TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — In an open letter, Florida State University president John Thrasher wrote to students on campus: follow the rules or be suspended.
More than 1,200 people have tested positive for COVID-19 at FSU.
Thrasher says stricter rules will soon be in place and many students say it was bound to happen.
"I feel like an extreme consequence was needed," said Rodina Richard, a junior at FSU.
Richard said she's tired of people breaking the COVID-19 rules on campus, putting other people at risk.
That's why Richard she supports Thrasher's new letter that says students who don't follow the rules will now face suspension for at least one semester.
"People are walking around with no masks," Richard said. "It's very unsafe at the moment. Our cases are rising daily. So this was well needed, you know. "
Freshman Allie Cordero says she's disappointed in the way her classmates are acting at parties and the FSU - Georgia Tech game.
"As much as masks are annoying and nobody likes to wear them, we all want things to back to as normal as we can possibly get them," said Cordero. "So by not wearing a mask people are just putting it off and stretching out the time we have to wear masks."
Thrasher says campus police won't be the only ones watching, pointing to Tallahassee police and Sheriff's deputies to enforce both mask and noise ordinances around town.
"We definitely need to make a plan and stick to it and then not make exceptions," said Tori Boudreau, a senior at FSU.
Boudreau says she's in support but believes the university has been contradictory for people on campus and those in sports.
"They were like, 'wear your masks! Don't do things!' But then also letting thousands of people go to football games, which is contradictory to other things they would be doing," Boudreau said.
FSUs dashboard listing the positive cases is updated every week, so next Monday's update should reflect the number of people with COVID-19 following the FSU - Georgia Tech game.
ABC 27 reached out to the university for comment after the post, they said they'd rather let the letter speak for itself. Click here to read the letter.
