Despite COVID-19 still affecting hundreds of people everyday, college students are still risking their lives everyday by going out to parties. Over the past two weeks
NYU students have been carelessly going out and breaking Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) social distancing guidelines in Washington Square Park. Videos of the events went viral revealing most of the students in the videos were side by side without masks. Despite New York state having less than 1% of infection rates, the virus is still present and must be contained.
So far, four new coronavirus cases have already been reported by NYU officials and 20 students have been suspended. However, many feel that the school has not done enough to avoid this issue. According to Andrew Cuomo the party went on for hours without anyone attempting to shut it down. He stated in his interview with CNN that security should have gone to shut it down and that the local police did not do enough to break it up. To prevent partying students at Cornell University have started signing petitions to hold students accountable for their reckless behavior during the pandemic. Perhaps more schools should encourage this.
While SUNY Old Westbury does not necessarily have to worry about this problem due to our use of remote learning, students should still be encouraged to denounce this type of behavior. If we as a school want to return to our campus we must advocate to our neighboring schools that this behavior is not ok. Additionally, our students should not be attending these parties to help reduce the spread and get us back to in person learning.
As we slowly begin to transition away from Zoom and back into the classroom, students must be responsible in order to keep our community safe. That being said, individuals must be held accountable for their actions, even if these parties are taking place outside of school grounds. By not punishing everyone at these parties the college administrators are saying that you can do as you please and get away with it. That is unacceptable.
If we want to eliminate the coronavirus people must take precautions and be held accountable for their actions when they don’t. Yes, we are all aware that New York state numbers are extremely low compared to states like Florida and Alabama. However, that doesn’t mean the pandemic still isn’t present. We cannot pretend the virus does not exist anymore and act like we did before quarantine because that will only cause our numbers to inflate.
If you do want to enjoy your “college experience” do it safely. For example, wear a mask and social distance from your friends. Furthermore, when you go out with your friends keep the number of people you are with to a maximum of ten people. Lastly, if you plan on drinking, do not share each other’s beverages to guarantee you will not spread any illnesses. This pandemic will not go away if we do not work together to end it. Keep in mind before you go out and party, that you won’t get a real college experience if we keep having to close down.
