College Closes For Spanish Flu Pandemic
1918 October 8 - November 12
The State College for Teachers closed for just over a month from October 8th to November 12th because of "epidemic of influenza." The State College News noted that the college calendar was "radically changed," due to the closure, but the event was not well documented in the college's records. Parties were held later in November and early December. In February 1920, there were "rumors concerning the unusual number of cases of influenza at the college," but the college did not close, stating that the "...number of cases of absences due to illness [was] not abnormal..." The number of cases and deaths at the College is unknown, but page one of the State College News did note the death of one recent graduate, Margaret Shevlin '18, who was teaching history in East Syracuse, NY.