Opinion: COVID-19 nonetheless exists, regardless of what NYU appears to assume

As you navigate the corridors of NYU’s residence halls or rush to your lessons, you’ll in all probability see the brilliant purple “Masks All the time Welcome” indicators plastered on the partitions — a testomony to the hypocritical stance the college has taken relating to COVID-19. Whereas these indicators are up in just about each NYU constructing, the college has really lifted most of its restrictions as a result of each widespread vaccination and drugs availability. 

However this leniency with laws doesn’t take into consideration that college students and the New Yorkers they arrive into contact with are nonetheless contracting the virus, and the implications could be extreme.

Simply 5 months in the past, NYU controversially dropped its COVID-19 vaccine requirement for each college students and guests, prematurely signaling the tip of the battle in opposition to the virus. Since then, the title COVID-19 has principally pale from media and every day dialog, however on a regular basis actuality tells a unique story.

When all three of first-year Audrey Guo’s suitemates examined optimistic for the virus in September, she couldn’t get a free take a look at because the NYU Scholar Well being Heart is now not providing them. When it got here to housing, NYU had nothing to supply when it comes to further house or sources. They prompt that she put on a masks in her room and spend as a lot time outdoors the house as attainable whereas her roommates had been quarantined. Because of this, Guo needed to depend on the kindness of mates to discover a place to remain, and her classmates had to assist ship meals to her quarantined suitemates.

“I referred to as like twenty individuals, perhaps extra, perhaps much less,” Guo mentioned. “I’m within the rec room speaking to strangers asking ‘does anybody have a spare mattress, I can use?’” 

This isn’t the form of assist system a prestigious establishment must be providing.

Along with the shortage of assist for college students affected by COVID-19, NYU hustle tradition locations lecturers above private well being. The college’s attendance insurance policies mandate class presence and permit solely a restricted variety of excused absences earlier than penalties. This compels college students to attend their lessons even when unwell, needlessly sacrificing their well being.

Coming to lessons when sick isn’t simply worsening your individual state of affairs, it’s additionally placing others in danger. Nonetheless, coughs and runny noses can nonetheless be heard in lecture rooms and lecture halls this midterm season. This strict tutorial tradition has established a worrisome lack of concern for the essential well being and well-being of scholars. It turns into far more critical when college students contract COVID-19 and nonetheless really feel compelled to come back to class, perpetuating the unfold of an sickness that NYU appears to contemplate to be over. 

In NYU’s most up-to-date COVID-19 info information it says, “With a lowered threat of significant sickness — because of the effectiveness of vaccines and extra broadly accessible medicine for COVID-19 — widespread restrictions have principally been lifted all over the world and on NYU’s campuses.” If you happen to navigate to this web site to search for COVID-19 assessments, you may be redirected to sources outdoors the college. 

Even when it’s not attainable for NYU to supply free COVID-19 assessments, it’s not unreasonable for college students to anticipate extra assist. The college may not less than provide various lodging for college students with contaminated roommates, or change its insurance policies to permit college students to overlook class with out penalty in the event that they’re sick or at a heightened threat of being optimistic.

NYU ignoring the continued challenges of COVID-19 displays an establishment that places a masks of normalcy on points it will possibly’t management. The well being and security of its college students must be the college’s utmost precedence, slightly than an afterthought within the pursuit of educational rigor.

WSN’s Opinion part strives to publish concepts value discussing. The views offered within the Opinion part are solely the views of the author.

Contact Ganga Subramanian at [email protected].