U.N.C. at Chapel Hill to Move Online as Coronavirus Spreads

in North Carolina climbed steadily from March to mid-July. Although on the decrease in recent days, the state is still averaging 1,266 reported new cases per day.

“We all saw this coming,” wrote the editorial board of The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper, in a blistering opinion piece that circulated widely on Monday.

University leaders, the board wrote, “should have expected students, many of whom are now living on their own for the first time, to be reckless. Reports of parties throughout the weekend come as no surprise. Though these students are not faultless, it was the university’s responsibility to disincentivize such gatherings by reconsidering its plans to operate in-person earlier on.”

The paper noted that coronavirus “clusters” of five or more cases had been reported Friday in two student housing facilities. On Saturday, a third cluster was identified at the Sigma Nu fraternity house. A fourth cluster at another student residence hall was identified on Sunday.

The university said that it would help students leave campus housing without financial penalty, and that international students, athletes and students who lacked reliable internet access back home could remain in student housing if they wished.

Many students expressed disappointment and frustration after the announcement on Monday afternoon.

“Just seeing the lack of precaution in the student body, this outbreak is not surprising,” said Katherine Fitzgerald, a freshman from Boise, Idaho.

“It’s just hard to watch and see some people having fun and letting loose and not remembering that our education and our college experience might get jeopardized because they want to have fun and are just being reckless,” she added.