Walsh Urges College Students In Boston To Skip Partying And 'Police Themselves'
BOSTON (CBS) -- If Boston is able to welcome back thousands of college students this fall despite the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Marty Walsh is discouraging them from partying. The mayor was asked at a news conference Thursday if he's worried about students gathering for parties in the fall and whether he'd have Boston police go looking for those parties.
"I think that college students that come here in the fall, we're going to be asking them to police themselves. I mean, we will be looking out for it, but the last thing I want to do is send our public safety personnel and police officers to a party that shouldn't be happening," Walsh said.
Walsh said he's concerned about what's happening around the country - officials say young people are driving a coronavirus spike in many states.
"I would not advise college students to be having parties," Walsh said. "I think that the colleges are going to be pretty strict with the rules and regulations. If I have to I'll use police, yes."
Massachusetts has not yet issued guidelines to colleges for fall reopening. Some Boston-area universities will continue to rely on remote learning while others are planning on having students back in dorms and on campus for in-person classes.
"Many of these students are going to be coming from high risk states at this point," Walsh said. "So we're going to be monitoring this situation very closely I think."
Walsh said he has a meeting scheduled with colleges in Boston this week to talk about fall plans.
"I'd love to see the college students come back for their education, for our colleges, and for our economy," he said. "But also I'm concerned about if we don't have a real good screening process - what does that mean for our numbers down the road?"
