The health of the community was paramount during the COVID era, but now it is among many other issues on the backlog of those in charge. As campus and community events
have ramped up for fall, illnesses like the common cold and COVID are inevitable. Both students and professors regularly miss classes due to sickness.
To get a feel for how ABAC students view the situation, I several conducted anonymous interviews. During these interviews, three out of four students said they’d missed class due to illness.
Despite hand sanitizer stations in every building, half of the students reported they were either broken or ineffective. Even when students are well enough to return, the cursed snot runs at the worst of times—while writing, reading, or taking notes—forcing them to hunt for paper towels or wipe discreetly on their clothes.
Public schools provide tissues and hand sanitizers, so why can’t a public college do the same? Three students noted their high schools provided both for them. The hand sanitizers
at ABAC are often empty, and tissues would be a small but meaningful improvement for both students and the school community.
While ABAC is a relatively small college, it still has thousands of students, hundreds of faculty, and many visitors. COVID taught us that crowded spaces spread illness easily.
Small steps like proper sanitation make a big difference, yet the hand sanitizer stations remain inconsistently filled. Students are getting sick more easily at school, getting distracted in class by others coughing and sniffling, and even missing classes themselves.
The solution is a simple one: routinely refill the hand sanitizer stations and put tissues in common areas such as the library, near offices, and in large classrooms.
This situation also ignited questions of whether professors had fair sick and missing policies, if the campus was even clean, and if ABAC cared about its students.
One of the most consistent results of the study was that students universally agreed that their professors had great attendance policies. However, on an administrative side, its a different story.
When asked if ABAC had good sanitation and cleanliness levels, one student who wished to remain anonymous simply stated, “to a point…yes.” Another anonymous student pointed out that “the bathrooms could use some work.”
However, the real concern emerged when students were asked whether they feel that ABAC cares about them. Answers ranged from “no” to “kinda”—not exactly encouraging. While the
staff does whatever they can to help, the institution and people in charge won’t even lend you a handkerchief. If students are falling ill, are saying the campus isn’t very hygienic in
busy areas, and feel that the school doesn’t care about them, then surely something must change.
Sometimes getting sick is unavoidable in such a crowded environment, but simple sanitation
and areas with helpful items can—and do—help. ABAC should be maintaining hand sanitizer stations and providing tissues and sanitation products in busy areas to make the school cleaner and healthier while showing that they care about student health and needs.
This proposal is not just beneficial for the students, but also for the faculty and guests that help keep the college running. These changes would be effective and easily implemented.
The whole world went through this process just a few years ago during COVID; we know how to protect people’s health.
An official complaint was sent to ABAC, but they replied that students are responsible for bringing their own tissues and hand sanitizers. Struggling students shouldn’t be forced to add hand sanitizers to their already tight shopping lists. It should be the responsibility of the organization to keep the students, faculty, and visitors happy and healthy.