sara luber headshot
Happy one year of the pandemic! Remember when everybody was told it would just be two weeks of lockdown and then we could return to normal? Well, it is now March — a full year after the initial lockdown — and I am pretty sure that we are all still waiting on normal. While it is likely mask-wearing will remain for a long time, Gov. Cooper announced North Carolina will begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions beginning Feb. 26, 2021.
As I navigate college during a pandemic, all I want is to have in-person classes and club meetings. Oh, and to never ever use Zoom again. But I also realize that the pandemic cannot end simply because I want it to, so I am caught in this Catch-22 of eagerly wishing for restrictions to be lifted while also wanting to ensure a safe environment.
With Gov. Cooper’s removal of curfew, as well as a shift to a later curfew for alcohol sales and increase in capacity for indoor events such as gyms and movie theaters, it is easy to believe that the pandemic is coming to an end. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has actually warned state governments to not ease their restrictions as new variants of COVID-19 are rapidly spreading.
As the battle continues between states and national governments in regards to the best way to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, I have to wonder where college students stand. Within the last year, college students have been blamed countless times for the spread of the virus. Regardless of how many researchers have stated that blaming college students is unfair, it appears that students are still being targeted for rapid spread in certain areas. Frankly, it is completely unreasonable to blame college students entirely for the spread of the virus, however, college students do play a large role.
While aggressively blaming students for the spread of the virus is unfair, it would also be unfair if students did not take responsibility for the part they do play. As bars allow indoor seating again and there is no longer a statewide curfew, college students must remember that we are still in a pandemic and must act like it. COVID-19 cases have been declining in recent weeks, but the CDC director recently announced that cases appear to have stalled because new variants of the virus are spreading. So, is now even the time for restrictions to be eased in North Carolina?
Unfortunately, it seems as if it will be the responsibility of college students themselves to ensure that the virus does not spread rapidly throughout campus and the Raleigh community. As many people will likely start to decrease their social distancing in order to quickly return to normal, college students need to be particularly careful in maintaining their social bubble and not contributing to the rise of cases.
College students are tired of being blamed for the spread of cases, and while it may not be entirely our fault, we do need to make sure that we stay responsible for ourselves and our community. As restrictions are easing and life looks like it may be returning to normal, I urge all NC State students and the Raleigh community to stay safe, continue to take precautions and be kind to one another as we pass a year of the pandemic.