An uptick in gastrointestinal illnesses at Lafayette College prompted a campus-wide email and recommendations from the health center this week. Despite campus perception, the college could not confirm if the illness was norovirus, a common bug known for sudden vomiting.
Director of Health Services Jodi Schluter wrote in a Monday campus-wide announcement that “there are currently no confirmed cases” of norovirus and that students are not encouraged to submit dean’s absence verifications, a program that launched last fall as a replacement for Lafayette’s long-standing dean’s excuse.
Schluter wrote in an email to The Lafayette that only 30 students “with the diagnosis of nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea” have been seen by Bailey Health Center since the start of the spring semester. According to a 2025 article in the National Library of Medicine, an official norovirus diagnosis is often not feasible because obtaining stool samples — in which the virus is highly concentrated — for testing is difficult.
Attempts to obtain stool samples at Bailey’s for norovirus testing “were not successful,” according to Schluter, who added that the treatment for norovirus and other similar intestinal illnesses is the same.
“The reality is norovirus and other gastrointestinal viruses hit fast and leave fast,” she wrote. “By the time a student feels well enough to walk to the Health Center, the ‘window’ for an easy sample collection is often closing.”
“I would not consider this an outbreak but an expected seasonal increase,” she continued.
Sophie Feldman ‘28 wrote in a text that while Bailey Health Center did not test her for her norovirus-like symptoms, “they said that I most likely had it and they tried their best to treat me.” She acknowledged that testing for the virus is “difficult.”
“I guess people were just quick to throw that word out there,” said Will Barber ‘29 of designating the campus-wide illness as the norovirus. “But I guess from what I’ve heard, it sounds like that’s what it is.”
Will Frank ‘29, who had symptoms of norovirus last year, called the condition the “worst experience” of his life. He said he felt the brunt of the illness for just eight hours.
Nuris Abdyldaev ‘29 noticed there were slightly fewer students in his classes due to the spreading illness; he said his professors emphasized avoiding class if sick.
The number of similar gastrointestinal cases doubled during a short period last March; Schluter reported at least 78 cases during a two-week window. Ten years ago, the college shut down for two days after a norovirus outbreak, and the campus faced a stinging “likely” norovirus outbreak in 2019.
