COVID-19, a strain of the Coronavirus, has swept almost every part of the nation, including Michigan, thanks to contagion and travel. Since the outbreak, there have been many different responses from students and staff alike circulating Albion’s campus.
Some students are afraid. Some students say that people just need to wash their hands and they will be fine. Most students will give others the death stare if they’re caught coughing, sneezing, or blowing their noses.
This heightened sense of paranoia is starting to make the campus feel like it’s under a microscope. It’s making students feel uncomfortable, putting them in a constant state of high alert. Students want to know if they are too paranoid or if they are staying ahead of the pandemic.
“I feel like if we just prevent germ spread by washing our hands, we should be alright,” said Jalieea Woods, a first-year from Chicago. “I don’t think the virus is going to wipe us out, but If you are sick, make sure you get checked so you don’t spread it.”
Some students feel it is the media to blame for their feelings of stress and paranoia. This would not be the first time that the media has heavily updated society about something that already incites fear with one simple update. Keeping society updated is important. However, there is a difference between broadcasting information molding facts into something that sounds worse than it actually is.
“I feel like everyone, not just Albion, is paranoid by the corona,” said Sharon Harrison, a junior from Southfield, Mich. “There has been so many different things that have hit the world, and we survive them all. I feel as if the media makes things worse, and social media doesn’t help as well, which is fueling most of the paranoia in Albion and the world.”
Meanwhile, some students are on the other end of the spectrum and believe that people are not too paranoid because of the large impact of the virus over such a short period of time.
“I understand that the campus is taking preemptive measures against the Coronavirus, however the slightest bit of carelessness could make a huge impact on the student body’s health,” said Bobbi Jones, a sophomore from Detroit, Mich. “ This is a very serious disease, and there is no cure. Extreme measures should be taken so we can afford accidents.”
Students are growing tired of being on high alert, whether they think it’s worth it or not. People’s bodies aren’t made to be in a constant state of stress and strain, but people put themselves through it anyway because that’s what everyone else seems to be doing to survive.
COVID-19 may be on the news constantly, but at this point, all people can do is cover their coughs, wash their hands and stop assuming others are sick just because they may have a tickle in their throats.
I have a cough that I’ve had off and on since early 2000′ s due to ACE INHIBITORS blood pressure medicine if I cough in public and someone makes it their business to look at funny.. I’m snapping and cursing an out.because everything isn’t about covid.ol extra paranoid ass PEOPLE.I will not hold in something as natural as a cough.people need to think broader.