A video posted on Instagram this weekend is sparking controversy at Cal Poly.
In the video, roughly 50-60 college-aged kids are shown huddling together and not wearing masks, all things the university and health officials have advised against during the pandemic.
Cal Poly officials are now trying to track down the people shown in the video to find out whether any are enrolled at the university.
The video went up Saturday on the Cal Poly Barstool Instagram page, which states it is not affiliated with the school.
Cal Poly Vice President of Student Affairs Keith Humphrey says he was disappointed and disturbed when he first saw the video.
“Whoever they were, If they were Cal Poly students or if they were other folks, they were definitely not looking out for the greater good of public health in San Luis Obispo," Humphrey said.
Conley Armstrong was visiting from out of town over the weekend. He says he was down at Pirates Cove, but decided to go back to his car because of the crowd.
"Mostly college-aged kids. There were a couple of older people but it was a lot of college-aged people from around the area," Armstrong said. "I’m surprised if we don’t get a corona outbreak. It’s shocking if we don’t.”
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department is encouraging everyone to do their part during the pandemic, stating in part:
“We need to each do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 and help SLO County move forward. You can do this by avoiding high-risk social gatherings like this one and wearing a cloth face covering in public when you can't stay six feet apart from others.”
Humphrey says the search is on for who took the video, and for those in the video as well.
"We have heard from a number of people who have told us, 'My daughter or my son knows who was there and they’ll be letting you know who was there,' so we can have conversations with them," Humphrey added. "We want to make sure those individuals are safe, and they understand the negative implications of their actions.”
According to San Luis Obispo County Public Health, 20 students on campus have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
