CRIER
jan. 21, 2022 volume 58 issue 6
munster high school 8808
columbia
ave. munster, IN
46321
Source: Google Forms survey of 45 students Jan. 10-13
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY HENRY HOFFERTH
PANDEMIC PANDEMONIUM Feeling panicked, William Oar, freshman, demonstrates the stress of covid fatigue. As more people begin to go out, covid cases continue to rise. “I do not think (students) take (covid) very seriously,” William said. “Adults in general, they take the vaccine and they think [...] they’re all powerful.”
Nearly two years into the pandemic, students share their personal experiences REENA ALSAKAJI story editor
She never expected her life to look like this. August 2021, things were looking up for students, including Isidora Pavlic, junior. Following over a year of isolation, MHS was back in-person and, though it seems unfathomable to students now, masks were considered optional at the beginning of the year. There seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel. But as the months went by, the situation seemed to worsen—the Omicron variant appeared. As of Jan. 11, there were a reported 11,813 new cases in Lake County, more than at any other point in the pandemic. “(There are) always those worries constantly in the back of your head,” Isidora said. “Like, ‘Oh, what if I get sick?’ I’m really worried about my grandparents. And with the Omicron surge, I haven’t really been going plac-
es. I wear two masks and I do what I’m supposed to do. I’m getting increasingly nervous. I feel like there’s some people who don’t care and don’t ever care.” Indiana ranked the worst out of all 50 states in terms of being covid safe, in a ranking conducted by WalletHub. The rise in cases has not only impacted students’ lives in terms of safety, but nearly two years of isolation has led to something else—covid fatigue. Spending what seems like forever working to no avail, students struggle as no end to the repeated isolation is in sight. For many students, the urge to give in is frequent, and continuing to convert to new rules seems hopeless. “(The changes now) can be pretty overwhelming sometimes,” Clara Dumaresq, sophomore, said. “More often, it’s just like, ‘I can’t believe this is actually happening’—that I’m living through (this)...I think people are more or less just thinking ‘let’s get this
over with,’ and they just want it to be gone (and) they just don’t want to wear masks and that’s causing a bigger problem because it’s spreading even worse now.” Navigating teenage years is difficult enough on its own, according to students. With the added pressure of being thrown into a world that seems stuck on retaining its old foundations, interacting with other people seems harder than ever. Teenagers and youth in general have reported struggling the most with their mental health, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and interacting with others is part of this. “(The biggest way covid has affected me) honestly has to do with my social levels,” William Oar, freshman, said. “I’m an ‘antisocial-social person.’ I don’t really strike up a conversation unless they actually talk to me first. (Now), I talk less and don’t really interact with anyone.”
Adjusting to a pandemic that has been going on for months has taken a harsh toll on teenagers—especially when it comes to navigating a world that only seems to be getting worse. In addition to the hardships at school, many students’ struggles do not end there. Despite being nearly two years in the pandemic, and despite finally hoping for things to look up, many students have had to live with the fear of their loved ones getting covid. “My grandma recently just got (covid),” Adam Muntean, sophomore, said. “She’s in the hospital. We just found out she has pancreatic cancer, and we’re trying to get her into someone else’s care, but no one can take her because she’s positive. Now I can’t see her or go visit her in the hospital.”