions by not going out in large gatherings. They believe this is to keep the community safe and prevent the university from potentially closing down again.

“I have seen many CCSU police cars around, but I haven’t seen many actual police,” said Trinitee Williams, Barrow’s Hall resident assistant. “Since we haven’t had to evacuate yet and it’s been 5 weeks [since opening], something must be getting done right.” 

In addition to the CCSU police patrolling the campus more frequently to look for students who are not abiding by campus regulations, New Britain Police Department have also been told to keep an eye out for large gatherings in neighborhoods nearby CCSU. 

“We do actively patrol the area to find large parties even if we do not receive any complaints,” said New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart. 

Mayor Stewart confirmed that CCSU students seem to have stopped large gatherings, “Our total calls for parties or loud noise complaints for off campus parties is down about one third from last year. We have had no reported incidents of large crowds.” 

Some residents who live by CCSU say that they have not seen any large crowds like they have past semesters likely hosted by students of the university.

New Britain Police have also gone over what to do if they find a large gathering. 

First and foremost, like many other places around the state, the police department is supposed to always wear their mask when they are around others. 

Also, when local officers locate large gatherings they are trained to ask non-residents to disperse.

These new rules are all for the university and local neighborhood’s safety and well being. CCSU and the New Britain Police department both agree that in order to control the pandemic, people need to follow state and local regulations that have been proven effective by doctors and scientists.