Over the course of two years, we as students, staff, faculties, etc., have been going through what is believed to be one of the biggest life-changing events we have all had to face as a whole on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times where I got worried that some of the students were sick and I didn\u2019t want that to spread towards me because I have family to worry about and now my younger siblings,\u201d said Juan Rodriguez, 19, sophomore and undeclared major.<\/p>\n
Now although some of us have been doing fine, it\u2019s important to note that COVID and the pandemic in general have given us all a personal belief of what would be the right way to approach COVID.<\/p>\n
While exploring and observing around campus, it has caught my attention that a handful of students on-site seem to be comfortable enough to not wear a mask both during class and around campus.<\/p>\n
This inspired me to further investigate if students trust each other enough to be responsible and maintain safety measures as a community here on campus.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s certain individuals with problems of their own to face, and every individual is affected through their own unique experiences and ongoing current circumstances.<\/p>\n
At the moment, this is what led me to take out a sheet of paper and start an anonymous survey for students to participate. I had students either check marks under one of the two individual sections. which in this case the two individual categories contain either yes or no.<\/p>\n
The results were collected within a time period of over five days from Oct 26 through Oct. 30.<\/p>\n
Over 45 students participated in this mini survey. The results were collected anonymously.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, an estimated 60 percent of respondents expressed concern regarding other students potentially attending class while feeling ill.<\/p>\n
Additionally I spoke with three students who didn\u2019t participate in the survey.<\/p>\n
One of the students felt comfortable enough to share his honest perspective on the mix of people wearing verses not wearing a mask.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that people should care enough not to come while sick and be smart enough to know when they are sick,\u201d said David Gilron Lopez, 19, sophomore and psychology major. \u201cBut I do believe people don\u2019t care enough sometimes and that creates a risk.\u201c<\/p>\n
After speaking to Lopez, it became clear that every individual is affected by their own environment through their own way.<\/p>\n
Having the thoughts of COVID in mind is a unique challenge individuals face on their own.<\/p>\n
During one of my interviews with a student, I asked the same exact question from my survey to see if I could get some deeper insight into a student’s perception.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever been worried about other classmates getting sick while attending classes on campus?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I did worry because I was afraid of bringing a virus into my house and making my family sick,\u201d said Estefania Lopez Parra, 20, a junior business administration major.<\/p>\n
Parra shared that her mother and younger brother have asthma, which led to her being worried about attending classes in-person.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I saw that everything was returning to normal, little-by-little, I decided to go to school and just follow the directions to reduce the chances of getting sick,\u201d Parra said. \u201cI think now I\u2019m not as worried as I used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s post-pandemic. Beforehand, everyone during the pandemic must have wondered how things were going to come back to normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first class I attended I thought there were [sic] gonna be more student in the class but it was a size of a high school class instead and that made my experience more comfortable because it reminded me of a high school like system and it got me used to college, \u201c Lopez said.<\/p>\n
Now with the present time we are living and experiencing, it\u2019s caught my attention that some of the classes here at SJCC are either really full, half empty or not available due to low enrollment.<\/p>\n
I asked one student for his opinion of whether or not he is experiencing any effects due to the amount of students in his classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do wish in some of my classes there were a couple more students, but for the most part, I see the amount OK,\u201d said Juan Rodriguez, 19, sophomore and undeclared major.<\/p>\n
After some more investigation, I was able to have two students open up their personal thoughts and was given a genuine answer regarding if they personally take any precautions for face-to-face contact here on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth is that there are days that I take precautions, without thinking about it, it has become a habit for me,\u201d Parra said. \u201cI also feel like it has become normal for me to wear a mask all the time and when I forget to put it on, I feel weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thoughts of COVID are scary and sometimes we can\u2019t control the things around us. But let\u2019s not forget that we are still humans and must understand how everything about the virus is unpredictable and if we choose to panic it will only strike more fear within ourselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are times where I do avoid getting into direct contact face-to-face but I don\u2019t take an extra step to avoid it if someone comes up to me, I won\u2019t stop away or anything but if I don\u2019t wanna be confronted with, I\u2019m one step away,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
Students on campus may acknowledge that COVID protocols are still in-demand but each individual seems to have additional protocols of their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take additional measures to avoid getting sick on-campus,\u201d Parra said. \u201cI try not to be so close to someone, I try to keep my mask on all the time and take it off only when I\u2019m home, and I also use alcohol wipes to disinfect everything before and after.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this point it shouldn\u2019t be far-fetched to assume some students on-campus already built a habit of being naturally inclined to protocols.<\/p>\n
According to the students’ interviews, each and every individual has a unique set of boundaries of their own.<\/p>\n
Towards the end of the investigation, a specific statement caught my attention. Out of the three students that were interviewed, only one was able to affirm that even though others feel differently, it\u2019s always good to keep a positive demeanor despite how other students and colleagues feel about having interactions.<\/p>\n
I asked students on a scale of 1 to 5 how comfortable they felt with having to interact and work with other students you haven\u2019t seen in class before.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, working in groups with other students hasn\u2019t been uncomfortable,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI will scale it around four out of five because there were times where some of our schedules didn’t line up and some of us have different opinions, but overall I felt pretty comfortable.\u201d
\nThe sense of precaution from students here at the SJCC campus became more evident based on mutual respect alone.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day it\u2019s nobody’s fault because COVID has taught everyone to keep our distances and take inconsideration with who we choose to have face-to-face contact with.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, one step and one day at a time and everything will be normalized into an entirely worry free community once more.<\/p>\n
Regardless, if a mask is desirable simply make sure you don\u2019t attend school knowing you are feeling ill.<\/p>\n
It takes us as a whole community to come together to share a form of unity and mutual respect towards every single individual. Everyone has their own individual health status, therefore it\u2019s a good idea to set boundaries of our own when it comes to being health conscious towards one another.<\/p>\n
Remember students to always stay sanitized and in case you want to obtain a mask on campus check out the Business Education building towards the end of the hallway next to the vending machine that is selling Scantron and other school supplies.<\/p>\n