Staff Writer- Ethan LaLumiere

Now that classes are back in full swing and we’re done with the second week of the semester, that means many different kinds of germs on campus are too.

“There have been a lot of people, even people on our floor, who have COVID. I know that in choir, almost everyone in my entire section has been sick, so that may have been passed around,” First-year Makaio Tan said. “We’ve coined many different terms to refer to the campus cold. It’s the campus COVID, and it’s the choir cold.”

People have been coming down with cases of COVID-19, pink eye, and of course the signature campus cold. Many people are now living in proximity to one another all the time in a way they haven’t before, which can lead to bacteria and viruses spreading much more easily.

“A dormitory is kind of like a petri dish, with lots of different new things thrown into it. Sometimes your body has seen those illnesses or infections in the past and can fight them off, and sometimes it’s something brand new,” Director of Health Services Heather Dale said. “When you bring all these new things together, that petri dish tends to grow a lot, especially at the start of school.”

Getting sick while in college can be burdensome, especially with more intense classes and responsibilities outside the classroom as well. Additionally, most students on campus have a roommate, and so it can be hard to isolate yourself and actually stop the spread. There are a few ways to prevent getting sick before it happens, though.

“First and foremost is taking care of yourself. Getting enough fluids, getting enough sleep, and eating well are all things that help keep your immune system high. If you can avoid getting sick, then you will avoid spreading illness,” Dale said. “How do we keep a community safe? You have to take care of yourself, do what you can to keep yourself healthy, and that will help keep our community healthy and safe.”

In addition, basic hygiene is essential in stopping the spread of germs. Always making sure to wash your hands, take regular showers, and keep your room clean—essentials that go a long way towards keeping you, your roommate, and everyone around you happy and healthy.

“We’re not used to this environment. People’s immune systems are weaker, and we’re in a cramped space. There’s so many assailants on their immune system, so many germs. If one person gets sick, that’s gonna go everywhere. So a lot of people are used to their cleaner homes, where there’s less indoor air pollution,” First-year Nic Walsh said.

A lack of air conditioning in some dorms and a ban on window air conditioning units can mean that the air inside becomes stale rather quickly. This can lead to more sicknesses spreading throughout dorms, especially early in the year when people aren’t used to it.

“If you do start to feel sick, make sure that you’re really washing your hands, that you’re covering your cough, or putting a mask on if you’re coughing. The key is, when someone has a fever, that is when they are most contagious. So we ask people that have fevers, to stay out of class, to stay out of work, to avoid the cafeteria, or to wear a mask,” Dale said.

Students have been getting sick around campus a lot already, and many have been trying a variety of different resources to make the symptoms manageable.

“I wish I could say that I’ve been sleeping more, but I’ve been swamped with work. I’ve been drinking hella Emergen-C, drinking a lot of orange juice, vitamin C stuff, and drinking lots of fluids. I’ve been just pounding them and making sure that I’m staying hydrated, taking vitamin C and a lot of cough drops,” Tan said.

The Health Services Office, located on the lower level of Campus Center underneath the Caf, also has many different resources for students who are feeling sick, including a new vending machine with free health supplies for students to use.

“There’s a vending machine outside of the Health Service Office, and it’s the peer assistants that are actually stocking that and managing it. There are some sample medications in there, as well as some cough drops and just some other things. It’s being funded through a grant, so everything is free. We hope that people don’t abuse it so that we can keep it free, but we really want people to have access to things when they start to not feel good,” Dale said. “We know that rest, fluids, and use of over-the-counter medicines can be really helpful in getting over that first day or two of just feeling really crappy.”

There are also resources for you to get tested for various illnesses on campus without even having to leave for a pharmacy or a doctor’s office.

“We like to say that we’re your clinic on campus, and that can be something where you might stop by and ask to have your temperature checked, or you would walk in and say, I think I need to be evaluated. I need someone to decide if I need a strep test, a mono test, a covid test, or a flu test. We can do all of those tests in our clinic and have same-day results, and that can be really helpful in guiding people. As an example, if someone does have strep throat, we have penicillin in our office that we can dispense right from the office,” Dale said.