COLUMBIA, S.C. _ Last month, as classes resumed at the University of South Carolina, the city of Columbia sent a letter to 12 student housing complexes asking them to close their pools "to further reduce the risk for community spread of the coronavirus disease in settings that encourage large gatherings."
"As students return to our community to continue their education, we must all remain vigilant," read the letter, dated August 20. "Mayor (Steve) Benjamin and Columbia City Council respectfully request that you join us in our efforts to help prevent high risk situations before they happen."
It is still unclear how many properties agreed to that request. But one of the apartments on the list, Palmetto Compress, drew attention over the weekend after the Columbia Fire Department broke up a 300-person pool party there.
Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said the property managers at Palmetto Compress have since pledged to enforce social distancing guidelines and keep the pool at a maximum capacity of 31 people.
The State reached out to the 11 other student housing complexes that were contacted by the city. Seven of the property managers did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment. Representatives from the other four properties _ Station at Five Points, Rivers Edge at Carolina Stadium, Walk2Campus Columbia and The Orchard _ all said that their pools remained open. A representative from Walk2Campus noted that they were only allowing 16 people in the pool at a time.
Though many community members expressed outrage at the students who attended the Palmetto Compress pool party, Parker Simmons, a junior marketing major at USC, said he thinks that it should be up to the city and landlords to make sure off campus social gatherings are kept under control.
"In these times, people have to be a bit more involved," he said.
Benjamin said that the city does not have the authority to order private pools to close but that "If we could, we would have."
Benjamin said his office is is currently reviewing DHEC guidelines to find other options for enforcing social distancing at off-campus student apartments. In light of the party that took place over the weekend, he said the city is now considering penalizing both participants and property owners for any future pool parties.
The Palmetto Compress falls in City Councilman Ed McDowell's district. He said the pool party there was "appalling" but that the students and the property managers "are equally to blame."
"You would think that an apartment complex would be responsible for taking care of the people in that environment," he said. "So if that doesn't happen, we will have to push it up to another level. I'm not sure what that would look like yet but this conversation is far from over."
City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine said she was disappointed by the lack of action so far from student housing complexes but she remains hopeful that they will cooperate with the city going forward.
"We've heard from a lot of landlords who do want to be part of the solution and I think we want to continue to work with them," she said "If we're going to address coronavirus in our community, it's going to take everybody's cooperation."
The city's letter to apartment complexes is part of a larger effort to crack down on student house parties and other large gatherings that could spread COVID-19. Last week, city council passed a housing ordinance that would penalize landlords whose properties are cited for not obeying laws aimed at addressing public health concerns.
Through Tuesday, more than 1,192 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed at USC, all but 20 involving students.
City Councilman Howard Duvall said although the university has gone above and beyond to get students to change their behavior, "they still seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are causing the spread of this virus that is killing people."
Duvall said if the problem continues to worsen, the city could always reinstate it's 11 p.m. curfew, which expired at the start of June.
"I don't think anyone really wants to do the curfew," he said. "If we get some cooperation we can get this situation under control without resorting to that."
