Since upperclassmen Gusties have been finally given the clearance to return to campus this weekend, it is brutally important that everyone remember to take safety precautions to avoid being sent home once again. While it’s pretty obvious that we should remember our masks, here are a few other things to remember when coming back to campus.
One: Hand Sanitizer
If you’ve always been one to have a tiny bottle of sanitizer chained to your backpack, you’re about to become the most popular person on campus. You’ll want to be washing your hands all the time, and your busy class schedule might not allow for you to run to the bathroom. Having sanitizer will allow you to kill all the germs on your hands before and after eating, after leaving class, or after touching literally anything in the campus center.
Two: Thermometer
Gustavus’ COVID safety plan relies heavily on trusting students to self-monitor for symptoms. A huge part of that is taking your temperature daily. Remember to bring a thermometer with you and make it part of your daily routine to take your temperature. And if your temperature is 100.4 degrees or greater, don’t go about your normal day. Contact your doctor or health services to get tested for COVID-19.
Three: Disinfectant
There’s a pretty good chance that the room you are moving into this weekend hasn’t been lived in since March. That means there’s probably a lot of dust, germs, and who knows what else. Be sure to pack cleaners so you can keep your space clean and bacteria-free all semester long.
Four: Your Laptop Charger
Being back on campus doesn’t mean you’re done with the long hours of sitting in front of your laptop. Online and hybrid classes mean you are still going to need your computer, and Zoom takes a lot of battery power. Remember to bring your charger to avoid any mid-class power issues.
Five: Your Textbooks
With all the worry about COVID, it’s easy to forget that we are still students. Don’t forget to pack school supplies alongside your COVID survival kits‒that means notebooks, writing utensils, and (of course) your textbooks. And if you have any books you are already done using for a class, bring them anyway. You might need them later for writing a paper, or to return them to the BookMark.