Coronavirus: Southern College Edition (LSU)

Molly Ryan

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA—Spring break was rapidly approaching in early March at my high school in Flowood, Mississippi, and the air was buzzing with excitement about a week off from school--full of friends, family, vacationing, and fun. No one had a second thought about the early COVID cases in the U.S. Surely, it wouldn’t spread quickly enough to affect a place such as Flowood, Mississippi. 

But a week later, we found ourselves with another two weeks of spring break, and following that, students in colleges from across the U.S. began coming home and preparing for online learning. At that time, citizens started to realize how serious this pandemic was becoming. Grocery stores were raided of toilet paper and other necessities, and hand sanitizer quickly became scarce. 

As each day passed, I began to realize that I would not finish my senior year of high school in a normal fashion; tennis season, speech and debate, prom, graduation, and other activities would all be canceled, or otherwise, rescheduled and restructured in adherence to COVID guidelines. And as this reality set in, I vividly remember having one hope: that the start to my freshman year of college at Louisiana State University (LSU) would be normal. However, as much of the U.S., and particularly many areas in the south, have not responded appropriately to the pandemic, the start to my freshman year at LSU has been anything but normal. 

While all students have been given the choice of returning to campus or remaining online, and most college-aged students are healthy, the number of cases being reported to LSU is growing rapidly, as it is at many other universities. Many students are not reporting their cases and continue to host large-scale parties. The appeal of going out to bars is much stronger than staying in for most students, and therefore, as our cases continue to rise, LSU residential life remains stuck in Phase One of reopening. This may not seem like a serious problem because most students recover fairly quickly, but from a broader perspective, universities and their towns are fairly large contributors to the number of cases nationally and worldwide. In fact, many college students who contract the virus are asked to leave and quarantine at home for two weeks. While this may seem like a good idea because it removes the person from campus, it could also spread the virus to one’s hometown, especially if they don’t quarantine properly. Further, if students blatantly don’t adhere to guidelines on campus, such as not reporting cases, they will likely not adhere to guidelines at home. 

On the other hand, LSU and other universities alike have done an excellent job enforcing many necessary guidelines, including no self-serve food at dining halls, disposable plates and silverware, mask requirements on campus, limited numbers in classes, and several other guidelines. A strict no visitor policy is in place, and students who clearly disregard rules in place for COVID-19 are punished. But as students inevitably find ways around rules, travel, and party- restrictions, cases will keep spiking, and the university will not progress through the phases of reopening as originally scheduled. 

With so many students and citizens continually disregarding CDC guidelines, it becomes imperative that one is responsible enough to protect oneself and others. Regularly taking immune supplements, washing your hands, and cleaning often are just some ways you can help prevent yourself from catching COVID. However, it is never guaranteed that one won’t contract the COVID, and it remains unknown as to how the virus might affect one’s body, as there is still not enough research supporting its effects. 

But the main responsibility we have during this pandemic is to track symptoms, get tested when feeling sick, and track contact with people who are positive. In doing so, we hold the power to slow the spread of the virus--at least until a tested vaccine is approved and can be used. After all, it could determine the fate of how normal the next semesters will be for students and all others.