Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
When Conn’s administration announced that we were shifting to Alert Level Orange on the morning of Tuesday, Sept 7, I think we were all shocked but maybe not surprised. As one of my friends sardonically noted, “this might just be every Monday.”
After the first full weekend back at school, for a multitude of reasons, well over 100 students and faculty tested positive for COVID-19 over the course of a few days, leading to widespread anxiety as well as the evacuation of scores of the infected into isolation housing either in on campus buildings deliberately dedicated to the cause, or into local hotels off campus.
With word of mouth spreading faster than any virus, it became clear that this whole scenario was an imperfect endeavor on multiple levels. Students both in isolation and not were expressing immediate discontent with how the situation had unfolded.
On Monday, Sept 13, and Thursday, Sept 16, I conducted interviews with two anonymous students staying in isolation housing at the hotels off campus to hear first hand how the experience of transitioning to, and living in off campus isolation housing has been. The first I conducted virtually with one of the students calling in from inside the hotel.
“From the time that you got confirmation that you were positive for COVID, how did the process of actually moving to the hotel unfold? Is there anything that you would have wanted changed about how Conn handled your move?”
“There’s definitely a lot of stuff I would have wanted to be changed. I got my rapid test on Monday at 3:00 and I got the phone call at exactly 3:20. The phone call was from the Health Center and said that I was positive and I should wait for a phone call from the dean with further instructions. I didn’t get the phone call until 5:30 that day. So basically I was in my dorm, obviously isolating, but I didn’t feel comfortable going to the bathroom in my dorm, I obviously couldn’t go to the dining hall. So I got the phone call from the Dean at 5:30 asking about my contact tracing and telling me that I should go to the hotel, but I didn’t get information to go to the hotel, I wasn’t allowed to arrive at the hotel until 7:00. So I spent the whole 3 ½ hours or something that I didn’t have anywhere to go and was on campus. Obviously I was isolating, but I had to walk in the dorm at a point to get back in. I was exposing kids there I’m sure, so I definitely wish that the follow-up procedure had been quicker. At least in that case I had enough time to pack my bags and to get everything ready, but it was really stressful having to wait for so long.”
Do you have everything you need?”
“I would say we have access to the bare essentials, so everything we need at the bare minimum, but I wouldn’t say above and beyond that… we get meals twice a day, one meal for dinner the next has breakfast and lunch. The lunch is normally a sandwich and a salad… the dinner – you don’t get to choose your dinner so it’s normally greens, sometimes a potato, definitely not the most nutritious meal. We have like seven billion bags of chips right now… You can put in a request if you need medicine or [if] you need Gatorade or something like that.
“So specifically as it pertains to food, both snacks and meals, but also just other necessities, you brought up medicine, you brought up Gatorade… how does that process actually go forward? How do you actually get access to these things if you’re not allowed to leave? And how often?
“I believe you can call the Health Center or CC Curtis and they both offer to bring things. For me, I’m lucky to have friends with cars, and it’s easier and more simple for me to ask them and they’ve been really good about being able to bring me things if I need them. But I believe if you need anything special you can call the Health Center or CC Curtis.”
“Have you had to do that yet? How long have you had to wait to get certain things?”
“I had an incident where I had to switch rooms and the dining hall didn’t get my room number, so it took – I didn’t get meals for I think either a full day or a day and a half. And it took kind of a while for the dining hall to be notified about the switch, and I was emailing all the deans. So from that, I think it could take a good amount of time, but I don’t know because I haven’t really asked for anything specific yet.”
“So I know you’re not alone right now at the hotel, given how many cases Conn has. How many other students are there that you see? What’s the feel of the situation among the students?”
“I would describe the feel of the situation as ‘hilariously awful’ (laughs). You see a lot of people outside of the hotel, walking around. A lot of people will be doing homework outside. We all had a meeting and I’d guess there were maybe 40 to 60 people here. It’s kind of a good vibe around here. Everyone’s really friendly. But in the hotel you don’t really see people, you only really see people outside.”
