On August 4th of this year, I received my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Not even three weeks later, during my time on campus for Peer Leader training, I was exposed to COVID. Needless to say, a few days later, I was diagnosed with the virus after taking a rapid test. An onslaught of symptoms soon followed: congestion, loss of smell and taste, muscle pain, low-grade fever, dizziness, sinus pressure, diarrhea and fatigue. I was pretty sick, and since school was starting in less than a week, I was about to test the systems Stevens had in place for students in my position.
Castle Point Hall is the quarantine dorm for residential students at Stevens. Students who are living in their own apartments are expected to isolate themselves there. The problem is, no staff are allowed to help transport students and their belongings because of exposure concerns. Other universities are taking a different approach than Stevens. As stated in their “Residence Life COVID-19 Exposure Protocol 2021-2022” webpage, Rutgers informs that COVID-19 positive individuals, and close contacts, will be transported to isolation/alternate housing by Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety. This means that students do not have to exert themselves while sick, or in a vulnerable condition.
Contact tracing at Stevens is straightforward. A COVID-positive student calls Stevens Health Services, who then asks which individuals the student has recently been around. The issue is, it is extremely difficult to recall every person who could be a close contact. This is especially true in a scholastic setting, where students find themselves surrounded by dozens of classmates without even knowing their names. As a result, more students could be close contacts than those who are reported. Stevens follows the state and CDC guidelines regarding contact tracing protocol, so this issue is not Stevens-specific, but it is something that needs to be addressed at every university.
Perhaps the biggest problem COVID-positive college students face is trying to learn while in isolation. At Stevens, professors are encouraged, but not currently required, to use Zoom and/or record classes for students in quarantine. Consequently, the majority of professors are not making lectures available to students who are isolating. While many professors do not like to use Zoom, or have issues with it, there is a strong demand for them to find a way to record their lectures so students in isolation don’t fall behind academically. Technology support and Zoom-related workshops are also made available to faculty by the university, so these complications seem avoidable to frustrated students. Instead of Zooming in, students are expected to reach out to professors for questions and assignments. Since Zoom was a tool Stevens frequently used during the 2020-2021 school year, and even returned to for a day when Hurricane Ida hit Hoboken this month, the inability for students to attend class virtually is frustrating to many.
Students who are not COVID-positive also face challenges this school year. For instance, the COVID vaccine has been mandated in nearly every New Jersey college and university. While limited medical and religious exemptions are available, ineligible students who did not want the vaccine were, in a way, forced to get it. Statewide, those who refuse to receive the vaccine, and are not exempt, face consequences. This was seen firsthand at Montclair State University, as 140 unexempt students have been disenrolled since they failed to get vaccinated. At Rutgers,
For Stevens students who are exempt from the vaccine, they are subject to COVID tests every Wednesday in the Gateway North academic building. The weekly testing of unvaccinated students seems to be a trend statewide. In fact, New Jersey Institute of Technology tests its exempt students twice per week. The problem at Stevens was, up until this week, at Stevens, only unvaccinated individuals were able to get tested on campus. This meant that vaccinated students with COVID symptoms were on their own to find a testing center in the city. Fortunately, now any symptomatic student can receive a test on campus regardless of their vaccination status.
For those who are wondering, yes, I have mostly recovered from COVID. I recently got my smell and taste back, but remain very fatigued. This past week, I battled an upper respiratory infection that likely impacted me because of COVID weakening my immune system; I definitely could have benefitted from lectures being offered on Zoom and delivery from Pierce dining hall. Nevertheless, I am very happy to be back on campus and in person for my classes. With so many fully-vaccinated people getting breakthrough cases, COVID is not leaving college campuses anytime soon. At Stevens and other institutions state- and nationwide, I hope solutions are sought that will improve the experience of future students who fall victim to this unpredictable virus.
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