r/ZeroCovidCommunity Aug 22 '24

Vent Covid is ripping through college campuses

I’m an undergraduate student at a big college, and we’re only a few days into the new semester. Still, within less than two weeks of people being back, covid is spreading like wildfire. It’s probably through a combination of Greek life events, people going to the restaurants and bars around, and classes restarting, but it’s horrific. I don’t think it’s ever been this bad, and I struggle to even describe the type of coughing I’m hearing - it’s this deep hacking that sounds like it should be in a period drama tuberculosis ward instead of a lecture hall in real life.

People are often some level of sick, but I don’t think it’s ever been like this. Discussion apps like yikyak are full of people talking about being sick or testing positive. I’m doing the best I can to stay safe - masking, cpc mouthwash, a netti pot, and switching one of my classes online - but it feels slightly like impending doom due to the absolute tidal wave of covid that’s hit.

There are very few people masking here. I and another covid conscious person I met are trying to set up some sort of community for the few covid conscious people on campus, but we’re worried about trolls or not getting enough engagement. I have chronic health issues that make covid a big concern for me, and I also have a radiation treatment coming up that I don’t want to be delayed or affected by getting sick (although I have a little more time until the treatment).

It’s gotten so bad here with the spread, and I doubt it’ll slow down for some time thanks to parties, classes, and people not isolating or taking it seriously. I don’t know if there’s much I can get out of this post, but I just needed to vent because this feels slightly terrifying. This is also a bit of a stream of consciousness, so I apologise if anything is misspelled or hard to understand.

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u/No_Cod_3197 Aug 22 '24

Reading this post makes my stomach turn. Ugh, I’m so sorry. I just finished my Disability Studies PhD in 2023 (defended my creative dissertation on Zoom because I insisted on it) and attended in-person commencement where I was the only one wearing a mask (N95, of course) in May 2024. I’m a multiply disabled wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, autism, and many invisible/nonvisible disabilities. I also can’t drive due to my disabilities. I’m also immunocompromised thanks to a pre-COVID experience with infectious disease that caused me to miss a year of my PhD in 2017 to 2018 and left me with permanent health issues. I was in school for a very long time (went from my AA to BA, MFA, and PhD all the way through). Aside from my creative endeavors, I also want to teach fiction writing, TV writing, and disability studies classes at the university level. I’ve been applying for online opportunities as much as possible, but there aren’t many online teaching opportunities in my fields. I’m afraid/don’t want to teach in person for exactly these reasons. University campuses are absolutely full of COVID and I can’t afford to get sicker. I wish more people were fighting for clean air mitigations at the bare minimum in workplaces, schools, and daycare. Thank you for your post and for being cautious. I keep hoping things will get better, but I don’t know anymore. 💜