liermanm2@lopers.unk.edu

As COVID-19 looms over colleges, UNK officials are implementing new health guidelines. Returning students must face wearing masks, social distancing, and a fundamental change to their education as their classes are moved online.

Despite the measures to protect campus health, student outlooks are dismal.

“I give it two weeks,” Ehric Strope said. 

Other students give the semester a little longer.

“I would be surprised if we made it all the way to Thanksgiving,” Logan Grose said. “I don’t see us getting to a point this semester where we’re allowed to not wear masks on campus, but they’re being optimistic. And that’s fine, I guess.”

Further contributing to this attitude is a growing population of students who aren’t taking the guidelines seriously. 

“The biggest concerns are in the dorms as well as with roommates,” Grose said. “The biggest concerns are in the dorms as well as with roommates— people that you’re going to be around because of proximity— and especially people hanging out in like small to medium sized groups thinking they don’t need to wear masks. I’m sure it’s gonna happen because it’s happening everywhere.”

Campus officials are trying to  avoid this course.

“I’ve really not had many conversations about closing because we’re feeling pretty good about it,” said director of Residence Life George Holman. “I think we’re trying to avoid that as much as possible. We’re trying to serve our students as best we can.”

The plan still seems unclear to some students.

“You know they say that they have plans about what’s gonna happen but we don’t know,“ said Paige Arnold. “You know like in spring we just got sent home without any warning, and I don’t want that for the fall. What happens when it gets on campus?” 

 Student body leaders sent out a joint statement imploring students to take guidelines seriously and trying to give some guidance ahead of the school year.

“The effective ways to get through this are one, to wear masks, and two, to use hand sanitizer and wash your hands after touching things,” said UNK student regent Max Beal. “Mask wearing is definitely the most important because, based off of what I’ve read the best way to spread COVID-19 is through transmission of particles from your mouth.”

Even this simple directive is being called into question by some students, however.

“Like what, wearing a mask in a hallway?” Strope said. “I think that’s kind of dumb, but it’s what it is. I wouldn’t have voted for it but I see the reasoning.”

University officials hope an educational approach can be taken to encourage masks.

“I think students will give them the side-eye treatment, because that’s what I’ve seen from students so far,”  Holman said. “But the university has kind of got a plan in place where we’re going to really try to take a caring, educational approach, and we’ll say to students ‘Hey, this is why we want you to wear a mask. This is the policy.’”

Residence Life staff encourages students to learn about the campus health policy by visiting their informational page at unk.edu/coronavirus/ and reading their FAQ.