Getting Information About Covid

When the pandemic began, I turned to the CDC website for information, just as we all did. I trusted them to give me the information I needed. However, as time passes, many things are being said about the CDC and whether the information is factual or not. How are we supposed to know what is factual at this point, though? Not one person or group is in charge of all of the Covid information. This could mean that information could be hidden, or false information could be shared. At this point, I do not check the numbers anymore. I have decided that while Covid is a real, scary thing, I can only do my part of keeping others and myself safe. Watching the numbers will do nothing but cause stress. I follow the guidelines that the University of Kentucky has put into place rather than trying to read up on how to be safe. I guess you could say I do trust the University of Kentucky and hope that they trust whoever helped them with the guidelines. The University of Kentucky does have a COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is attached here. https://www.uky.edu/coronavirus/covid-19-data-dashboard

Covid information has not caused conflict in my life. I feel as if my friends and family are in the same position at this point. We do what we are advised to do and do not think to question it. We just want to stay safe and make sure the people around us do also.

I personally believe the pandemic has become politicized at this point. I am not sure to what point it is being politicized, but it is definitely happening. I think this is more dangerous than the pandemic itself. If you start to think about the power the government withholds and what they could do with information, it is frightening. The only thing we can do is hope for the best.

Greek Life and Covid

I recently joined a sorority here at the University of Kentucky. The chapter I joined is Kappa Alpha Theta, which happened to be a quarantined chapter. The women living in the house were evacuated at the beginning of recruitment due to a breakout of Covid cases inside. This was upsetting to everyone in the chapter, but the women involved made sure to do the right thing. Each of these women quarantined themselves through the excitement of recruitment and all. To make sure everyone could safely be involved in recruitment, it was held over zoom. After recruitment was over, it was decided that is would be best if we did not have in-person activities for the time being. Our bid day was pushed back and made into a Covid friendly event that the state allowed. It was nice to get to go out and meet my new sisters in a distanced manner, which included masks.

I am proud of the women in my chapter for putting public health above their excitement. They continue to get us involved through distanced events that are all approved by the state or university and help to let us have the closest to normal new member experience we can. I am hopeful that the other Greek chapters at the University of Kentucky are doing the same.

Will the University of Kentucky Stay Open?

Based off what I have seen and heard on campus, I personally believe that the University of Kentucky will stay open for the entire first semester. Yes, I have heard about the breakouts. However, most of the time at least, the people I see on campus each day are following the guidelines. Very rarely do I see someone without a mask on or in a group that looks too large.

There has only been one situation that I have seen as something that would be against the guidelines. In my previous post, I discussed a mishap at Jewell Hall. There was a fire alarm pulled and the situation was not Covid friendly whatsoever. Students were pushed together in stairways and all 740 residents were grouped together outside in very close proximity. Some even went without masks. I am not sure how many students living in Jewell Hall have or have had Covid, but I would think to trace it back to that day.

You would think that the fire alarm situation would cause me to think we will be sent home. However, I believe that if the students that are testing positive for Covid are asymptomatic, we should not be worried. The only negative to college students being asymptomatic is that they do not know if they are spreading the virus. Because of this, I feel as if faculty and students should have the option to stay home, which they do. Instead of sending all of us home, we should continue to have the option as to whether or not we want to open ourselves up to the virus. I think that this will be the best option for the university and everyone here.

A Bad Time for a Fire Alarm

During the first week of school, Jewell Hall had quite the mishap. A fire alarm was pulled in the buliding and all 740 residents had to evacuate. The first problem was the stairs. People were all rushing out of their rooms and to the stairs at once, ignoring social distancing guidelines due to fear. The stairs became full and the crowd was slow moving. Many had forgotten to grab a mask when trying to flee and were within inches of each other. Once the students were outside of the building, they were told to gather all in one spot. This is when students started to yell things like, "Covid central." You can see a fraction of the crowd in the video below.

Thankfully, many of the students in the video had masks on. However, there was no such thing as social distancing. Students stops waiting for about 15 minutes in that same spot. They were not told to spread out. Some students even took their masks off. On the way back into the building, instead of returning in small numbers, the entire crowd headed back in at once. A photo of this is shown below.

I understand that the fire alarm was a surprise to each and every one of us, but I feel as if there should have been a better plan. Students should've been distanced in some way. Students should not have entered the building in the same large crowd that caused problems in the staircases. This was a Covid breakout waiting to happen.

Something to Make You Think

As I walked onto the University of Kentucky's campus on move-in day, the first thing that caught my eye was the light poles. Isn't that funny? I arrive at the place where I will be spending the next few years of my life and I notice light poles. There is a reason for this, obviously. Most of the light poles on campus have signs attached to them. I am not sure if light poles at the University of Kentucky have always had signs attached, but I am pretty sure those signs didn't mention some of the things they do now.

The sign above says to, "Mask up." A year ago from today, when the current sophomores moved in, they would have seen a sign like the one shown above and been very confused. However, when the class of 2024 arrived on campus this year, they understood completely. Masks, hand washing, and social distancing have become some of the main words in our vocabulary. We see these signs and we shrug our shoulders. It has become our reality and we have to deal with it. 

I thought this would be a decent first post about Covid on my blog. It highlights how abnormal life is now because of this virus. We have become so indifferent to things like the sign shown above. It is weird to sit back and think about what we would have thought a year ago from today.

About the Author

Hello readers. My name is Riley Miller. I am from Owensboro, Kentucky. I am a white female coming from a middle class family of hard working people. The Covid pandemic has not taken a toll on my family. I have no family working in the medical field and not one of my family members has retracted the virus. My family's income comes from my father, who is a building contractor that was not required to stop working during quarantine. I know that I am very lucky to have this situation and cannot relate to the masses of people who have been affected. I previously came in contact with a small number of people who later tested positive for the virus, but was fortunate enough to have tested negative. However, I do believe that I may have retracted the virus in February of this year due to having similar symptoms and testing negative for the flu. It was well before Covid was pronounced a global pandemic and tests became available. 

Even though my family has stayed healthy throughout the pandemic, I still feel as if Covid has made a negative impact on my life. Covid took away my senior year and the summer that followed. It is just high school and public health means a lot more than state games. prom, and graduation. However, I still lost a lot of experiences because of it. Most of these experiences I can never get back. I did try to make the best of it though, and so did my high school. I hope to make up for my missed experiences in my college years to come.