Booster clinic on campus

__ By Jac St. Jean __ @jacsaintj

Springfield College continued its commitment to providing its community with the opportunity to get vaccinated, as per the vaccine mandate the institution holds, yet again this past Monday.

On Jan. 24, the College’s first COVID-19 booster clinic was held in the PE Annex Testing Center from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. partnering with the Behavioral Health Network (BHN)/Equity Vaccine Clinic, a regional behavioral health service provider.

Recently, BHN has been rolling out community vaccine clinics in the City of Springfield and surrounding areas. Jessica, a nurse for BHN, helped administer COVID vaccines -- and the flu shot -- to members of the College community.

“We came with all the vaccines,” Jessica stated. “It’s up to the person, and whatever stage they’re at, but we were prepared to give first (doses), second, and boosters so we had Monderna, Pfizer and J&J (vaccines).”

Jessica and three other nurses administered vaccines to over 100 Springfield College students and employees throughout the four-hour clinic.

Despite their small staff, the patients moved quickly through the first line to fill out a medical form with BHN, and then entered a second line to receive the vaccine from a nurse.

After receiving the shot, the students, employees and faculty members were provided chairs to sit in for a brief observation period.

BHN is continuing to provide vaccine clinics to the Springfield area, hosting them currently in elementary and middle schools, and planning to host another one down the road at American International College.

“Being in a college setting, it’s so many people,” Jessica expressed.

“You’re around so many different people. There are people who go home and stay on campus, so with everybody being vaccinated and being in the same classroom together, it minimizes the spread and the sickness so everyone can just stay healthy, go to school, and learn.”

Criminal Justice major AJ Menezes received his booster shot at the clinic, and expressed how effortless the process was to get a vaccine on campus.

“It was pretty easy,” Menezes said. “(Springfield College) sent out an email to us with a link to register, and it was really simple. You just clicked that you were getting a vaccine, you put down your medical information – it was pretty straightforward. I got the registration info done in two minutes.”

The clinic was held at a critical time in this semester, as the campus is currently seeing a spike in positive cases within the community. As of Jan. 25, the COVID-19 Testing Dashboard reports 334 positive tests in the past 30 days, and over 11% of those were reported this past week. Menezes believes that the clinic will bring hope for a more “normal” semester down the road.

“Hopefully, if the booster proves to be effective, and a large majority of the campus is vaccinated and boosted, then I don’t see a reason for [the college] to have such a tight grip on the community,” Menezes stated.

For more information on vaccine clinics hosted by BHN, head to www.bhninc.org. All information and updates regarding COVID-19 at Springfield College can be found at www.springfield.edu/covid.

The booster clinic was held in the Springfield College PE Annex. (Jac St. Jean/The Student)

CAB hosted a snowglobes and hot chocolate event in the Student Union to start the semester. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

_ By Braedan Shea _ @othafishinthes1

After nearly a full month away from campus for winter break, Springfield College students have trickled back to Alden Street. Many find themselves preparing for this semester’s workload, catching up with friends or even putting new additions onto their dorms.

The community has come back to life.

“I’m excited to be back,” said sophomore Madison Daly. “I missed my friends a lot, so it’s been nice to reunite with everyone.”

Her sentiments are shared by many, including first-year student Lindsey Laughlan. “I am excited for the spring semester; I missed everyone on campus over break, so I’m happy to be back and see everyone again.”

For others, just getting back into the swing of things is all they need. “It’s good to be back and get right back into the same routine I’ve built over the past few years,” said junior Aymen Tayoubi-Idrissi.

And for one student in particular, this semester holds a lot more meaning than others.

“I’m excited to spend my last semester here with everyone, because I am probably not going to be coming back to the United States after this, because I’m an international student,” said Kenny Bui, a senior in his final semester at the College. After graduating in May, he will return to his home country of Vietnam.

It is especially important for Bui, not only because this may be his last time in the United States, but also because he wants to make some lasting memories to make up for his shortened time on campus.

“I wasn’t here at school last year and I wasn’t here for the semester before that, so that’s already three semesters not being here on campus,” said Bui.

The ever-looming pandemic is in the back of Bui’s mind as he works to make his last semester as memorable as possible, but he thinks that the school is doing a good job.

“I think our school is doing pretty good at making sure that everyone is testing negative, and getting their results back before they can go to classes or into their dorm rooms… I feel pretty safe to be on campus right now.”

Lindsey Laughlan is one of the 72 students that tested positive for the virus in the last week, and said that she is nervous about the COVID situation as of late. Laughlin doesn’t want to fall behind in classes -- or even worse, to be moved back to online classes, just like last year.

Most students, though, are expectant and optimistic for brighter days ahead, including better weather and in-person classes.

“The current COVID situation is obviously not ideal, but I’m glad we got to move in and our classes are still in person,” said Daly. “I think once the weather gets warmer and we can be outside our campus more, we will have more of a sense of normalcy.”

As the semester progresses, and the community continues to learn to grow amidst the pandemic’s adversity, the revitalization of Alden St. is well underway.