St. Joseph College dance team members upset over cancellation of trip

In late October, with the spread of COVID-19 waning, St. Joseph's College officials gave the green light for its dance team to attend a national dance and cheerleading competition in January.

But on Jan. 3, with the virus spreading furiously, officials at the Patchogue school told the team of 14 young women that the trip to Florida was off due to virus concerns.

Team members say they are devastated. They say they have spent months practicing their routine for the jazz portion of the championship, raising money and buying costumes and plane tickets for themselves and their families.

"We're very disappointed about the entire thing," said senior Sydney Bentzig, 21, of Shirley.

Bentzig said she was especially upset that, despite requests from the team, administration officials have not met with them to discuss the matter.

The team has started a petition drive on change.org that has received almost 4,000 signatures and comments. Some of the comments said the college was being heavy-handed and that the team could attend the event safely.

Bentzig said she and other college seniors on the team were especially upset by the cancellation of the trip to the championship in Disney World from Jan. 14 to 16. The school team had attended the nationals for years, often doing well, and this would be the seniors' final chance, she said.

The College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship has gone on for more than 35 years, and is sponsored by the Universal Dance Association and Universal Cheerleaders Association. It is, according to its website, the most prestigious collegiate national championship of its kind in the country.

St. Joseph officials say they are trying to protect the health of their students, and that the college's decision extends to all of its clubs and teams.

"In keeping with our institution’s dedication to protect the health and safety of all of its students, faculty and staff, St. Joseph’s College made the difficult decision to temporarily postpone and/or cancel all school-sponsored out-of-state travel due to the rapid increase of COVID infections from the omicron variant," officials said in a written statement. "Unfortunately, this includes the upcoming trip to UDA Nationals."

Shantey Hill, the college's vice president for student life, said the Florida contest did not require that competitors be vaccinated, which the school does. She said the school had wanted to let the team attend, but "we did not know that another variant would arrive that is very transmissible."

Kaytlyn Cusimano, one of the team's three captains, said that when the school year started last fall, school officials had originally said the Florida trip was off. But on Oct. 24, the team was informed they could go.

"We were from that point full-on," said Cusimano, 20, of Selden. "We had to play catch-up. We worked really hard."

She said she understands that the virus is on the rise, but the team was prepared to take precautions such as masking and public distancing.

"It's a little unfair, the news coming a week and a few days before," she said. "We should be able to go."

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.