Cal Poly investigates video of students partying at Pirate’s Cove despite COVID-19
Cal Poly is investigating a video appearing to show dozens of university students partying at Pirate’s Cove Beach in Avila Beach circulated on various social media platforms.
The individuals in the video, filmed Saturday and initially posted via the messaging app Snapchat, are seen gathered in a tight circle around two young women who run at each other in a mock full-contact football drill.
A photo taken on the same day from the Shell Beach Bluff Trail above the beach shows more than 100 people crowded on the shore. The image was shared via Snapchat and later reposted on Reddit.com.
None of the individuals in the video appear to be wearing face masks or observing social distancing guidelines, as mandated by Cal Poly.
The release of the video comes as COVID-19 cases continue to climb at Cal Poly.
As of Monday, the San Luis Obispo university reported, 113 students — 21 living on campus and 92 off campus — have tested positive for the new coronavirus. That’s up from 102 students — 11 living on campus and 91 off campus — who tested positive as of Friday.
“We don’t yet know the identities of the people depicted, and we are asking for the public’s assistance as we try to determine who took part,” Cal Poly’s director of media relations, Matt Lazier, wrote in an email to The Tribune. “We want to contact the individuals in this video to educate them, ensure public health and, where appropriate, hold individuals accountable if they are Cal Poly students.”
Although some social media commenters said many of the people shown in Saturday’s video are local high school students, others assert that the video shows Cal Poly students.
“Oklahoma Drill and Move-In carts at Pirates today #week2,” reads the caption of a post on the Instagram account Barstool Cal Poly sharing the video.
A photo posted to Barstool Cal Poly’s Instagram story showed individuals at the beach party playing beer die, a popular drinking game, on a temporary table atop a cart used by university students to move into on-campus residence halls.
According to Lazier, students who do not follow the university’s strict COVID-19 guidelines regarding wearing face coverings and physically distancing will be subject to university sanctions up to potential suspension or expulsion.
As of Thursday, Lazier said, the university had suspended one student and was processing the suspension of another student.
Lazier said anyone who knows the identities of the students in the video should make a report online to Cal Poly’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibility.
“Slowing the spread of the coronavirus takes an effort by each individual — both on our campus and in the broader San Luis Obispo County community,” Lazier wrote. “The university continues to spread this message aggressively to all students and employees. It is imperative that people failing to heed health and safety guidelines throughout the county understand how their behavior creates risk not only for themselves but for everyone in our community.”
Pirate’s Cove is a popular South County destination for beachgoers, including nude sunbathers. The individuals seen in the video are wearing swimsuits.
The Pirate’s Cove video surfaces after multiple reports of Cal Poly students gathering in large groups without properly physically distancing.
Lazier said in an email to The Tribune Monday that the university is holding students accountable for their actions while educating them on how to slow the spread of coronavirus effectively.
“We understand these are college students, including many who are living on their own for the first time,” Lazier wrote. “They won’t always make the right decision.
“That is why we are continually educating students. But at some point, it becomes an individual’s responsibility to do the right thing. And that is why we are also holding students accountable for their actions.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 6:20 PM.
