By Marketta Bennett
During the month of August, many schools and universities returned back to campus, but as everyone knew, this did not last longer than the first two weeks. After the first week of school, many made a transition to go back to online classes instead of in person lectures because of the spread of COVID-19 among students, including NC State University.
Unlike many other schools in the Raleigh area and outside of Raleigh, William Peace University is a very small university and having such a small campus allows students, staff, and faculty to remain on campus without any major conflicts.
WPU made it a requirement to have students check their temperature every day before leaving their living space. But is that really reliable? Some students, and I, think it’s not.
“I believe WPU should add another method along with taking temperatures because some students don’t take their temperatures everyday before leaving their living space,” said Darrel Chisum, a junior at WPU. “If anything, some students can be lying about their temperature simply because they forgot to take it or because they don’t want anyone knowing they have a COVID symptom, people lie.”
Though WPU made it a requirement to take daily temperatures and everyone must wear a mask, I believe there should be another way to determine COVID symptoms for the sake of the WPU community. Many people on campus, those who are 100% healthy and those who are like me, who have underlying health conditions, are putting themselves at risk everyday.
“I was nervous to return back to campus. I honestly did not want to go back because the risk seemed too high,” said Sade Harrison, a senior at NCSU. “I have family members I go home to that can’t afford getting this virus and knowing there are asymptomatic people is scary.”
Reducing the class sizes helps a lot during this pandemic but it can still put people at risk. During class, people like to take a drink of water or take off their mask to breathe. Is that okay? To an extent maybe. A student walking out the classroom to do such a thing would be the most appropriate thing to do.
“It only took 11 days for NCSU to switch back to online classes because of all the cases that were on campus,” said Harrison. “ Since I came back, there have been at least 100 positive cases, and that is just crazy.”
I believe that WPU is doing a good job at preventing the spread of COVID, but at the same time, I believe there should be more than having students take their own temperature for example, having an actual doctor authorize and sign a form stating the student is COVID free at least twice a month.
“I think WPU is doing a pretty good job with maintaining the spread of COVID-19. I do wish there was more interactment somehow because it often feels like a ghost town on campus,” said Chisum.
To remain a safe community and remain on campus, WPU should invest in another way, along with daily temperatures, to track COVID symptoms.