College students in Indiana urged their peers and administrators to act responsibly during the coronavirus pandemic, in a bold newspaper editorial entitled, “Do Not Make Us Write Writers.”
The critique on Friday was published by The observer, the daily paper run by students covering news about the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College in South Bend, Indiana, all of which are open to classes in person on August 10 and have since COVID- 19 infections.
The editors suggested that school officials blamed the infections on students attending off-campus parties, in a reported trend — according to ABC News, administrators at Iowa State University, Syracuse University and Oklahoma State University have robbed students of being “highly irresponsible” by throwing large gatherings.
“While this has not been completely misplaced, it has been used to remove responsibility from the heinous administrations who admitted they were ready for us to return to campus,” read The observer. “Clearly they were not.”
Furthermore, it called for fumbles in “testing, tracing of contacts and isolation and accommodation in quarantine” and called for better communication regarding infections and hospitalizations. “At Notre Dame, the gap of almost two weeks between the return to campus and the implementation of supervisory tests, planned today to begin, is a gross oversight on the part of the administration and has the health and safety of the tri campus and South Bend communities in serious danger. ”
The students acknowledged a role in spreading the virus: “We – as students, faculties, staff and administrators – must share responsibility for the outbreak on our hands. We longed to return to South Bend while we were quarantined last semester. Now, we risk hurting the community we know and love. ”
On Tuesday, President of the University of Notre Dame Rev. John I. Jenkins, who said in May that opening school was “worth the risk” in a New York Times story, class persons until 2 sept. due to 147 infections. “The virus is a formidable enemy,” he said in a press release, citing parties outside campus as a major source of transmission. An updated dashboard for universities shows 336 positive cases since August 3rd.
In response to The observer article tells a Notre Dame spokesperson Yahoo Life, “… We have not been short of tests, and most students report compliance with isolation and quarantine regulations.” The school has also improved its efforts for contacts who have identified increases in positivity rates. “There were times when our health center’s lifts were flooded, resulting in delays in returning calls to students,” the spokesman said. “We tested supervisory tests today in randomized samples among students today, which will continue in conjunction with diagnostic tests.”
JudeAnne Wilson Hastings, associate vice president of communications and development at Holy Cross, tells Yahoo Life that two students are infected with COVID-19 and 22 people are in quarantine. The school requires students to check their temperatures every day, wear masks and stay out of each other’s bedrooms. A 10-person contact team supports COVID-positive students in the campus isolation rooms with meal delivery and other necessities.
“[Regarding] Concerned about transparency, we just announced our positive cases to our community, ”she tells Yahoo Life. “We want to keep everyone informed without limiting anyone’s medical situation.”
Saint Mary’s College, which has reported 11 positive cases since August 3 per its school dashboard, offers face-to-face, hybrid and online models. Students wear face masks in public spaces, even outdoors, and record their health statuses before attending class. This week, President Katie Conboy urged students to stay on campus to avoid “the trends on other campuses.”
A spokeswoman for Saint Mary’s told Yahoo Life, ‘We appreciate the concerns raised The observer editorial … while we are part of a three-campus community, we operate independently of our neighboring institutions … ”
The observer editors asked all school members “to do everything in their power to approach this virus in an appropriate and serious manner. Otherwise, we are afraid that the worst is yet to come. ‘
It went on, ‘Make us not write an obituary of a three-campus employee. Do not make us write as an obituary of an administrator. Do not make us write about the obituary of a caregiver. Do not make us write about the obituary of a dining room. Do not make us write an obituary of a professor. Do not make us write an obituary of a classmate. Make us not to write an obituary of a friend. Do not make us write a misunderstanding of a room. Do not make us write of you. ”
Editors at The observer did not respond to Yahoo Life’s requests for comment. Senior student and editor-in-chief Maria Leontaras told CNN, “We wanted to make it clear that we all have a role to play in keeping the tri-campus community safe. There are more people here than just young students who could possibly recover. of the virus. “
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow together to https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised remain the most at risk. If you have any questions, please refer to the GGD‘s and WHO’s resource guides.
Read more from Yahoo Life:
Do you want to deliver daily wellness, lifestyle and parenting news to your inbox? Sign up here for the Yahoo Life newsletter.
