Are Personal Pandemic Precautions a Thing of the Past?
photo courtesy of pexels / charlotte may
Yeah, yeah, yeah, “Don’t forget to wear your mask,” and “Masks required on campus. Always!” The two reminders are redundant… especially since we’ve been in this reality of hell for almost a year. But just because we’re tired of hearing it doesn’t mean we should cease to follow them.
In a “normal” context, living on campus is supposed to equate to a sense of responsibility and self-awareness. In abnormal pandemic times, that responsibility is heightened—through the usage of masks and implementation of social so-called distancing—to ensure the health of those around you.
But what happens if you get too comfortable or start to not care or lose touch with the fact that we’re living in a plagued world? Is it acceptable to let our barriers down just because we’re in a campus bubble? Spoiler alert: no.
As we’ve already seen in these two short weeks of the spring semester, allowing the SU-student party-obsessed side of our brains’ get the best of us is going to have a much larger impact than an ungodly hangover. If we’re not bombarded by weekly pseudo-threatening emails from Chancellor Kent Syverud, then it’s as if COVID doesn’t exist. But it does. And it continues to exist even as you sip from your SOLO cups.
The oh-so-coveted Instagram neon-lit dorm party post isn’t just a cute memory to look back on after we get sent home, it’s the remnant of an opportunity we have to not be selfish. We want to have fun just as much as everyone else. But if modifying the way we have fun means one less campus case, then we’ll take it. And you should too.
Being responsible doesn’t mean that you can’t hold your White Claw and drink it too. Grab a salad from CoreLife, but don’t be afraid to ask the person behind you to take a few steps back. Rent a library room, but wipe down the table. At this point, it shouldn’t be difficult to acknowledge that we have to hold each other accountable—that includes you too, Chad.
We’re living in a university, in a city, in a state, in a country, in a world that’s dealing with death by the millions. The only acceptable form of being a Jerk is reading this. So human up, put on a mask, and stop whining. It’s the “Orange” thing to do.