Edward McKinley is reporting for the Times Union the SUNY Oneonta campus will remain closed for two weeks following a COVID-19 outbreak that infected more than 100 students and faculty members, State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras said August 30. “We understand people want to party,” Malatras said, but SUNY will act along with with local and campus police to shut down parties and ticket and suspend students. Five students and three campus organizations were suspended at Oneonta for hosting parties, Malatras said. A team from SUNY Upstate Medical University was deployed to Oneonta to test all 3,000 students on campus, beginning Friday, the chancellor said. The state will also set up rapid response testing facilities in the area so residents can quickly get tested. That testing will begin Wed., Sep. 2. The situation at Oneonta is not unique among reopening college and universities. Last week, SUNY Plattsburgh suspended 43 students allegedly connected to a party on Lake Champlain. Two private schools, Syracuse University and Marist College in Poughkeepsie, suspended students involved with large gatherings, and large parties were observed by the Times Union August 28, near the College of Saint Rose and UAlbany. The message coming from Malatras and Cuomo Sunday morning was that schools are expected to strictly enforce strict social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines for students. If they do not, then local health departments will step in. If local health boards fail to do so, the state will. Read the full story in the Times Union.