Missouri State University has recorded 13 cases of COVID-19 in Greek Life housing since classes began last week. KSMU asked fraternity and sorority leaders what measures they’re taking to prevent the spread of the virus in their houses.
Most chapters on MSU’s campus declined to comment on COVID-19 to KSMU. We reached out to several national fraternity and sorority organizations for comment on their Springfield chapters but did not hear back from them by the story’s deadline.
Ellen Scanlan, who’s the president of Delta Zeta sorority’s MSU chapter, said the organization is taking extra precautions to keep cases out. First, only sorority members who live in the Delta Zeta house are allowed inside, and masks are mandatory outside individual rooms. Scanlan said the house is sanitized often with a “fog machine.” She told KSMU the sorority has no known cases.
Logan Schillinger, president of Delta Chi at MSU, told KSMU the chapter has similar plans in place to slow the spread of the virus.
“What we’ve done for that is require masks in all common areas -- that’s pretty standard -- as well as intermittently sanitizing all the things that are frequently touched," he said. "Additionally, limiting all traffic to the house that we possibly can.”
Schillinger said the chapter prepared a quarantine room in the Delta Chi house’s basement if the university doesn’t allow members to stay in Kentwood Hall or its other quarantine housing. Currently, that housing is only open to on-campus residents.
The Delta Chi international fraternity offered its members masks and cleaning supplies, but Schillinger says Missouri State is providing masks and funds for sanitization equipment. And like Delta Zeta, he said only residents are allowed in.
When asked whether Delta Chi had any known COVID cases, Schillinger declined to comment.
