Uprising: Masks, Sickness and COVID

By Gabe Kanae

You could see it clear as day and the discussion amongst college students has never been more — the rise of sicknesses and its spread has been increasing now more than ever.

Following the start of the new spring semester, most students I have talked too have already experienced a sickness that was transmitted to them from their college peers, yet the amount of expression and attempts of solutions from the University has never been lower.

The university does not have a focus or desire to address or offer accommodations to students who gain a sickness while also testing negative for COVID-19.

Most professors at the university only suggest ways to recover and catch up on work if the student tested positive for COVID-19 and needed to quarantine, but people with com mon colds or flus are forced to miss out on class with no consideration to their needs and health.

When the university returned to most in-person classes, we began to see a rise of neglect in student health. The university al lowed and forced students to work in actively dangerous air quality environments and also enforced policies for sicknesses that only ap plied to the COVID or COVID-related illness.

After the university spent months work ing on a platform and ways for students to access online learning, they refuse to teach professors or require them to accommodate for bad environmental issues or illnesses. It seems the university has all together man aged to forget why online learning worked and they haven’t thought of how they can implement it today to help students study in a healthier manner.

Another question and topic that has risen among students is the po tential return of masks and for some, a re quirement for safety. Though masks haven’t been required for over a year, some students have begun to return to wearing them in an attempt to prevent themselves from gaining illnesses and also spreading them.

Some students however, stick to not wear ing masks even if they are sick. There have been numerous occasions and issues with students coughing, sneezing and expressing symptoms of an illness or cold without pro tecting their peers. This only causes illnesses to spread while promoting irresponsibility.

Masks have also begun to be seen as an issue. Some students are often confused or feel awkward seeing a student in a mask. I’ve seen students who wear masks get questioned on their choice of why and also made fun of for wearing masks when it is not required. Unfortunately, it appears that since masks were required for such an extensive amount of time, the idea of small numbers of people wearing them in public can make others feel weird or assume the wearer has a sickness themselves even though that may not even be the case.

University students should return to wearing masks if they feel they are sick or catching an illness. The university needs to address the lack of support they have to students who may have a contagious illness that is a weekend away and getting home late Sunday night can get exhausting once you jump from week-to-week. Just make sure to plan out what kind of assignments you have through the week and do a light trip if you need to.

And when you do this planning, it’s important you book your tickets at least two weeks or more ahead of time. Travel tickets are usually much cheaper a month or two in advance and prices may jump the closer the date gets. However, hostels can vary. Usually they are cheaper a month in advance, but sometimes as the date gets closer, they need to fill their dorms, so they sometimes lower their prices.

But, make sure to have fun (duh!). You should be traveling and you will be experiencing some wild and beautiful things, so take a moment to yourself on the side of the ruckus and just soak it in.

Just remember to try it all, if you can.

Opinions expressed in The Nevada Sagebrush are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Jaedy Young is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. He can be reached at edrewes@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.