Written By: Bailey Mruzik
COVID-19 has been an unprecedented time for everyone, young and old. We have all sacrificed family get-togethers, school functions, sports, and everything “normal” in our lives.
We’ve hid our faces behind masks, been extra careful about hand-washing and social distanced in order to keep us and our loved ones safe. However, after two years of this, hearing debates and arguments about the virus is getting pretty old.
Before I go any further- I am not discounting COVID in any way. I fully support mask wearing and social distancing, as I have throughout the entire pandemic. I am fully vaccinated and truly believe in the work scientists are doing to keep us healthy.
However, I do believe it is important to return to some sense of normalcy, especially because this virus will probably always be around. That is why I have been so impressed with Adrian’s policies and mandates, from the beginning of the pandemic until now. They have allowed for a (somewhat) regular college experience.
I think being tested is a good place to start. Before the vaccine became widely available and we were all returning to campus, it was smart of the college to make everyone have a negative test before coming back in the fall.
Wearing masks in classes and other indoor buildings is also something that did not bother me one bit. These types of measures allowed everyone to come back to campus in-person, unlike most other colleges.
Being an athlete, I greatly appreciated still having a season last fall, even at the height of the pandemic. The weekly nose swabs that practically reached your brain were kind of annoying, but that’s another story. I was still thankful we were able to return to some sense of normal, even with extra safety precautions taken.
This year, things have gone back to business as usual. If you are vaccinated, you are exempt from wearing a mask, as well as weekly testing if you are an athlete.
Now, I can have a full athletic season and enjoy my senior year as much as possible.
All around, I think Adrian did a good job managing the virus on campus. People are likely to disagree with that statement, but in all honesty- does anyone even know the true “right answers?”
I don’t find it fair at all to lay into leaders or other people in positions of power for how they have handled the pandemic. After all, nobody saw this virus coming, and everyone has different opinions on how it should be handled. There is no right or wrong answer to a global health crisis that has affected more people than we could have ever imagined.
The College World 