This year the administration seems to have gone hog-wild – literally – with protecting students against catching the dreaded H1N1 Flu. While the addition of antibacterial dispensers every fifty yards or so is certainly an improvement, the abundant posters with intense warnings all over campus seem like overkill. After the outbreak of swine flu last year, hysteria spread across the nation, and yes, we at Conn were scared. However, the novelty has died down and it has been proven that H1N1 is no more harmful than the regular seasonal flu, which affects thousands of Americans each year.
So why have we come back to school to an overwhelming number of warnings and advice? Is it just to scare the freshmen? Students get the flu at Conn each year and never before have such serious precautions as “mandatory isolation in one’s room” been deemed necessary.
Even at our first dorm meetings, our house fellows and floor governors warned us against leaving our rooms if we think we have “the swine.” I for one will probably head down to health services for confirmation before I start skipping classes or send myself home to recover.
Being sick at school is never fun, but since when must we put the rest of our life on hold? We were smart enough to get into Conn, and we should be smart enough to know our limits and stay away from others if we’re contagious.
So, as supposedly intelligent individuals, we do not really need the flow of “flu update” emails or our own college flu webpage. If you get sick, do not panic, because that is what the constant updates and warnings will lead to.
Awareness about the virus is good, but the frenzy promoted by all these precautions is clearly unnecessary.
In fact, an amusing new craze suggested in many internet blogs is to hold “swine flu parties.” According to an article on CNN.com, this idea comes from the past usage of chicken pox or measles parties. Parents want to expose their children to the virus early, in order to build up some resistance to the disease before a more serious strain develops.
Doctors do not recommend this, of course, since the mild virus can still be harmful to people with other medical conditions.
Now while the idea of a swine flu party is laughable, it’s almost tempting. I have to agree that purposely trying to get sick is a bad idea. But over-precaution is not essential either.
As the weather gets colder the usual cases of flu and other illnesses will spread, but be smart about it and everyone should be just fine.
Calm down ConnColl, it’s not that serious.
