Although the first third of the fall semester has flown by and my short-lived on-campus experience feels exceedingly far in the past, I wasn’t expecting a “spring updates” email in my inbox until well into October. Yet there it was, an email chock-full of bullet points and dates that I quickly skimmed through once, then read a bit more carefully. The contents of the email themselves were split into two sections: “What We’ve Learned” and “What We Know Now.” Essentially, the email addressed the mistakes that caused the rapid spread of COVID-19 this semester, the success of NC State’s testing and tracing efforts and how the University plans to start the spring semester on Jan. 11, planning to keep the students on campus for more than three weeks, despite the fact that a vaccine will most likely not be available by then.
Upon an initial skim of the article, I was cautiously optimistic about moving back in the spring. Although I am a native Raleigh resident who has the luxury of visiting Talley Student Union or the libraries despite my forced move back home, I miss living on campus. Apartments are scarce and somewhat expensive, especially now that many students who were once living on campus have scattered to other housing options through the end of 2020. That being said, I’m incredibly lucky to have a home to fall back on for unprecedented times like these. However, I’m ready for any semblance of “the college experience” that I unceremoniously have been missing out on.
However, the moment I read “increased community standards,” my careful optimism fell short. With no plan for specific protocols in place as of the time of the email, I couldn’t help but sigh and feel the all too familiar paranoia rise within me as I considered what would essentially be another fall semester in the spring, if the “increased” enforcement of community standard violations remains vague and ultimately ineffective. Despite the claims to “more aggressively enforce violations,” the words ring hollow in the wake of several fraternity and sorority parties with minimal repercussions that have led to hundreds of cases across campus.
NC State needs to make a specific plan to enforce community violations. Make the “disciplinary action” that should follow a violation explicit to the student body, and follow through even when a fraternity inevitably throws another party. A colleague of mine said that Greek life shouldn’t be the University’s scapegoat, and while I agree that Greek life students weren’t the only ones who were breaking the rules, they are adults. They should face actions for their consequences past the possibility of contracting COVID-19. It’s unreasonable to expect a slap on the wrist and a warning to prevent parties across campus that contribute to the rampant spread of the virus. It’s imperative that the University comes up with measures to enforce the violations that will inevitably follow at the beginning of a new semester.
If it was truly the communal living that contributed to a faster spread of COVID-19 than parties did, then the new single-occupancy dorm rooms should prove that. Bringing fewer students on campus should also reduce any spread that may have occurred in the dining halls or other communal spaces on campus. That being said, more transparency in campuswide COVID-19 data and increased testing are two precautions that NC State should take, one of which was only vaguely mentioned in the email. In the days, weeks and months to come before Jan. 11, it is essential that NC State takes a step back, recognizes their own faults and implements specific measures that will give students the peace of mind they need in order to return to campus.