“I’m also curious – I’m not sure you’re the only one – but I’ve heard that some people there have roommates and have even had to share beds? How’s that going?”
“(Laughs) Yeah, I’m pretty sure everyone has a roommate. In the room, I have there’s one bed and one pull-out couch, and I’m on the pull-out couch. I haven’t really heard that much about other roommates. I know they’re like random roommates which could be rough for some people. I was lucky enough to not have a random roommate, but there was a time where I thought I was, and it was definitely a source of stress for me in that time. I mean honestly, sharing a room is, actually for me as a person, I’m enjoying it because I think I’d go crazy being all alone. It’s nice to have someone to share that with, but for other people I know it could go a lot worse, especially if it’s someone they don’t know. Like you are sharing a small hotel room with someone else.”
“Is there any way that your isolation period at the hotel could be made easier? Have you had any challenges you weren’t expecting?”
“The only (unexpected) challenge I had was like the third day I was here. I was placed with a girl that had tested positive that day, and so I was really freaked out that we were gonna get each other more sick until I was moved with someone who was on my timeline. I tried to talk to the deans about it, but I think that they were so overwhelmed that they couldn’t really put my predicament at the top of their priority list, which is understandable. But honestly, I’m in this situation, there’s literally nothing you can do to get out of it, so just making the best of it – so no there’s nothing I can really do to make it easier. You know, there’s literally nothing you can do to change it, so.”
“Do you think there’s anything that can be done outside of your control to make this experience easier? And overall, do you feel adequately cared for by Conn at this time?”
“I feel like Conn is doing the best that they can in this time. I think that they’re incredibly overwhelmed, so there’s not a lot that they are able to do. Could they be treating people a little bit better? Definitely. There were a lot of accusations from the deans about people going into each other’s rooms and hanging out in the hallways, and you know I’m just one person but I haven’t seen any of that. Everyone’s kept their masks on. The one thing I will mention is that when I’ve been in class, and we’ve been discussing what’s happening I’ve noticed a lot of animosity towards the kids that are in quarantine. And I just think we’re being punished enough. This is not fun for any of us. I think the hatred towards the kids in quarantine seems a little excessive to me. But maybe that’s just because I’m in it. It’s like zooming in from the hotel room is a mark of shame (laughs).”
***
My second interview, a few days later, was with a student who had only been able to leave the hotel that day. When I asked them about their experience they detailed both their own problems, but also their unique experience as an athlete in isolation.
I led off by asking about what things could have made their experience more manageable.
“I mean, I understand why the food had to be predetermined, but I wish we could have chosen what we could have eaten. I think that would have been easier for us – I spent between 60 and 100 dollars delivering food for myself over ten days which is annoying because I shouldn’t have to do that especially if I’m being forced into isolation. The other main complaint of mine was internet connection. If you’re gonna make me take Zoom classes while I have COVID, which I understand, then I should be able to join my Zoom class with ease, instead of using up my entire personal hotspot and data trying to join classes.”
When I pressed them about how the school could have helped with the transition process, they had this to say:
“When kids test positive, maybe send out a packing list honestly. Because I know a lot of people didn’t bring shower stuff, and you have to use hotel bottles – for ten days and you have to call the front desk for more. And they didn’t want to deal with us, ‘cause they were pissed off. So I think a lot of people didn’t bring what they needed – Because ten days is a long time – I didn’t have enough clothes, I was changing into fucking dirty clothes on a daily basis. It was gross. I couldn’t do laundry.”
As a varsity athlete, their healthcare and overall treatment in quarantine seemed to differ from that of an average student:
“As an athlete… the athletic trainers started looking after me instead of the school. The last three days I started getting calls from the athletic trainers as my check-in instead of from Hartford Health or the school. They only checked in on me because I have to be cleared for competition and practice. Most other students don’t get that attention, which I think they should. If the athletic trainers are calling me, then the school should be calling someone else.”
***
These kids are likely not the last students who will be sent there. And from these firsthand accounts it seems like there may need to be some changes made sooner rather than later.
