By Mandi Mladenoff, Staff Writer
Back in March 2020, no one could have predicted what the next two years would look like. Okay, maybe the scientists could, but certainly not Susquehanna University. In March, it will have been two years that we’ve been in the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning, most people have been looking forward to the end. When would it be safe enough to not wear masks? Does the vaccine guard against future variants of COVID-19? When can we return to normal?
Susquehanna reacted quickly to the onslaught of COVID-19 while we were all on spring break.
That was the second semester of my first year at Susquehanna, and I hadn’t even heard of COVID-19 until the school sent out the notice that we would be extending spring break for another week, and later going online for the rest of the semester.
Even without understanding the severity of the disease, Susquehanna took guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the country’s leadership in response to growing concerns. I applaud our university for consistently looking at what was in the best interest for the students, faculty, and staff to keep everyone safe.
The fall 2020 semester started back up, in person, with a lot of policies put in place to guard against the spread of COVID-19: wearing masks everywhere, weekly testing, wastewater testing, contact tracing. Susquehanna went above and beyond what other universities were doing, and that led to a successful fall semester of being able to have mostly in-person classes.
The spring semester continued with the same guidelines. The main change was the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. Susquehanna continued their efforts by providing students with information on how to get the vaccine through local health care providers. Once again, because of the cooperative efforts of the students and administrators, the university was able to have a fully in-person semester.
Now we’re here, in Fall 2021: all students and faculty must be vaccinated to attend, or have a medical or religious exemption. This received backlash from current students and alumni, but it also received praise. Susquehanna was once again making the best decision for the safety of our community.
We started the fall semester with 95% of our community being vaccinated. That is an impressive amount considering that the surrounding area, Snyder County, only has 41% of the population vaccinated.
As Susquehanna students, we all had to agree to follow the policies and protocols outlined by the university in order to attend classes on campus and in-person. The school was able to track if everyone was being tested regularly and contact trace people who may have been exposed.
They were not able to track and make sure people were wearing their masks when they needed to. It has been a growing issue of people not wearing masks as required by the school indoors, in public areas and private residences that are not your own.
My fellow students: we all agreed to follow these policies in order to study on campus.
You knew what you were signing up for. So, don’t be surprised if you get in trouble for not wearing your masks. Don’t give your Residence Assistant (RA) attitude for asking you to wear it properly, it’s a part of their job. Be a good human being, a good community member, and follow the guidelines put in place to help keep everyone safe. Regardless of your beliefs, these are the rules. News flash: breaking them doesn’t make you cool.
I wear my mask, and got vaccinated, to help keep myself and everyone around me safe. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated as well. If for some reason, you’re against getting vaccinated, okay, that’s your prerogative. But follow the rules outlined by this institution, and don’t get mad if you get called out for breaking them.
