The Façade of Normalcy
I could have never imagined missing the walk to class in the blazing Texas heat, sweat dripping down my back and my hair wet by the time I make it to my 9am class. It’s a walk I used to dread and weigh if it was worth it to miss class because it was simply too hot. Online classes kept me sheltered in my air conditioned apartment where I barely had to brave the heat. As things attempt to return to normal, that means I’m back on campus. It’s something I have mixed feelings about.
The nostalgia of campus is all-consuming. I miss seeing friends and paying for overpriced campus coffee before classes. While I desperately want to be back on campus, the threat of COVID-19 is still looming. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott passed an executive order prohibiting public schools, including public colleges, from enforcing a mask mandate in early May. The lifting of mask policies flew across the state and now many of us will be back on campus maskless in the fall.
While Texas is lifting precautions, many states and universities are cracking down before the fall semester. There have been multiple conversations surrounding vaccinations on campus, and while the possibility of this happening in Texas is slim, there are at least 80 universities mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for the upcoming year. In our K-12 education we were required to have vaccinations to attend school. The COVID-19 vaccine, therefore, seems like an easy requirement.
Some of the schools leading the vaccine mandate include Indiana University, as their mandate is a step towards being able to have a normal fall semester. Indiana, however, is not requiring students to upload documentation, but rather having students attest they have been vaccinated. The school has received heat from students and the community, who say the mandate violates their first amendment rights. A federal lawsuit has been filed.
Other schools are staying away from mandates to avoid the pushback that Indiana University is receiving, but these institutions are heavily encouraging students and staff to get the vaccine regardless. In an effort to push vaccines some schools are providing incentives. Purdue is providing a raffle to win a year of in-state tuition for students who are vaccinated. These incentives are hoping to encourage students to get vaccinated before they return to campus after the digital year we have had.
With students heading back to campuses within the next month, there’s still a lot up in the air regarding vaccinations, masks policies, and the general run of show for fall semester. Being safe and continuing to stop the spread of COVID-19 is crucial and should be a priority as we step back into normalcy. Things are changing daily: the new variants, potential booster shots, and what campus life will look like.
While many campuses can’t mandate vaccinations, they are heavily encouraged. Doing your part to prevent the spread and keeping others safe is imperative. We all miss campus and normalcy is around the corner, but we can only reach it if we take the proper precautions. Wearing our masks as variant cases rise and getting the vaccine not only protects you, but everyone around you.
We can do our part. Returning to campus is no small feat and protecting ourselves and those around us is the first step back.
By Emma Bittner
Rom-Com fanatic and coffee connoisseur with a little bit of "I wanna save the world" in me.