OPINION: Students need to put the safety of others first and stop partying

All students were aware of the risks of returning to campus this fall before they moved in. Many students who chose to return to campus came with masks, cleaning supplies and the understanding that they had to follow university guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, not every student is doing this, and their refusal to follow the rules is putting everyone else in danger. As an underclassman living on campus, I am begging my fellow students to stop going out to parties and exposing their friends, classmates and roommates to the virus.

This year is nothing like any of us were hoping for. We’ve all had to make changes within our lives in order to stay healthy and sane. Normally, going to a party and dancing a little too close to a bunch of strangers is not only socially acceptable, but encouraged in some social circles. However, this year is not normal. When you choose to go to a party, you are choosing to expose anyone who shares the same facilities as you to any pathogens you were exposed to at the party.

Let me give you an example of why this matters. On the second day of school, a big group of girls from my dorm went out to a party. They came back late and were not wearing masks. I ran into one of these girls in the bathroom, during which she touched the sink faucet, the soap dispenser, everything in the first stall and the wall. It wasn’t until 1 p.m. the following afternoon that the bathroom was cleaned.

That meant, for a 12-hour period, every girl from my residence hall ran the risk of unknowingly touching an area possibly contaminated with COVID-19. Everyone knew this situation was a possibility when they decided to move back on campus, but knowing it could happen and being the cause of it are two very different things. By going out to a party and breaking the basic rules regarding how to stop the spread of COVID-19, you are breaking the unspoken promise to your community to fight COVID-19, while also putting the whole student population in danger. 

If the virus wasn’t already on our campus then this wouldn’t be a problem, but it is. Within the week of Aug. 12-18, 424 students were tested for the coronavirus. This statistic excludes all standard COVID-19 tests run on Student Health Service student patients—which would bring the total number of tests to 502—and all students who went to an off-campus testing site to be tested for the virus. What these 424 tests represent is how many students specifically on campus had a legitimate reason to consider themselves exposed to the virus. Exposure to COVID-19 is a real risk on campus.

If you choose to possibly expose yourself to the virus by prioritizing a party over your own health, then that’s your choice, but it is not right to expose your friends, classmates and those who live with you to it without their knowledge or consent. We all agreed to do our best to reduce the spread of the virus when we returned to campus. The people around you are giving up more than you may know in order to do that. Going out to a party just to return to campus and expose others is downright selfish, inconsiderate and irresponsible. 

The parties will be here next year, but your friends, classmates and roommates might not be if we continue to spread the virus. For their sake, please take a break from going to parties and do your part to stop the spread of COVID-19. After all, parties are not the only way to have fun with friends. Going out to eat, having a socially-distanced game of spikeball and hanging out with a small group of friends are all valid ways to have fun and not contribute to the pandemic. 

Editor’s Note: Corrected headline.